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Doctor Zhivago

Boris Pasternak,

John Bayley (Introduction),

Max Hayward (Translator),

Manya Harari (Translator)

Start date: April 25, 2017

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Doctor Zhivago

* Doctor Z - Week Six - The Rowan Tree/Opposite the House of Sculptures
By Dianne · 10 posts · 23 views

last updated Jul 19, 2017 05:32PM

* Doctor Z - Week Five - Varykino, The Highway, The Forest Brotherhood
By Dianne · 6 posts · 22 views

last updated Jun 26, 2017 05:42PM

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What Members Thought

Jun 23, 2017 Andrea rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-sorted, list-1001-books, literature-russian, fiction-general, 2017-chunkster

"Мы, дети страшных лет России."

A book as epic in scale and psychology as any written by the 19th century masters. The only reason why I'd give Doctor Z. four stars and not five, is because I can't fully sympathize with the main character. From what I understand, Pasternak heavily based his titular hero on himself, and knowing the author's own rather bohemian relationships with women, there are quite a few parallels.

The love stories in this book are very untraditional - almost dual in nature. Th ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Oct 13, 2016 Nicola rated it it was ok

Shelves: 1001-books

2 1/2 stars

Another epic, I seem to have read a few of these recently. This one is set far away in time and space from the medieval lands of England or the banditti infested mountains of Italy, here we are in Russia at the start of the 20th century. Mother Russia is in early convulsions before delivering the new baby state (those lucky, lucky Russians!) and we are in for a few rough years before settling into a life of peace and plenty for all.

And if you believe that then I've got a bridge to sel ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Dec 29, 2012 Nina rated it liked it

Shelves: chunksters

This is a classic example of "I don't know what I expected but it wasn't this."

The only thing I knew about this novel beforehand was that it was about the forbidden love between Dr Zhivago and Lara, but the novel is not so much about them as it is about the Russian Revolution, the subsequent civil war and how war tears human lives apart. The love story between the doctor and Lara IS there, but not to a very great extent. For most of the novel they are apart and barely know each other - at least This is a classic example of "I don't know what I expected but it wasn't this."

The only thing I knew about this novel beforehand was that it was about the forbidden love between Dr Zhivago and Lara, but the novel is not so much about them as it is about the Russian Revolution, the subsequent civil war and how war tears human lives apart. The love story between the doctor and Lara IS there, but not to a very great extent. For most of the novel they are apart and barely know each other - at least not intimitely.

As I see it, this is more a story about the profound effect the Russian Revolution had on Russia and her people - how families were torn apart, the terrors of war, the increasing totalitarianism of the bolsheviks, the hunger, the destruction, and the impossibility of continuing to live life as you knew it. Dr Zhivago is a sensitive soul, fond of nature and poetry and he loves with all his heart and soul, yet a great part of his life was spent fighting in and surviving a war.

I'm not sure I ever really got under his skin. I don't feel as if I know him. Lara, on the other hand, leaps from the page almost immediately. She is great and fascinating, and Tonya is a sweet, sweet girl.

Pasternak certainly knew how to craft a sentence - the writing is very beautiful and poetic - and it made for a very pleasant reading experience. So pleasant, in fact, that I have almost forgot how much actually happens in this book, because the easy, poetic flow of the words, the rhythm of the book if you will, sometimes stand stronger than the action (if that makes sense). The feel of the book is nice and pleasant, the subject matter and the action is certainly not. Plenty of murder, hunger and cruelty in here, hidden beneath Pasternak's beautiful writing.

A few quibbles though: It could have been a bit shorter for my taste. LOTS of descriptions of nature - woods, winter storms etc. - and though I am very fond of those, I feel I was over-exposed to them here. And some characters were introduced with lots of background info, only for those characters to disappear from the storyline shortly after. Sometimes new characters were introduced because they turned out to be the mother/father of someone we would meet later on. At one point, I stopped paying attention when new characters were introduced, because I half expected them to be there for a couple of short chapters only and then disappear. Which detracted from my enjoyment a bit.

It's still a great book, though, and it won't let go of me that easily - it's still lurking in the shadows of my mind, almost forgotten scenes pop into my head, visuals won't go away... Maybe I'll mull it over a bit more before I fall asleep and I'll have more to say tomorrow. For now, goodnight all:)

_________
Note: The 3 stars are actually 3.5, only you can't tell because of the impossibility of giving half stars here at GR. ...more

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Aug 28, 2013 Lisa rated it liked it

Shelves: classics, russian, mishmash-lisa, guardian-1000

I watched this movie 10 years ago at the urging of my mother, my grandmother and my best friend. I felt like I was missing something. Lara was not beautiful or strong. Conflict and poverty appeared glamorous. Strelnikov was camp. And Yury Zhivago, hero of the piece, was a narcissistic, cowardly philanderer. I was deeply disappointed, but resolved to read the book; thinking I was missing the point or that the beauty of this tale had been lost in translation into film.

The book was much better. Pas ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jul 13, 2017 Jen rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: no-pain-no-gain, classics

I'm always glad to read a classic, because I feel more conversant about the major themes, and I'm always a bit wary of big Russian tomes. This was no different. My expectations about what the story was actually about were totally shattered, and it was a difficult read. I skimmed a lot of the long descriptions of the Russian countryside, and had to struggle mightily to unravel the warring factions. I also got hung up a lot on the names, but the internet assisted in providing handy cheat sheets. I ...more

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Jan 21, 2017 Alana rated it it was ok

Shelves: foreign-culture, political, books-to-film, historical-fiction, classics, boxall-s-1001-books

Meh. Honestly, I like most Russian literature, despite the seven names for each character (and the sheer NUMBER) of characters in each story), but this one just didn't engage me. I didn't care about the characters, Zhivago was sympathetic until he refused to go back to his family, then started yet ANOTHER family, then again left them (albeit with some financial assistance at least) and then the ending is just pathetic and blah. I get that it's really more about the Russian Revolution, but I just ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 26, 2017 Peg Gjertsen rated it it was ok

I am sure it was good for me to read this novel but it was a chore. While I enjoyed Tolstoy's side trips into his philosophy I did not feel the say about Pasternak's. The lasting impression for me is that for the generation of Russians who lived through all the revolutions and wars from 1905 to sometime in the 1920's had every right to be insane. Poor Dr. Z died before he was 50 but seemed to have lived through many lifetimes of misery. ...more

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Feb 22, 2022 Lisa rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-books

Glad I read it but oh my what a slog it could be and ridiculous coincidences abound!
(Started audiobook 22.02.22 to remind me when restarting midway through.)

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