64 of 65 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A historic and poetic love epic, April 1, 2006
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak is quite remarkably a poet's novel: the writer was a poet, and hence each page is full of beautiful imagery, metaphors and word play. The protagonist is a poet, the novel revolves around his love and life in the first half of twentieth century Russia. The reader, by association, has to be a poet to really relish the saga.
It is one of those novels from last century that everyone must read. The ghosts of socialism and Marxism, the excesses that occured in name of revolution, the transformation of the largest country of the world from ceturies old system into a failed ideal: the novel has enough historical significance. Last century was guided, molded, scarred, decorated and defined by the events and ideas that crop up as part of Doctor Zhivago's life. The literary underpinnings are gigantic: a love story with the Russian Revolution as background score: a Nobel was the least he could have got.
Besides the historical perspective, the story itself is a delightful one. The homely Tonya, Dr Zhivago's wife and first love and mother of his children, the sensuous Lara who weaves into and out of Yuri (Dr Zhivago's) life, her husband Pasha Antipov, who at every junction of his life must fight against ghosts and demons of his wife's past and present and in attempt outclass himself, the Uncle Koyla, the intellectual: the list is unending. Characters are crafted from all sections of society, making this novel a representation of whole society at that time. Like Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, the novel provides four or five chief characters, who are immense in their own potrayal, parting with their thoughts, ideas, ideals and philosophies, and possessing unique well-defined characteristics, the novel has another string of about twenty characters who are unforgettable for whatever roles they are assigned.
The harshness of winter, the beauty of forests and fields, the man divided in his love for wife Tonya and lover Lara, the poet in exile, the idealists seeking to change the world, Russian history and customs: such ideas find Pasternak displaying hs poetic prowess. Many passages in the book are sheer poetry, and I am amazed at seeing how powerful they are in translated language: I wish I knew Russian to find out how delightful the original must have been.
It is a long novel, with graphic pleasant and unpleasant sequences and a writing style where its apparent that either because it is a translation or ther writer was a poet attempting prose, the writing is not a easy read. Requires lot of time and effort and most people prefer the movie that was made in 1965 or so. I think reading Doctor Zhivago is an experience in itself, and in this post cold war era, it contains the perspective and historical lessons that we all must know and understand.
An excerpt that presents a preview of all the things this novel incorporates into the love saga of Yuri, where his heart is in strife in his love for two women as is it in strife witnesses changes that challenge every aspect of his being and thinking:
"Even more than what they had in common, they were united by what separated them from the rest of the world. They were both repelled by what was tragically typical of the modern man, his shrill textbook admirations, his forced enthusiam, and the deadly stillness coldly preached and practiced by the countless workers in the field of art and science in order that the genius must remain extremely rare.
They loved each other greatly. Most people experience love, without noticing there is anything remarkable about it.
To them- and this made them unusual- the moments when passion visited their doomed human existence like a breath of timelessnesses were moments of revelation, of ever greater understanding of life and of themselves."
Loved it. Highly recommended.
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57 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The flaws are much of what makes it so great., January 5, 2007
I read Zhivago for the first time in high school. I loved it, but didn't pick it up again for 20 years. I was surprised to find it rough going at the beginning. When I had first read the book, it had been precisely the first 100 or so pages that had enchanted me and pulled me into the novel. This time around, it was the complex and often frustrating last half of the book that really moved me. I guess this is a measure of how the book grows with the reader.
Doctor Zhivago is a complicated book that seems to me largely about how people get involved with circumstances (politics, love affairs) that do not interest them, simply because life leaves them vulnerable. That makes for a strange reading experience, because it is not a message that wraps itself up neatly. The texture of the novel is in part about ends-- loose ends, dead ends, character cul-de-sacs. A more experienced author wouldn't have tried to work this theme out in prose using the same methods that Pasternak employed. The book rolls from melodrama to nearly documentary realism. He uses diary form, letters, even poetry to complete the work. I guess it was his lack of experience that allowed him to (very nearly) achieve the impossible. The feeling of the book is an awful lot like life.
There are certainly more polished and perfect novels and novelists out there. Doctor Zhivago would not have profited from their example. As the title of this review says, Zhivago is great precisely because it isn't perfect. It is a great sprawling messy wonderful world of a book.
Recommended for readers of all ages.
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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Difficult, but a worthy read, February 23, 2003
The events of the novel revolve around a doctor and poet by the name of Yurii Andreievich Zhivago whom we first meet at a crucial point in his life. From the day of his mother's funeral to the day of his own, we follow Zhivago on his travels throughout Russia. He travels to the warfront, flees to Siberia, and is drafted into the Red Army before making his way back to Moscow. Over the course of these two decades, Zhivago repeatedly encounters a beautiful woman who essence fills his thoughts and heart. He is loyal to his wife Tonia and his little son Sasha, but he cannot help falling in love with the lovely Larisa Feodorovna Antipov, who is also already married to a famous war general. It is these chance encounters that allow the plot to progress and lead to their eventual love affair.
Even with such a complex plot, "Doctor Zhivago" remains a primarily character-based novel, as can be seen from the vast number of names and people we become familiar with throughout the story. Even the minor characters become dear to us, once we have figured out who they actually are and how they are connected to the main story. It is a challenging process to sort through the long list of characters, who may have any number of pseudonyms or nicknames along with their original Russian forenames. It is rewarding to recognize that Pavel Pavlovich, Pasha, Antipov, and Strelnikov are, in fact, the same person. We are also given several glimpses into the views and opinions of minor characters. Each person we meet along the way has a detailed history and a certain point of view to establish. Even if a character is only remotely connected to the main plot, Pasternak educates us on his family history and his role in the revolution.
The detail the author includes in the story extends to the scenery and land of Russia itself. With lengthy and occasionally tedious descriptions, Pasternak implores us to imagine the rough and beautiful wilderness of his home land and notes the striking contrast of the destruction caused by the war. He adds to his descriptions by making religious and philosophical allusions. These views alone are interesting but in the context of a greater story that should be told without interruption, they often slow down the more stirring moments in the plot. Some of these images, however, do create a startling picture of the devastation that swept Russia, such as the scenery at the warfront and during the uprising. Others, though educational, disrupt the plot to a greater extent.
With the combination of all these elements, "Doctor Zhivago" tells a compelling story while simultaneously describing the events of the early 1900's that shaped history. But unfortunately, I did not gain as much from reading this novel as many reviewers have expressed. I enjoyed the moments when the plot neatly coincided with Pasternak's poetic descriptions of the countryside or his unnerving depictions of the revolution, but these were too sparse throughout the novel for it to be engaging. The main plot was interrupted too often by philosophic commentary from either the author or one of the characters. It often took a great effort to get through monotonous passages and descriptions that did not contribute effectively to the plot or scenery of the novel. Many have expressed their frustration at the number of long, complex names Pasternak uses to refer to each of his characters, and I would agree that this they are difficult to keep straight. But once I finally understood the names, it was rewarding to get to know the minor characters and learn of their experiences during the revolution. But despite these disappointments in the writing and the excessive commentary on the story, I enjoyed reading the novel's depiction of life during such decisive times in Russia's history. The setting and the characters were equally important in telling the story of Yurii and Lara. Though not a masterpiece in my opinion, it was certainly an interesting novel that was worth the slow read in the end. I must recommend this novel to all those who are interested in a deeply illustrated account of Russian history and an exploration of the themes inherent in that era.
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