Doctor Zhivago (Everyman's Library Classics) [Import] [Hardcover]

Boris Pasternak (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 26, 1991 | Series: Everyman's Library Classics

Doctor Zhivago is the epic novel of Russia in the throes of revolution and one of the greatest love stories ever told. Yuri Zhivago, physician and poet, wrestles with the new order and confronts the changes cruel experience has made in him and the anguish of being torn between the love of two women.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The previous English-language translation of Boris Pasternak’s "Doctor Zhivago" was made and brought out in England and the U.S. in extreme haste, on the eve of the 1958 Nobel Prize award to its author that triggered one of the fiercest political storms of the Cold War era. This new translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky is for the first time based on the authentic original text, reflects the present, deeper level of understanding of the great masterpiece of 20th century Russian literature and conveys its whole artistic richness with all its complexities and subtleties that had escaped the attention of the earlier translators and readers.
"In faithfulness to the original, attention to stylistic details and nuances, lucidity, and brilliance it matches Pevear and Volokhonsky’s superb translations of such monumental works of the classics of Russian literature as Tolstoy’s "War and Peace" and Dostoevsky’s "The Brothers Karamazov." The new edition

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Everyman's Library (September 26, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857150414
• ISBN-13: 978-1857150414
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1.4 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,624,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pasternak v. Reader, Round II, April 16, 2008

By 

DCArchitect (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dr. Zhivago (Mass Market Paperback)

My first reading of Dr. Zhivago was in high school. At 15, the book was a chore. Impenetrable and numerous Russian names (often for the same character) and endless description of the Russian landscape left me exhausted and unimpressed. After rereading and enjoying a few other high school assignments, I came across Dr. Zhivago on my bookshelf and wondered if I would find more appreciation for Mr. Pasternak's novel ten years later.

Yes, I did. And no, I didn't.

I found that this time around I had something more of a connection with the characters. I better understood the way that life can pull a person in strange directions and drop them into unexpected and unwanted situations. I understood that sometimes people are swept into and out of the place they want to be - and why they stay where things are bad and leave where things are good. I certainly had a far greater appreciation for Pasternak's obviously loving descriptions of his homeland.

That said, the things that drove my dislike of Dr. Zhivago the first time were still still there. The sprawling story and unending task of keeping all the characters straight were still a detraction. I don't know if the problem with character names springs from the fact that, being Russian names, they are unfamiliar to my mind or if Pasternak simply failed to rein in his cast of thousands. Unresolved plot lines rarely bother me but, when combined with extensive background on what ending up being minor characters, Dr. Zhivago felt a bit as if Pasternak let the narrative get away from him. Maybe that was the point. Sometimes life just gets away from you. After all, he's the one with a Nobel Prize. Who am I to criticize?

While I actually <u>liked the novel this time, I feel as if I should have liked Dr. Zhivago more than I did. Maybe it's that I can't escape my first impression.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great book ...small print, June 22, 2010

By 

Mildred Scuzzese "millie" (wind gap pa) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Doctor Zhivago (Everyman's Library Classics) (Hardcover)

This is a great read! Too bad, the print was so small I had to use a magnifier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

0 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Movie really helps, February 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Dr. Zhivago (Mass Market Paperback)

Great book, but if you really want to understand the plot, watch one of the (2 video) movies!!!