Vidui

"Fiction. Jewish Studies. A version of Tolstoy's Death of Ivan Ilyich, except that it is contemporary, Jewish, and (therefore?) often funny. Tolstoy wasn't much given to humor, though it's a vital part of our visions of ourselves. "Vidui" is a Hebrew prayer to be recited when death is imminent, often translated as "confession," but with the word meaning what it did for St. Augustine--a reckoning, a summing-up."--Back cover.