Six top books that deal with death

Erica Jong's new novel is Fear of Dying.

For The Week magazine she tagged six of her favorite books that deal with death, including:

The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy

My favorite short novel by Tolstoy certainly informed my writing about the heroine's dying parents in Fear of Dying. We fail to understand dying people, talk to them dumbly, and cannot help them die. When you read Tolstoy, you want to turn in your quill.

Read about the other entries on the list.

The Death of Ivan Ilyich is one of Jerome Groopman's five best books about doctors and patients.

--Marshal Zeringue