A review by aliceswips
Il Dottor Zivago by Boris Pasternak

informative reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

All the characters had the same voice.
The reflections were so long that they became blurry and repetitive. There were no time markers, and the transitions from one period to another were very vague
(at one point I no longer understood how old Zhivago was).

The author creates the character of Lara with a thousand facets, then presents her death/disappearance with a small paragraph and closes it there.

Many of the characters lacked distinctive traits, making it difficult to distinguish between them. They came and went in the doctor's life, and I struggled to identify them.
The descriptions were really vivid though.
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