One of Tolstoy's most exquisitely constructed novellas is presented here with "The Devil, " a further work exploring the powerful and destructive nature of obsession.On learning of Ivan Ilyich's sudden demise, his former colleagues begin vying for promotion; it seems in neither life nor death has Ivan Ilyich made any lasting impression. And, as the author takes us back to Ilyich's early days, we are shown a life of futility, emptiness, and spiritual barrenness. Yet, in the end, Tolstoy reveals Ivan Ilyich's final resolute gesture to come to terms with his mortality and to embrace his impending death. Leo Tolstoy wrote two of Russia's greatest novels, "Anna Karenina" and "War and Peace, " as well as many short stories and essays.
