I have read this novel more than once, often to reflect on my mood in a state without looking at a plot of this size. And I embarked on that until I realized the truth of this decision, as the first 100 pages revolved only around the introduction of the characters. There are quite a number of characters, some of whom will gradually disappear with the pages. In addition, I felt bored in several places due to the side events and sometimes due to the length. Meanwhile, the "complex" names are the most obvious indication of the difficulty of this reading, as Pasternak presents the characters with one of their three names and then talks about them using another name or a famous name, which makes following the characters and the relationships that connect them a very complicated matter.

A diagrammatic illustration of the characters and the relationships that bring them together can be found here.

Despite all this, Pasternak's poetry and the themes that the novel deals with are the things that made me continue reading. And here we are talking especially about the triangle of love, war, and revolution. And the revolution, based on communist principles, is the main driving force of the events and is also the secret of the popularity of this work. The scathing criticism that the author leveled at this political ideology and the ideological struggle behind it sparked the civil war, and the subsequent social changes led to the disappearance of the individual and the suppression of his intellectual freedom, not to mention the bloody and vengeful nature on which this system was based. All these factors made the publication of the novel within the Soviet Union almost impossible. It is enough to say that the novel was first published only in an Italian translation (after it was smuggled out), and then it was used as a propaganda tool against the Soviet Union by the United States during the Cold War (as documented by American intelligence documents published in 2014), which also emphasizes its historical importance.

Of course, a novel that extends over more than seven hundred pages cannot be without other themes, the most prominent of which is the power of human emotions, especially the perseverance of love in the face of distance and the stormy upheavals that surround everything (and even if it is a love based on an immoral relationship, which casts a dark shadow on the best in this literary work). Also, Pasternak shed light on the consequences of the absence of the family and the impact of unity on the self. And a character like Zhivago, for example, embodies all this and more: he is a doctor, a poet, a thinker, a fugitive, a prisoner, a husband, a lover, a father, and also simply an orphaned child...

The novel as a whole shows the influence of Tolstoy and his masterpiece "War and Peace", and it deals with another specific period of Russian history but in a completely different time frame. In conclusion, the discussion about the most famous thing that Pasternak wrote could be long, but it will not add more than what has been said. And the experience of reading "The Life of Zhivago" is something that is worth the effort, but in appropriate circumstances.

Finished
11/08/2016

Before finally reading this novel, I had watched the 1965 movie adaptation starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie numerous times. By way of simple comparison, the movie splendidly captured the spontaneous passion of a brief love affair between physician/poet Yuri and his lover Lara. However, the book delved much deeper into the tumultuous factional warfare incidents between the First Russian Revolution (1905) and the Russian Civil War (1917 – 1922), and their harmful impact on everyday Russian life. As much as I adored the movie, I must admit that the novel was far more satisfying, if only for the astonishing power of the written word.

The novel is divided into two Parts. Part One mainly focuses on Yuri’s family life as a doctor in Moscow and the lives of those close to him, intertwining them with the fabric of the violent ideological strife and sudden social upheaval occurring in Russia. Highlights include schoolgirl Lara’s descent into debauchery under an immoral lawyer’s evil influence, the chance but unforgettable encounter between young Yuri and Lara, and Lara’s falling for a shy idealist, Pasha, whom she later marries. After a short reunion in the town of Meluzeyevo, Yuri and Lara get to know each other better but return home to their respective families. In the background looms the bloodshed resulting from the fall of the monarchy and the advent of the Civil War.

Part Two zeroes in on the spontaneous development of the love affair between Yuri and Lara in the Siberian towns of Varykino and Yuryatin, interrupted by Yuri’s being kidnapped by the Forest Brotherhood (a branch of the Red Faction) to serve as their camp doctor. In the background, the Civil War rages on. For fear of being arrested for being anti-revolutionary, the lovers decide to hide in a deserted house in Varykino. Despite their inner struggles with their respective loyalties to family, they are able to relish the most magical and memorable moments in the week-and-a-half in that unforgiving icy wilderness. Then they are compelled to accept the unscrupulous lawyer’s offer of a safe passage to Vladivostok, which means separation for life for them.

Throughout the novel, the author makes it abundantly clear through Yuri’s viewpoint his own stance on the falsehood and futility of slogan-driven abstract ideology as opposed to living life with passion and purpose. Even in Yuri’s all-consuming sentimental love for Lara, he never loses sight of the wholesomeness and beauty of being a part of the universe. This is the poetic essence of the novel.

I’m awarding the novel 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.

Why exactly should the author of this book be awarded the Nobel Prize for this novel?

