The Death of Ivan Ilyich; The Cossacks; Happy Ever After

Book excerpt: Chief among Tolstoy' s shorter works is "The Death of Ivan Ilych," a masterful meditation on the act of dying. The first major fictional work published by Tolstoy after a mid-life psychological crisis, this novella reflects the author' s struggle to find meaning in life, a challenge Tolstoy resolved by developing a religious philosophy based on brotherly love, mutual support, and charity. These guiding principles are the dominant moral themes in "The Death of Ivan Ilych," an account of the spiritual conversion of a judge-- an ordinary, unthinking, vulgar man-- in the face of his terrible fear about death. Also included in this volume are "Family Happiness," an early work that traces the arc of a marriage; "The Kreutzer Sonata," a frank tale of sexual love that shocked readers when it first appeared; and "Hadji Murá d," Tolstoy' s final masterpiece about power politics, intrigue, and colonial conquest.