Simply one of the best and most intense books that I have ever read. Not that read that much, yet I think this is a small masterpiece that everybody should take some hours to read.
“So, what was this book about?”- I asked myself when I finished reading it. Was it about death or was it about life? None of the concepts seemed accurate enough to define the main topic of this book.
Tolstoy sure gets deep in what concerns death. The way humans think they can avoid it and the fear they have when they finally have to deal with it. A lifetime will never be enough to make us understand death. Why do we have to face it? Why us and not someone else? Unanswered questions that will go to the grave with every each one us.
Then, no one can deny that the Russian writer also talks about life. Do we make the best choices we can? Can we define what is really important to us? Are we happy, or is that happiness something that we wrongly conceive in our minds? Was this the life we wanted? For what will we be remembered by?
The way I see it, above all, this book is about the human condition. Ivan Ilych embodies the most common person you will ever know. Sometimes you will even see yourself doing what Ilych is doing. It made me wonder, are humans that selfish? Am I that selfish? Are we that superficial? Can our lives be that futile?
All in all it sure is an exceptional book, and since one can buy it for 1.50€, I don’t see any reason for someone not to have it on his/her shelves.
(As you can notice I am making an effort to write some stuff in English. GMAT exam is coming and my English must be in its very best shape. As for the Portuguese language, my other blog will have to keep it sharp.)
“So, what was this book about?”- I asked myself when I finished reading it. Was it about death or was it about life? None of the concepts seemed accurate enough to define the main topic of this book.
Tolstoy sure gets deep in what concerns death. The way humans think they can avoid it and the fear they have when they finally have to deal with it. A lifetime will never be enough to make us understand death. Why do we have to face it? Why us and not someone else? Unanswered questions that will go to the grave with every each one us.
Then, no one can deny that the Russian writer also talks about life. Do we make the best choices we can? Can we define what is really important to us? Are we happy, or is that happiness something that we wrongly conceive in our minds? Was this the life we wanted? For what will we be remembered by?
The way I see it, above all, this book is about the human condition. Ivan Ilych embodies the most common person you will ever know. Sometimes you will even see yourself doing what Ilych is doing. It made me wonder, are humans that selfish? Am I that selfish? Are we that superficial? Can our lives be that futile?
All in all it sure is an exceptional book, and since one can buy it for 1.50€, I don’t see any reason for someone not to have it on his/her shelves.
(As you can notice I am making an effort to write some stuff in English. GMAT exam is coming and my English must be in its very best shape. As for the Portuguese language, my other blog will have to keep it sharp.)
5 comentários:
Infelizmente nunca adquiri habito de leitura... quero ver se mudo isso nestas férias...
depois sem veres roubo-te o livro para ler =)**
Tolstoy, Deus, pow pow pow
onde compraste isso por 1,5€? naquelas edições de bolso que tavam em promoção na fnac? é que mandei vir de lá alguns clássicos, incluindo tolstoy, mas não vi esse.
Este livro está editado tanto nessas de 1,5€ da Quasi, como naqueles de 5€ da Leya/Biblioteca Editores Independentes.
Enviar um comentário