Is it because the author has written against the Soviet Union and slandered the Jews, thus becoming worthy of receiving such an award? Although we are accustomed to political awards, but I really didn't expect that an 840-page novel, even by a Russian author, could be so baseless and ordinary.

A highly poetic work against the Soviet system

The author has tried to use every means to negatively present the Soviet revolution.

"What they envision as the perfect ideal turns into something cruel and inappropriate and reverts to its primitive state." This sentence from the last few sentences of this novel is an exact verification of this book, a novel that I thought had the perfect ideal, but it was lacking, and in my opinion, it was nothing more than a poetic work!

It is important to note that this text seems to have a certain ideological bias and may not present a comprehensive and objective view. We should view historical events and works from multiple perspectives and use critical thinking to analyze and evaluate them.

I definitely went into this book with all the wrong expectations.

I haven't seen the film, but what I've heard made me believe I'll be diving into a timeless romance with a whole lot of Russian history in the background.

However, Yuri and Lara's story is 25% of the book at most. In fact, Pasternak uses this novel to ponder history, communism, philosophy, and to offer his views and opinions, along with a healthy dose of social commentary.

I will definitely re-read this book at some point with the right mindset.

Basically, I'm pretty certain it wasn't the book's fault that I was underwhelmed. The prose didn't blow me away either, but I'm not sure my translation is a good one.

I've read and loved several books written by Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, and I thought I would end up loving this one as well. But about halfway through, I realised I just wanted to get it done and over with.

I couldn't connect with the characters and felt like they weren't developed enough. Essentially, the reader is being fast forwarded through Yuri's life, never staying in any place for longer than necessary.

Nevertheless, I recommend Doctor Zhivago to anyone interested in Russia and who doesn't mind that both characters and plot come secondary. It offers a unique perspective on Russian history and society, and despite my initial disappointment, I can see the value and depth that Pasternak has put into this work.

Perhaps on a second reading, with a better understanding of the author's intentions and a more open mind, I will be able to appreciate it more fully.

Perhaps my first literary experience, beyond school readings, occurred at age twelve. I was truly astonished that one book could encompass so much of human life, including aspects of sexual life. I was so naïve about the modernist sexual encounters vividly described by authors like Updike and Joyce over the 20th century.

I began to learn Russian partly due to this initial reading. When I delved into Tolstoy in my Freshman Russian class, I felt a sense of betrayal as a significant portion of War and Peace was in French. Later on, I immersed myself in numerous Chekhov stories, as well as works by Pasternak, Voznesensky, Yevtushenko, Brodsky, Dostoevsky's letters, perhaps five chapters of Pushkin's Evgeny Onegin, Griboyedev, most of Anna Karenina, Russian travels in Italy, some Solzhenitsyn, and many academic introductions in Russian. [These introductions were somewhat easier as many Russian abstractions are derived from French, just like in our language. For example, the French word for abstraction, "abstraction," and the Russian word, абстракция. Or analytic, "analytique," аналитический. The French "tique" becomes Russian, "teechesky."]

My Russian language skills were enhanced by living in close proximity to Boston Symphony violinists from Russia and by attempting to communicate with Russians I encountered on Amtrak and at my own college. This included a woman PhD in physics who immigrated here in the 1990s. The Concertmaster of the Boston Pops in the 1970s, Manny Borok, had an interesting background, being originally Latvian, then Moscovite, and later Israeli before coming to the US. His wife, Zina Borok, who is still my Russian tutor once a year, played the violin in the Bolshoi Theatre. Sadly, despite Zina's kind tutoring and her generous gifts of great Russian books, like an edition of Chekhov (she affectionately called me a "Chekhovyet" because I taught several of his plays and short stories), my Russian has declined over the years.

When the Germanist Chairman interviewed me for a professorship of Comparative Literature at U Cal Berkeley, he inquired as to why I had chosen to study Russian instead of German. I replied, Pushkin and Gorky. Gorky's hilarious novel, Dead Souls, has the worst title. It's not at all funny. However, the novel uncovers tax scams and much more.

The dry evening was like a charcoal sketch, its simplicity belied by the complexity that lay beneath. Then the sun, setting behind the houses, poked a finger round the corner and picked out everything red in the street—the red tops of the dragoons’ caps, a red flag trailing on the ground and the red specks and threads of blood on the snow. This vivid description sets the stage for a story that is both profound and difficult to fully grasp.

This is a difficult book. It’s easy to get lost in the density of the story, and I almost didn’t find my way through the middle of it. No matter how slowly or thoughtfully I read, I could tell I was only scratching the surface. However, I look forward to many re-reads, perhaps after learning a bit more history. The story follows a poet who is irresistibly drawn to dream, think, work out new forms, and create beauty. But he lives in a time and place where such a luxury does not exist.

