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A review by geowhaley
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
3.0
After reading Doctor Zhivago and Anna Karenina I can say my aversion to visiting Russia is less, but I still would list it as not likely to travel to.
One thing I’ve learned that is vitally important when reading a classic novel is that you have to read the introduction. Sure it might tack on 20-30 extra pages, but they are there for a reason and they reveal so much information that is incredibly useful when reading a book, not to mention they give you a head’s up of what to look for as you read. For example, in the introduction to Doctor Zhivago, the following quote points out how the novel is written.
One thing I’ve learned that is vitally important when reading a classic novel is that you have to read the introduction. Sure it might tack on 20-30 extra pages, but they are there for a reason and they reveal so much information that is incredibly useful when reading a book, not to mention they give you a head’s up of what to look for as you read. For example, in the introduction to Doctor Zhivago, the following quote points out how the novel is written.
“Pasternak’s vision is defined by real presence, by an intensity of physical sensation rendered in the abundance of natural description or translated into the voices of his many characters.” (loc. 146)
And although this prepared me for how the novel, it didn’t really. Doctor Zhivago is only the second piece of Russian literature I can recall reading I don’t want to make any generalizations, but I sort of can. As both this and Anna Karenina are written in the Russian epic style, they both provide broad sweeping views of society, the Russian Landscape and people’s emotions. This is both a good thing and a bad thing and it was definitely an adjustment for me. I’m not sure how much more Russian literature I will read, but it was fun to step out of my comfort zone.
Continue reading on my book blog at geoffwhaley.com.