From the Bookshelf of Constant Reader…

Doctor Zhivago

Boris Pasternak,

John Bayley (Introduction),

Max Hayward (Translator),

Manya Harari (Translator)

Start date: March 1, 2011

Finish date: April 1, 2011

Discussion: Classics Corner

Discussion leader: Barbara

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What Members Thought

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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Nov 06, 2008 Laura rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction-20th-century, historical-fiction, russian-fiction, hf-asia, book-and-movie

This is a novel by Boris Pasternak, first published in 1957 in Italy. The novel is named after its protagonist, Yuri Zhivago, a physician and poet, and takes place between the Russian Revolution of 1905 and World War II.

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Mar 10, 2014 Geoffrey rated it liked it

Shelves: romance-suspense, classics

Readers, prepare yourself for a sweeping romance and a political, cultural, and social epic in Boris Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago. Primarily, the story follows the lives of Yurii Andreievich (Dr. Zhivago) and Larisa Feodorovna (Lara) through the turmoil of Revolutionary Russian. At times the narrative is lyrical, even poetic, and at other times it is extremely tedious. The latter parts come when the author introduces very minor characters as a means to present the backdrop for the social, politica ...more

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Apr 15, 2008 Cathy rated it really liked it

Shelves: rereading

This is a stately novel. The poetic writing, the characters and the imagery are masterly. It was also a slower (i.e. harder) read than I anticipated. If I didn't have the encouragement of book club I probably would not have finished. Another GR member remarked that "Tonya . . . represented the old Russia. Lara was the transitional Russia and his last wife was the Russia after the revolution." Which I think is a brillant analogy and helps organize the book and themes for me. We're still discussin ...more

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