"The Death of Ivan Ilich": An Electronic Study Edition of the Russian Text

Reviewed by Jason Parks, Professor of English, Anderson University on 5/7/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This bilingual edition of 'The Death of Ivan Ilich" is very detailed. It includes the Russian version, an English translation, side-by-side Russian/English, and a fully glossed/annotated sections. The annotations are very good and especially helpful for students learning to read Russian literature. It will be helpful for beginners to advanced students. Even though the original print edition was from 1999, the author has included updated bibliographies and source material all the way up through 2019.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The English and Russian editions are complete and accurate. The introductory material is mostly drawn from scholarship prior to the year 2000, although the updated bibliography material includes articles up through 2019. Readers may want to consult newer introductions or the additional scholarship for more updated contextual/critical conversations.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This is a classic work of Russian literature that continues to be appreciated and taught in English and Russian literature departments around the world. It is accessible to students just beginning their literary studies and, yet, also has depth and complexity that make it relevant for graduate students to study. Finally, the Russian/English side-by-side editions are extremely helpful for students learning to read literature (with complex language and symbolism) in both languages. There are other English translations and there will likely be newer versions, but, these versions will remain an important part of the conversation.

Clarity rating: 5

The introductory material is easy to follow and is free from complex jargon. Undergraduate or graduate students can jump right in and start working through the introductory material or the actual text of the novel at any point.

Consistency rating: 5

Yes. The introductory material really helps set up the experience of reading and appreciate the original Russian and the English translation. I have a few years of Russian language study behind me but am not currently fluent. I was able to jump right in and read along with the side-by-side and annotations. I really appreciate how the author guides you toward understanding the critical context and literary value of the text prior to reading the translations.

Modularity rating: 5

This was my favorite part of the text. It was very easy to click through and read along with the annotations/translations. All of the drop-down menus worked well and the fonts/design were clean. I wasn't a big fan of the red text at first for the annotated version, but I quickly started appreciating it as I clicked through.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Everything was easy to locate and click through. There were links to each chapter division of the novel. The critical material was easy to find and scroll through. I had no issues at all.

Interface rating: 5

I mentioned earlier that I wasn't sure about the red text for the glossed/annotated portion, but I got used to it and REALLY like it now. There were no additional images or features besides the text.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Everything is well-edited and free of grammatical errors, as far as I could tell. My Russian to English skills are mid-level, so I cannot account for every translation. However, given that this edition was first published 20 years ago and has been consistently used and updated by the author, I feel comfortable giving this a 5/5. The author wasn't the original translator of the English version, but the explanations of the translations and the additional annotations show me that every line has been carefully considered and analyzed.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

There is no insensitivity to cultural differences. A major purpose of this book is to help unpack the cultural differences and original cultural context of the novel.

Comments

I've studied and taught Tolstoy's novel in my English classroom for years, but I've never taught the Russian edition. I've studies Russian on my own for over six years, but my Russian is still in-process. I was attracted to this edition because I think I could use it to refer back to original translations while teaching it to English speakers. I teach a lot of works in translation and I love to go back and see what a text looked like in the original language. The annotations will help me explore the original with English speaking students (and will save me time speculating on how the original might have read to the initial readers of the text). Additionally, I'm excited to continue reading through the entire glossed/annotated version to help me with my own Russian language study.