Doctor Zhivago in Between the Lines

Jun 22, 2009 Chloe rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: russia, classics, fiction, 1001-list

I don't know why, but I always find it difficult to properly review a Russian novel. I find myself unable to decide upon whether to focus on the novel itself and the events therein or that novel's place within the bigger picture of Russian Literature. Normally I'd just take each book on a judge-as-you-go basis, but there's something intrinsic to Russian Lit that almost begs the reader to compare it to what has come before. It certainly doesn't help matters that most of these books refer to one a I don't know why, but I always find it difficult to properly review a Russian novel. I find myself unable to decide upon whether to focus on the novel itself and the events therein or that novel's place within the bigger picture of Russian Literature. Normally I'd just take each book on a judge-as-you-go basis, but there's something intrinsic to Russian Lit that almost begs the reader to compare it to what has come before. It certainly doesn't help matters that most of these books refer to one another, critique the ideas therein and build upon them. Reading some Russian books is like diving into an ongoing, centuries-long, debate about Russian identity, history and culture.

Pasternak, more ably than some I've read lately, does a magnificent job of framing the events of Dr. Zhivago within the context of the larger historic picture laid out by Tolstoy. Charting not only the events leading up to the October Revolution of 1917 but the ideas that inspired these events, the reader gets a great idea of the turmoil engulfing the nation in the wake of the overthrow of the Tsars. While some readers are liable to be bored by the sections detailing the debates between the disparate political philosophies struggling to win out in the post-tsarist power vacuum, I was absolutely in love. Not only were people discussing the actual implimentation of some of my favorite philosopher's theories (theories normally discounted as utopian idealism by jaded contemporaries), but it was refreshing to see these ideas in a context outside of the dry scholarly texts in which they originally appeared. I also appreciated these aspects of the story because they helped show that the Soviet Union did not spring fully formed from the mind of any one person but, rather, was the result of a long and bloody civil war between not only the Reds (communists) and Whites (Cossacks) but the Greens (Anarchists) and Browns (???) as well. A war of ideas for the future of a nation.

Many potential readers may be scared off by the above paragraph, but rest assured, this book is not all pontificating and prevaricating. Pasternak, in true Tolstoyan form, introduces us to Yurii Zhivago- doctor, poet, pawn of history. We follow Zhivago as he grows up, becomes a doctor, gets married, joins the army to fight against Austria and Germany, gets swept up first in the Revolution and then in the civil war as doctor to a ragged band of partisans hiding in the forests. He never chooses these roads for himself but is instead buffeted about like debris in a gale, always striving to return to his wife and children but somehow always ending up in the arms of a compassionate nurse instead. We see him starve and freeze and cram like cattle into a box car and are given a glimpse of the very real consequences of uprooting the entire underlying structure of a nation.

While, overall, it's an enjoyable read, this would not be one that I would recommend to someone just beginning to dip into the huge well of Russian Lit. Better to start off with Uncle Fyodr or Leo, get your feet wet, so to speak, then try out Pasternak. ...more

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May 08, 2023 Renata rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Just finished the audiobook in Russian and what can I say? The narration was excellent. But the book was a bit of a surprise. I was only familiar with Zhivago based on the movie with Omar Sharif and Julie Christie (which was great), so was really puzzled why it would be banned in the Soviet Union. Now I get it! Sure it’s a love story (or three) but the “meat” of the book is social and political commentary on the upheaval and hardship the Russian people went through in the early part of the 20th ...more

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Mar 12, 2008 Mister Jones rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: yawn-books-i-could-not-finish

I first read this book 3 years ago; read 2/3rds and for some reason stopped there. This time I read the first third of the book, and found myself questioning why in the hell I was reading such a remote partially interesting book; the characters with their various, constantly changing Russian names popping up randomly throughout the book; the unrealistic dialogue; the lack of emphasis on the events to where the whole book becomes a homogeneous mess; all contributed to a laborious read. That's the ...more

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