I quite liked this book because it was short and has themes about death. It also got me interested in Tolstoy's other books - a good introduction!

If you have ever been scared of dying and let it worry you, you might find a lot of the topics discussed in The Death if Ivan Illych familiar. While the author discusses death and it's purpose, I don't think you should go through this book "looking for answers" because Tolstoy doesn't really give you one. Instead, you read about Ivan's spiral as he humours his fears of his impending death. Tolstoy brings up, what I consider to be, typical questions you ask yourself when you're scared of dying: "Why me?" "Why do I have to die?" "Did/am I living my life how inought to?" but never does he really answer them. I think this is to say that these questions don't really have answers anyway, and that Ivan's mental suffering is due to his lack of purpose in living. It's comforting to know that these thoughts bothered the author as he came closer to death, and even more so by the fact that he offers a resolution.

I think many people would enjoy and find meaning in this book. Being only ~90 pages long, I think it's worth anyone's time.