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I noticed that as well Larry Send a noteboard - 15/03/2010 09:42:04 PM
Zhivago (Pasternak) is in love with Russia. He falls in love with the Russia he knows from childhood (Tonya) and thinks he would be happy with her, perhaps even in a Platonic mystical marriage. However, that safe, comfortable attachment is not enough for him, as he starts to notice the Revolution that is about to break (Lara). He feels an uncontrollable attraction to the Revolution and throws himself into it with reckless abandon, sacrificing his family, his home and nearly his life, before coming to the realization that he cannot stay in the moment of the Revolution and that he has lost everything (both Tonya and Lara). The dehumanizing experience of Soviet Russia (the partisans slowly coming to resemble animals in their winter quarters) breaks him, but he still loves his homeland, despite the fact that the grey, lacklustre Russia that remains is now almost his enemy, humiliating him and making him suffer all manner of indignities (Marina, his third woman).


When I have time after my dinner, I plan on writing a roughly 1000 word essay on the book for both here and the OF Blog (I'm doing a review project there and this is the perfect book to kick it off) that covers exactly the ways that Zhivago's love for Russia (among other things) is expressed.

The Jewish issue and Pasternak's own ethnicity made for an interesting narrative tension with some of the scenes involving Gordon, I thought.
Illusions fall like the husk of a fruit, one after another, and the fruit is experience. - Narrator, Sylvie

