A national journal of literature & discussion

The Way of All Flesh

By William Giraldi

On Tolstoy and Mortality

212 RECENT BOOKS it does, and for Leo Tolstoy’s character Ivan Ily - ich, dying is a protracted process that assumes just as much importance as living— a process that indeed takes meaning away from or gives it to the life lived. Who but Vladimir Nabokov, in his peerless Lectures on Russian Literature , could have no - ticed that “Ilyich” is pronounced ill - itch — “the ills and itches of mortal life.” Nabokov was clear in pointing out that Tolstoy’s famous no - vella is not about Ivan’s death, but about hi

You need an active subscription to view this content

You should really subscribe now!

Or login if you already have a subscription.

Share —

Issue: Winter 2014 / Volume 90/1

Published: January 6, 2014

William Giraldi

William Giraldi is the author of the novels Hold the Dark (Liveright, 2014) and Busy Monsters (Norton, 2011). He is the fiction editor for the journal AGNI at Boston University.

The Way of All Flesh

You need an active subscription to view this content

More Stories Like This

Blood Nation

Diary of a Radio Junkie

The Art of Watching