What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Death of Ivan Ilyich’

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Updated 09 March 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Death of Ivan Ilyich’

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  • In his final days, he confronts the hollowness of his achievements, leading to a searing epiphany: Only authenticity and empathy can grant peace in life’s closing act

Author: Leo Tolstoy

Russian literary giant Leo Tolstoy’s “The Death of Ivan Ilyich,” published in 1886, is a powerful story about facing death and the lies we tell ourselves to fit into society.

At under 100 pages, this timeless classic moves beyond its 19th-century roots to ask big, enduring questions: What makes life meaningful? What happens when we refuse to see the truth about ourselves?

Ivan Ilyich, a respected magistrate in Tsarist Russia, lives a life governed by propriety and ambition.

A minor injury, however, escalates into a terminal illness, shattering his carefully curated existence.

As pain consumes him, Ivan descends into isolation, abandoned by family and colleagues who prioritize decorum over compassion.

In his final days, he confronts the hollowness of his achievements, leading to a searing epiphany: Only authenticity and empathy can grant peace in life’s closing act.

Tolstoy’s genius lies in his psychological brutality. He unveils Ivan’s psyche, exposing denial, rage and fleeting grace with unflinching honesty.

The novella’s interrogation of what makes life meaningful stands out as a universal experience through time.

Equally compelling is Tolstoy’s critique of bourgeois values, framing social climbing as a cowardly distraction from life’s impermanence.

The book’s realism influenced writers such as Albert Camus and philosophers studying the human condition.

For modern readers, Ivan’s journey — from delusion to clarity — serves as both a cautionary tale and a call to live with intention.

 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘State of Ridicule’

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Updated 04 July 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘State of Ridicule’

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  • Sperrin begins by describing the Roman foundations and substructures of British satire, paying particularly close attention to the core Roman canon: Horace, Persius, and Juvenal

Author: Dan Sperrin

Satire is a funny, aggressive, and largely oppositional literature which is typically created by people who refuse to participate in a given regime’s perception of itself.

Although satire has always been a primary literature of state affairs, and although it has always been used to intervene in ongoing discussions about political theory and practice, there has been no attempt to examine this fascinating and unusual literature across the full chronological horizon.

In “State of Ridicule,” Dan Sperrin provides the first ever longue durée history of political satire in British literature. He traces satire’s many extended and discontinuous trajectories through time while also chronicling some of the most inflamed and challenging political contexts within which it has been written.

Sperrin begins by describing the Roman foundations and substructures of British satire, paying particularly close attention to the core Roman canon: Horace, Persius, and Juvenal. 

 


Book Review: ‘The Hidden Life of Trees’ by Peter Wohlleben

Book Review: ‘The Hidden Life of Trees’ by Peter Wohlleben
Updated 03 July 2025
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Book Review: ‘The Hidden Life of Trees’ by Peter Wohlleben

Book Review: ‘The Hidden Life of Trees’ by Peter Wohlleben

“The Hidden Life of Trees” is a controversial 2015 book by German author Peter Wohlleben, who argues that trees communicate with each other as well as feel.

Wohlleben presents the idea that forests are a living social network — claiming that trees have ties akin to families, which they care for and help grow in their own way.

According to the author, trees use underground fungal networks to share nutrients with other trees to help them recover from disease and thrive.

It is a contentious claim, supported in part by academics including from the University of Portsmouth, which has published research showing that mature plants help smaller plants thrive in harsh environmental conditions.

Another article from BBC Earth supports some of Wohlleben’s claims, describing how some trees can use their senses to “hear” predators through vibrations in the ground or “smell” other plants by detecting chemical indicators.

An additionally curious aspect of the book is its ideas about complex tree communication methods. It also talks about different factors that play a role in their growth, like fungi, insects and birds.

The author goes to great lengths, moreover, to push the idea that securing healthy forests through sustainable practices helps the wider environment flourish.

However, the book has come in for significant criticism, with Sharon Kingsland, writing in the Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, suggesting it is aimed at “lay” readers rather than forestry scientists, many of whom Wohlleben has “infuriated” by “eliciting an emotional response from readers through (the book’s) powers of suggestion.”

Kingsland says the author tends to anthropomorphize trees, whilst noting a 2017 petition launched by two German scientists calling on colleagues to criticize the book received over 4,500 signatures, calling it a “conglomeration of half-truths, biased judgements, and wishful thinking.”

Despite this, “The Hidden Life of Trees” is a great read for people who want to see nature in a new light, as it sets out a path to view trees not as inanimate commodities, but as ecosystems with needs which, if met, will have wider benefits for the planet.


What We Are Reading Today: Bad Company by Megan Greenwell

What We Are Reading Today: Bad Company by Megan Greenwell
Updated 03 July 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: Bad Company by Megan Greenwell

What We Are Reading Today: Bad Company by Megan Greenwell

Megan Greenwell’s “Bad Company” tells the hidden story of private equity through the experiences of four American workers who watched as private equity upended their employers.

Greenwell pulls back the curtain on shadowy multibillion dollar companies like Apollo Global Management, Bain Capital, and KKR, telling a larger story about how private equity is reshaping the economy, disrupting communities, and hollowing out the very idea of the American dream itself.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘What Do You Want Out of Life?’ by Valerie Tiberius

What We Are Reading Today: ‘What Do You Want  Out of Life?’ by Valerie Tiberius
Updated 02 July 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘What Do You Want Out of Life?’ by Valerie Tiberius

What We Are Reading Today: ‘What Do You Want  Out of Life?’ by Valerie Tiberius

What do you want out of life? To make a lot of money—or work for justice? To have children—or travel the world? The things we care about in life—family, friendship, leisure activities, work, our moral ideals—often conflict, preventing us from doing what matters most to us.

Even worse, we don’t always know what we really want, or how to define success. Blending personal stories, philosophy, and psychology, this insightful and entertaining book offers invaluable advice about living well by understanding your values and resolving the conflicts that frustrate their fulfillment.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Wildlife of the Eastern Caribbean’

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Wildlife of the Eastern Caribbean’
Updated 01 July 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Wildlife of the Eastern Caribbean’

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Wildlife of the Eastern Caribbean’

Authors: Steve Holliday and Gill Holliday

This is the first photographic field identification guide to Eastern Caribbean birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, land crabs, dragonflies, and butterflies.

Beautiful and easy-to-use, the guide covers 17 island groups stretching from the Virgin Islands south through the Lesser Antilles, from Anguilla to Grenada, where a unique range of flora and fauna evolved in relative isolation.

Around 30 percent of all the species included are endemic to the region. 

For each island group there is a list of endemic and “don’t miss” species.