The war is complex, and what they are fighting for is confusing. Many people seem lost, unsure of who to trust and looking for something to believe in. Yuri finds that in Lara. Their love story is not at all what you’d expect. It is something quite unique. Amidst the clashing sides of the White Army and the Red Army, the gentry and the peasants, personal life and the State, and the physical and the metaphysical, Dr. Zhivago embodies both. His tale is tragic, but around every tragic turn, he uncovers something that provides comfort and hope—poetry.

“Grief had sharpened Yury’s vision and quickened his perception a hundredfold. The very air surrounding him seemed unique. The evening breathed compassion like a friendly witness of all that had befallen him. As if there had never been such a dusk before and evening were falling now for the first time in order to console him in his loneliness and bereavement. As if the valley were not always girded by woods growing on the surrounding hills and facing away from the horizon, but the trees had only taken up their places now, rising out of the ground on purpose to offer their condolences.”

As a lover of Russian literature, this novel had been on my reading list for a long time. I was excited and eager to read it, knowing that it would surely have a plethora of fantastic characters with multiple million names for a single character, as is the norm in Russian literature. There would also be a lot of descriptions, and it would start with an introduction of the characters, so maybe it would be better than when the events begin, especially since it's not a short novel.

However, with all this knowledge, I couldn't help but feel disappointed in the first 100 pages. It wasn't because of the large number of characters or the ones I had been waiting for who appeared at the beginning and then disappeared. It was that all the events being described were boring. There was nothing that could attract me, and at the end of the second chapter, Yuri Zhivago reappeared, and we focused again on Lara. But after I thought about putting it down, I told myself to give the novel another chance for the next chapter.

After that, my view of the novel changed, and I began to be attracted to it. I had a good time reading it, although I was still not interested in the characters, but the reading experience was good. But then, the state of boredom returned. There were a lot of political and historical details that I didn't know and that were presented in a way that was boring to me and didn't arouse my interest in any way. But since I was close to the text of the novel, it was difficult for me to put it down.

I felt at one point a sense of fairness in the phrase of the Bashnya student who said, "Why is this Russian here? I changed because of you."

Leo Tolstoy meets Milan Kundera.

This comes to my mind for this literary masterpiece. One of the most beautiful Russian classics that you can read. Complicated and at the same time simple, in fact, whatever you want this book can be. I approached it with the most elementary curiosity and in the end I felt enriched, entertained and learned. One of the highest goals of books in my opinion.

It is read extremely easily and quickly after the difficult first 50 - 60 pages, in which a very large number of heroes are introduced. I don't understand why they define it as difficult.

This is an extremely difficult book to review. It is truly unlike anything I have ever read before.

First of all, it was originally written in Russian. Although the translation was of good quality, one can still sense that often the full essence and nuance might be lost.

Secondly, did you know that during the early to mid-1900s, the average person in Russia had a minimum of five names? This fact creates a great deal of confusion for the reader.

Moreover, even though the story revolves around the Russian Revolution, it fails to explain the extremely complicated Revolution and the subsequent civil wars. The novel assumes that the reader already knows all these details, as if one were actually there. I can truthfully say that I now know less about the Revolution than I did before starting this novel – it's that confusing.

So, why have I given this novel five stars, especially when I almost never give 5 stars? Well, this novel is the real deal. It is challenging to read, but it is truly authentic. Pasternak was not only a poet but also a philosopher. He lifts the sheet to reveal the truth, he has the courage to address the elephant in the room. This man delved deep into his soul to write this novel. It was a true labor of love, a uniquely genuine examination of God, the meaning of our lives, and the roles we play in society, government, religion, marriage, and more.

I have dog-eared at least 20 pages. I read and re-read a stunning passage describing Jesus Christ at least 7 times. I'm not sure I'll ever forget a conversation that takes place between a Christian man and a Jewish man (who is hiding his identity during the war). It is one of the most meaningful fictional exchanges I've ever had the pleasure to read.

This was a huge novel in its time.

The average person will probably never pick up this novel to read. Even fewer readers will have the perseverance to see it through to the end. I can't say exactly who could, should, or would, but it is a powerful and potentially life-altering read.

Masterpiece!!!

A masterpiece from many perspectives. This work has two aspects, the love story, but mainly the history and the political situation, written in an artistic way. A very strong personality and Pasternak himself.

