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"Three days of frightful suffering and the death! Why, that might suddenly, at any time, happen to me," he thought, and for a moment felt terrified. But — he did not himself know how — the customary reflection at once occurred to him that this had happened to Ivan Ilych and not to him, and that it should not and could not happen to him, and that to think that it could would be yielding to depressing which he ought not to do, as Schwartz's expression plainly showed. After which reflection Peter Ivanovich felt reassured, and began to ask with interest about the details of Ivan Ilych's death, as though death was an accident natural to Ivan Ilych but certainly not to himself.

Oh, Petey. We can all identify with you. At least we should, especially after this spring's Big Read of “The Death of Ivan Ilych” by Leo Tolstoy. Perhaps the greatest memento mori of the modern period, the story reminds us that we too shall die, and so we must live fully.

This Sunday at 5:00 p.m. will mark the kick-off of the community reading program at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center. Great-great-grandson Vladimir Tolstoy will be an honored guest on hand.

“The story is a universal and timeless one that makes the reader think seriously about the meaning of life and how to live a more meaningful life, without giving us clear answers necessarily,” said Lynda Park, associate director of the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center at the University.

The story resonates today due to state of the world, she said. It makes you question the materialistic life many of us lead.