Je suis méchant.
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So, let's talk about Doctor Zhivago. Tom - 15/03/2010 12:51:09 PM 1627 Views
I liked it a lot. wahooka - 15/03/2010 03:24:34 PM 898 Views
I mostly agree with your points, but I'm not sure Zhivago was ever disillusioned with revolution. Tom - 15/03/2010 09:19:54 PM 828 Views
Re: I mostly agree with your points, but I'm not sure Zhivago was ever disillusioned with revolution wahooka - 15/03/2010 09:57:29 PM 932 Views
Yes, it's the Soviet state, not the revolution, that he hates. Tom - 15/03/2010 11:16:29 PM 764 Views
I see your point. wahooka - 15/03/2010 11:36:30 PM 851 Views
The idea of revolution was perpetual. In theory, anyway. The Shrike - 16/03/2010 12:30:46 AM 923 Views
So far, so good ranagrande - 15/03/2010 03:58:44 PM 887 Views
There are lots of good quotes. Tom - 15/03/2010 09:20:26 PM 755 Views
I have finally finished it. ranagrande - 22/03/2010 12:31:24 AM 912 Views
There will be more later. Much more. So lets start at the beginning. The Shrike - 15/03/2010 04:22:15 PM 813 Views
... I'm clearly lacking in braincells. Rebekah - 15/03/2010 05:03:35 PM 914 Views
... yes, you moved to scotland? *NM* jh - 15/03/2010 05:42:21 PM 346 Views
It's not contagious! Rebekah - 15/03/2010 05:47:41 PM 741 Views
It probably is. Don't worry, we still like you! *NM* Tom - 15/03/2010 09:55:07 PM 346 Views
I didn't notice the Anna Karenina connection. That's a good point. Tom - 15/03/2010 09:26:41 PM 848 Views
Yes. Perhaps we should tell the non-Russian speakers/readers that the name of the protagonist, The Shrike - 15/03/2010 10:22:39 PM 953 Views
Zhivago is the Church Slavonic genitive singular of живой (zhivoi), "living" Tom - 15/03/2010 11:18:23 PM 802 Views
I knew those Larry - 15/03/2010 11:22:02 PM 887 Views
I thought this was a great read, and I'm sure I've missed a lot, which will make a reread good too. Rebekah - 15/03/2010 05:16:19 PM 947 Views
On balance, there IS a love story. Just not quite the one that most people think. Tom - 15/03/2010 09:34:20 PM 867 Views
I noticed that as well Larry - 15/03/2010 09:42:04 PM 934 Views
There is a lot of Christian eschatology, too Tom - 15/03/2010 09:46:59 PM 849 Views
Yes Larry - 15/03/2010 11:23:23 PM 991 Views
Yes. This is what I was going to say, just not as articulately. *NM* Rebekah - 15/03/2010 10:12:33 PM 325 Views
My initial thoughts Beqi - 15/03/2010 06:02:21 PM 899 Views
Re: My initial thoughts wahooka - 15/03/2010 08:54:15 PM 821 Views
Which idioms were you talking about? Tom - 15/03/2010 09:43:09 PM 871 Views
Re: Which idioms were you talking about? wahooka - 15/03/2010 10:07:23 PM 847 Views
The names are not quite as hard as it may seem at first Tom - 15/03/2010 09:41:06 PM 841 Views
There appears to be a lull, so some background - How many of you have read anything about The Shrike - 15/03/2010 08:19:07 PM 829 Views
This is my first novel in that genre, fiction or non. Beqi - 15/03/2010 08:22:04 PM 711 Views
I've read bits & pieces. Rebekah - 15/03/2010 08:33:41 PM 870 Views
Ok, since you're interested, here is some "light" reading for you. Approach with caution. The Shrike - 15/03/2010 08:47:42 PM 987 Views
Interestingly, I'm seeing parallels now that I'm reading Gibbon. Tom - 15/03/2010 09:53:15 PM 850 Views
Koenker was mine for Soviet history. The Shrike - 15/03/2010 10:08:40 PM 1136 Views
Re: Ok, since you're interested, here is some "light" reading for you. Approach with caution. wahooka - 15/03/2010 11:05:22 PM 878 Views
Thank you for calling it "light" reading. The quotation marks were comforting. Tashmere - 17/03/2010 09:56:26 AM 797 Views
I will read and respond to this when I remember to bring my glasses home from work! *NM* Rebekah - 17/03/2010 06:14:31 PM 325 Views
Finally got around to reading this. Thanks for sharing. *NM* Rebekah - 22/03/2010 04:45:24 PM 345 Views
You're welcome. *NM* The Shrike - 22/03/2010 05:14:26 PM 303 Views
I knew a bit about it. wahooka - 15/03/2010 08:36:20 PM 968 Views
Fiction or non-fiction? Larry - 15/03/2010 09:21:04 PM 993 Views
Do you mean Ten Days that Shook the World by John Reed? Tom - 15/03/2010 09:54:34 PM 836 Views
Ten...I was typing from memories of close to 15 years ago Larry - 15/03/2010 10:57:05 PM 840 Views
Either, though specifically I was thinking of non-fiction. The Shrike - 15/03/2010 10:11:52 PM 886 Views
That's what I was thinking of when I read it Larry - 15/03/2010 10:59:36 PM 890 Views
Familiar with the history, though I've never exhaustively studied the time period. Jacob - 16/03/2010 02:20:23 PM 898 Views
Enough to understand everything easily enough. Legolas - 21/04/2010 01:03:54 AM 714 Views
My own personal thoughts on Doctor Zhivago Tom - 15/03/2010 11:44:05 PM 1103 Views
This review has been helpful so far for me. Tashmere - 23/03/2010 11:39:51 PM 792 Views
Essay I just finished writing on the book Larry - 16/03/2010 01:26:23 AM 1223 Views
I'm really enjoying it. nossy - 16/03/2010 03:05:25 AM 880 Views
Hey, if I can come late to the party, so can you. *NM* Legolas - 21/04/2010 01:04:15 AM 272 Views
I'm still sailing through it AgentOrange - 16/03/2010 09:25:34 PM 900 Views
Why would you consider this a classic? What made it so good or profound for (plural) you? Tashmere - 16/03/2010 11:19:23 PM 842 Views
Put a question mark at the end of the first sentence and read my response. *NM* Tom - 17/03/2010 12:09:58 AM 310 Views
Some questions. Rebekah - 19/03/2010 08:27:38 AM 798 Views
Class can be tricky given the Russian context. The Shrike - 19/03/2010 05:09:14 PM 975 Views
Grand. Thanks for the answers. Rebekah - 20/03/2010 02:33:18 PM 814 Views
As an addendum to what Greg wrote: Tom - 19/03/2010 05:56:56 PM 849 Views
Re: As an addendum to what Greg wrote: Rebekah - 20/03/2010 02:36:36 PM 860 Views
No, Tonya was exiled. It was a fortune of timing. Tom - 20/03/2010 05:22:44 PM 868 Views
The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them The Shrike - 21/03/2010 05:34:03 PM 892 Views
It looks a bit strained to me. Tom - 22/03/2010 03:28:34 AM 783 Views
So far the reviews are pretty glowing, as are the Amazon reviewers. The Shrike - 22/03/2010 01:44:19 PM 885 Views
In other news, I read about 100 pages of The Island at the Center of the World. Tom - 22/03/2010 03:48:47 PM 826 Views
I figured that you would like it. The Shrike - 22/03/2010 05:14:06 PM 958 Views
I finished it last night - the last 100+ pages rather fast, considering how long the whole took. Legolas - 21/04/2010 01:00:50 AM 649 Views
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