Pasternak intentionally used the "Apocalypse" theme. I enjoyed his point about how Christ brought about a revolution that made the individual have intrinsic worth, and that Western civilization was founded on that principle. His statement that the revolution brought back the god-kings of ancient Mesopotamia and the ruler worship and thus represented the kingdom of the Antichrist was just as profound and thorough of a refutation of communism as Dostoevsky's refutation in the legend of the Grand Inquisitor from The Brothers Karamazov.
Did notice those as well, although I'm uncertain how much I'll refer to it in the essay I'm writing (might have it posted in the next hour or so). Right now, more interested in the notion of Revolution for starting the essay.
Illusions fall like the husk of a fruit, one after another, and the fruit is experience. - Narrator, Sylvie
Je suis méchant.
Je suis méchant.
So, let's talk about Doctor Zhivago.
- 15/03/2010 12:51:09 PM
1719 Views
I liked it a lot.
- 15/03/2010 03:24:34 PM
1039 Views
I mostly agree with your points, but I'm not sure Zhivago was ever disillusioned with revolution.
- 15/03/2010 09:19:54 PM
909 Views
Re: I mostly agree with your points, but I'm not sure Zhivago was ever disillusioned with revolution
- 15/03/2010 09:57:29 PM
1012 Views
Yes, it's the Soviet state, not the revolution, that he hates.
- 15/03/2010 11:16:29 PM
845 Views
There will be more later. Much more. So lets start at the beginning.
- 15/03/2010 04:22:15 PM
898 Views
... I'm clearly lacking in braincells.
- 15/03/2010 05:03:35 PM
998 Views
... yes, you moved to scotland? *NM*
- 15/03/2010 05:42:21 PM
383 Views
I didn't notice the Anna Karenina connection. That's a good point.
- 15/03/2010 09:26:41 PM
925 Views
Yes. Perhaps we should tell the non-Russian speakers/readers that the name of the protagonist,
- 15/03/2010 10:22:39 PM
1041 Views
Zhivago is the Church Slavonic genitive singular of живой (zhivoi), "living"
- 15/03/2010 11:18:23 PM
872 Views
I thought this was a great read, and I'm sure I've missed a lot, which will make a reread good too.
- 15/03/2010 05:16:19 PM
1033 Views
On balance, there IS a love story. Just not quite the one that most people think.
- 15/03/2010 09:34:20 PM
964 Views
I noticed that as well
- 15/03/2010 09:42:04 PM
1020 Views
There is a lot of Christian eschatology, too
- 15/03/2010 09:46:59 PM
930 Views
Yes
- 15/03/2010 11:23:23 PM
1098 Views
Yes. This is what I was going to say, just not as articulately.
*NM*
- 15/03/2010 10:12:33 PM
364 Views
*NM*
- 15/03/2010 10:12:33 PM
364 Views
My initial thoughts
- 15/03/2010 06:02:21 PM
994 Views
Re: My initial thoughts
- 15/03/2010 08:54:15 PM
916 Views
There appears to be a lull, so some background - How many of you have read anything about
- 15/03/2010 08:19:07 PM
917 Views
I've read bits & pieces.
- 15/03/2010 08:33:41 PM
948 Views
Ok, since you're interested, here is some "light" reading for you. Approach with caution.
- 15/03/2010 08:47:42 PM
1085 Views
Re: Ok, since you're interested, here is some "light" reading for you. Approach with caution.
- 15/03/2010 11:05:22 PM
1004 Views
Thank you for calling it "light" reading. The quotation marks were comforting.
- 17/03/2010 09:56:26 AM
881 Views
I will read and respond to this when I remember to bring my glasses home from work! *NM*
- 17/03/2010 06:14:31 PM
358 Views
Fiction or non-fiction?
- 15/03/2010 09:21:04 PM
1088 Views
Familiar with the history, though I've never exhaustively studied the time period.
- 16/03/2010 02:20:23 PM
978 Views
Why would you consider this a classic? What made it so good or profound for (plural) you?
- 16/03/2010 11:19:23 PM
956 Views
Put a question mark at the end of the first sentence and read my response. *NM*
- 17/03/2010 12:09:58 AM
349 Views
Some questions.
- 19/03/2010 08:27:38 AM
883 Views
As an addendum to what Greg wrote:
- 19/03/2010 05:56:56 PM
945 Views
The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them
- 21/03/2010 05:34:03 PM
973 Views
It looks a bit strained to me.
- 22/03/2010 03:28:34 AM
858 Views
So far the reviews are pretty glowing, as are the Amazon reviewers.
- 22/03/2010 01:44:19 PM
986 Views
In other news, I read about 100 pages of The Island at the Center of the World.
- 22/03/2010 03:48:47 PM
903 Views
I finished it last night - the last 100+ pages rather fast, considering how long the whole took.
- 21/04/2010 01:00:50 AM
736 Views