A very beautiful story, with loves, with dramas, a classic example of Russian literature, stands worthy beside the great works of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. The most important thing for me is that it perhaps describes the worst period of Russia, about which we know absolutely nothing. The darkest pages of the history of Russia were written with the Red Revolution. A bloody civil war that cost the people over 70 years of a bad situation. The rule of the Red Army brought persecutions in the gulags, unjust murders, hunger, lack of food (something like Venezuela on a much larger scale), looting of entire countries, impoverishment of the population, confiscation of property. As for the economy, nationalizations and the restriction to zero point of commercial transactions led to the black market.

The second leg that the author touches on is the political methods of persecuting the opponents of the regime, which he himself experienced and almost paid with his life. In 1958, Pasternak, having written this masterpiece, managed to publish it in Italy, despite all the pressures of the party on the publisher. It caused the admiration of the whole world, but also the hatred towards him, of the fascist regime. The revenues from his rights abroad were confiscated, he was called many times to apologize and finally he and his family were marginalized. Two years later he died of cancer. In the next 30 years, there were terrible attempts to open the files related to his activity as a great danger to the Soviet Union. Finally, his answers were published in France by the publishing house Galimard.

The life of Pasternak is a unique case of resistance to the Soviet system. His death was the beginning of the questioning and finally the overthrow of the regime in the eyes of the world. The fact that many of his archives were opened before the fall of communism means a lot for the popular acceptance that this very important person gained, something similar to Thomas Mann, whose books the Nazis did not burn, although he was one of their greatest enemies.

Returning to the novel, it is very pleasant to read, Pasternak's writing is very beautiful, almost as enjoyable as that of Dostoyevsky. What gave me a positive impression are the philosophical implications in the dialogues of the protagonists that reminded me of the Platonic ones. A book of life for himself, a book that has everything.

This book truly was a letdown for me. It was such a disappointment that a few of my friends had to endure my rants when I was approximately halfway through. My sincere apologies to them. Here are my main gripes:

In the initial half of the book, Pasternak seems to have written about incidents as they came to his mind rather than in a linear sequence. As a result, it jumps around in time. This would have been completely acceptable if he had provided you with a reference point for the year or the age of the characters! I still have no clue how old Yury and Lara were in relation to each other. I have no idea when certain events were taking place. I lacked the context for what on earth was happening!

Idioms! There are idioms everywhere! I have never witnessed so many idioms in my entire life, let alone in a single book! I can't even begin to describe how many times I wanted to toss the book just because of this. It was incredibly frustrating. I even attempted switching translations, thinking it was the translator's fault. But no, I encountered "at daggers drawn" for the fourth or fifth time in that one.

The book informed you of what was happening, but it never gave me the connective tissue that would have made me truly care about Yury. I was a bored observer of a revolution and civil war. How is that even possible?

The second half of the book did eventually settle into just Yury's point of view (third person) and finally had a linear timeline, so it was an improvement and the book became a bit more interesting. However, there were other oddities. Lara was supposed to be a very calm woman, but she would go into these long-winded semi-hysterical speeches that made her seem anything but. It did show the extraordinary stress they were under, but it didn't make her appear calm.

This book was one that I had wanted to read for a very long time and it was the one from my Classics Challenge that I was the most excited about. I understand that many people consider it to be a wonderful book, but for me it was extremely disappointing. I was at daggers drawn with the book for pretty much the entire duration.

One thing that I did find interesting (and completely irrelevant) was that the civil war was between the Reds and the Whites. This reminded me of the Wars of the Roses where the red and white roses symbolized the Houses of Lancaster and York. I wonder why both involved red and white?

I have a complex attitude towards this novel. On one hand, I greatly respect it. On the other hand, I did not really enjoy reading it. The story progresses at a breakneck pace, with too many events happening to too many characters in a short span of time. As a result, the underlying themes are not fully developed or fleshed out.

However, the novel's significance lies in its juxtaposition of the humanistic value in the characters' personal history against the darker collective history. The imperfect yet genuine and lasting love between Yury and Lara, despite their marriages to others, is set against the backdrop of class conflict, political change, revolution, and war.

The novel follows the lives of Yury and Lara from their tragic childhoods to their unexceptional ends. They are connected by their emotions, experiences, and the actions of those who have played crucial roles in their lives. Although the story may not succeed in bridging the gap between the commonplace and the lofty as Pasternak intended, it does effectively depict the ruinous consequences of war.

The memorable quotes in the novel also add depth and meaning. For example, "People must be drawn to good by goodness" and "I thought, what is there in the whole world worth more than a peaceful family life and work?" These quotes reflect the novel's exploration of human values and the search for meaning in a chaotic world.