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
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I liked it a lot.
15/03/2010 03:24:34 PM
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I mostly agree with your points, but I'm not sure Zhivago was ever disillusioned with revolution.
15/03/2010 09:19:54 PM
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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
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Yes, it's the Soviet state, not the revolution, that he hates.
15/03/2010 11:16:29 PM
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There will be more later. Much more. So lets start at the beginning.
15/03/2010 04:22:15 PM
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... I'm clearly lacking in braincells.
15/03/2010 05:03:35 PM
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... yes, you moved to scotland? *NM*
15/03/2010 05:42:21 PM
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I didn't notice the Anna Karenina connection. That's a good point.
15/03/2010 09:26:41 PM
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Yes. Perhaps we should tell the non-Russian speakers/readers that the name of the protagonist,
15/03/2010 10:22:39 PM
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Zhivago is the Church Slavonic genitive singular of живой (zhivoi), "living"
15/03/2010 11:18:23 PM
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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
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On balance, there IS a love story. Just not quite the one that most people think.
15/03/2010 09:34:20 PM
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I noticed that as well
15/03/2010 09:42:04 PM
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There is a lot of Christian eschatology, too
15/03/2010 09:46:59 PM
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Yes
15/03/2010 11:23:23 PM
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Yes. This is what I was going to say, just not as articulately.
*NM*
15/03/2010 10:12:33 PM
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My initial thoughts
15/03/2010 06:02:21 PM
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Re: My initial thoughts
15/03/2010 08:54:15 PM
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There appears to be a lull, so some background - How many of you have read anything about
15/03/2010 08:19:07 PM
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I've read bits & pieces.
15/03/2010 08:33:41 PM
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Ok, since you're interested, here is some "light" reading for you. Approach with caution.
15/03/2010 08:47:42 PM
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Re: Ok, since you're interested, here is some "light" reading for you. Approach with caution.
15/03/2010 11:05:22 PM
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Thank you for calling it "light" reading. The quotation marks were comforting.
17/03/2010 09:56:26 AM
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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
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Fiction or non-fiction?
15/03/2010 09:21:04 PM
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Familiar with the history, though I've never exhaustively studied the time period.
16/03/2010 02:20:23 PM
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Why would you consider this a classic? What made it so good or profound for (plural) you?
16/03/2010 11:19:23 PM
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Put a question mark at the end of the first sentence and read my response. *NM*
17/03/2010 12:09:58 AM
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Some questions.
19/03/2010 08:27:38 AM
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As an addendum to what Greg wrote:
19/03/2010 05:56:56 PM
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The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them
21/03/2010 05:34:03 PM
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It looks a bit strained to me.
22/03/2010 03:28:34 AM
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So far the reviews are pretty glowing, as are the Amazon reviewers.
22/03/2010 01:44:19 PM
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In other news, I read about 100 pages of The Island at the Center of the World.
22/03/2010 03:48:47 PM
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I finished it last night - the last 100+ pages rather fast, considering how long the whole took.
21/04/2010 01:00:50 AM
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