From the moment I started reading this book, it grabbed my attention how Tolstoy reversed the chronological order of the events in the story. He begins the story from the time Ivan Ilych is already death. He describes the effects of his death over his family and apparently closest friends as if his Iva’s death was more significant than what his whole life was. Then, Tolstoy moves the reader to a time that describes Ivan’s life in which the reader can form a picture of him by describing his professional background, his family and the people who surrounds him. But most of all, Tolstoy express Ivan’s insatiable need of seeking a social status and material wealth. Through Ivan’s life, Tolstoy criticize the class of people in Russia who didn’t have
