- Unknown Binding: 567 pages
- Publisher: Feltrinelli Collins (1959)
- Language Russian
- ASIN: B0013KCFFY
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,056,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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First Sentence
On they went, singing "Rest Eternal," and whenever they stopped, their feet, the horses, and the gusts of wind seemed to carry on their singing. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
On they went, singing "Rest Eternal," and whenever they stopped, their feet, the horses, and the gusts of wind seemed to carry on their singing. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Firstly, this is not "One of the greatest love stories ever told" as the cover proclaims: the love story is a small and incidental part of the story, and doesn't begin until 250 pages in.
What this is is a fascinating insight into the history of Russia through the last century's revolutions, told through the experiences of Zhivago and others. The structure is particularly interesting - we skip through the years extremely quickly, and between characters you'd be forgiven for not recognising. But this is part of its charm, and in many ways replicates the peripatetic nature of the revolution years as characters wander from town to village in search of food and shelter.
In many ways it reminds me of Primo Levi's 'The Truce', his account of what happened after he was liberated from a concentration camp at the end of WWII and likewise wandered across Eastern Europe with other refugees. It's the story of what happens to those who experience history, after the history books have moved on.
What this is is a fascinating insight into the history of Russia through the last century's revolutions, told through the experiences of Zhivago and others. The structure is particularly interesting - we skip through the years extremely quickly, and between characters you'd be forgiven for not recognising. But this is part of its charm, and in many ways replicates the peripatetic nature of the revolution years as characters wander from town to village in search of food and shelter.
In many ways it reminds me of Primo Levi's 'The Truce', his account of what happened after he was liberated from a concentration camp at the end of WWII and likewise wandered across Eastern Europe with other refugees. It's the story of what happens to those who experience history, after the history books have moved on.
42 of 44 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I watched the movie before I read the book and one thing for sure is the fact that the movie dwelled too much on the Lara and Yuri love story. However, the novel goes deeper, describing Russia as it was during the first half of the last century especially before the Second World War. Actually, the novel revolves around Yuri Andreivich Zhivago a doctor and poet whose life is a series of trials beginning with the funeral for his mother' until he too made the honorable exit to the world beyond. Dr Zhivago trials take him across the length and breadth of Russia through war as a soldier in the Red Army and as a man with a strong desire to lead a normal life with his wife and son, but who cannot avoid the love of a woman destiny always put on his way.
The remarkable thing about Dr ZHIVAGO is the fact that Pasternak successfully made it possible for the reader to look beyond the tragedies and sufferings in the story to the worthiness of life that comes with love and loving. Romance is born and even thrives in tragedies and misery showing that life can be beautiful at all times because the human soul that harbors hope can endure the worst atrocities of war and still stay beautiful.
Rich and poetic, DR ZHIVAGO is a breathtaking story. It has a few flaws, but the underlying strength of the story is overwhelming. Reminds me of THE UNION MOUJIK, WAR AND PEACE, and TARAS BULBA. I enjoyed DR ZHIVAGO and would recommend it to any book enthusiast, especially someone with an interest in Russian literature.
The remarkable thing about Dr ZHIVAGO is the fact that Pasternak successfully made it possible for the reader to look beyond the tragedies and sufferings in the story to the worthiness of life that comes with love and loving. Romance is born and even thrives in tragedies and misery showing that life can be beautiful at all times because the human soul that harbors hope can endure the worst atrocities of war and still stay beautiful.
Rich and poetic, DR ZHIVAGO is a breathtaking story. It has a few flaws, but the underlying strength of the story is overwhelming. Reminds me of THE UNION MOUJIK, WAR AND PEACE, and TARAS BULBA. I enjoyed DR ZHIVAGO and would recommend it to any book enthusiast, especially someone with an interest in Russian literature.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Frequently considered one of the most sublime love stories ever told, Pasternak's masterpiece marked a significant moment in the history of Russian literature. Although rejected for publication, the furore around its censorship was the first step in liberating creativity from the clutches of the ideologues. This historical significance barely scrapes the iceberg in comparison to the beauty of the events it portrays. In this tale of love and loss and struggle for survival during the Russian Revolution, Pasternak captures better than anyone else the supreme majesty of the simple things in life. The view from a study window, the freedom of living ones life free from compulsion and terror. But that is the lot of some periods of history and it is in how you cope with these strains which determine your life. Yes, this novel focuses on the upper classes and the erosion of the uncontested freedoms they once enjoyed, but it is so much more than that. This is a novel about human freedom from compulsion, whether you are a millionaire or a pauper, the liberation of the human spirit should begin here and now, with this book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A classic of Russian Literature
If you are a fan of Russian Literature (or even if you are not, but just enjoyed the film) I would wholeheartedly recommend this book. Read more
Published 2 months ago by V G Harwood
Not at all what I expected
To be brutally honest, I was totally stunned by this book. I have seen the film and watched the television series, and was fully prepared for what the blurb calls one of the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mrs. K. A. Wheatley
doctor zhivago
Dr Zhivago (Everyman's Library classics) very pleased with this book,its a haunting story of a doomed love affair.a woman driven to despair by her vindictive husband. Read more
Published 3 months ago by A. H. Vallis
Warning bells should have been ringing when it was compared to 'Romeo...
I am a sixth form student who is currently studying 'Russia and its rulers' for my a-levels. A reading list was unceremoniously shoved in my face before school broke up for the... Read more
Published 10 months ago by unhappy customer
Dr Zhivago
I am terribly upset that I could only give Doctor Zhivago three stars. I love Russian literature and fell head over heels for the characters portrayed in the highly successful... Read more
Published 10 months ago by marionkatrina
Wonderful!!!
It's pretty much all been said in other positive reviews - anyone expecting a love story and little else will be disappointed, but if you want to get a feel for Russia post Great... Read more
Published 13 months ago by hypnobear
`But life is never a material, a substance to be moulded.'
The novel opens with the burial of Yury Zhivago's mother in 1901 when he is still a young boy. Yury is raised by his Uncle Kolya, studies medicine at the university in Moscow,... Read more
Published 15 months ago by J. Cameron-Smith
Meditation on the Revolution
This is at the very least, a wonderful novel.
The film tells the story of the love affair, but in the novel the love affair is set against the backdrop of two... Read more
The film tells the story of the love affair, but in the novel the love affair is set against the backdrop of two... Read more
Published 21 months ago by conjunction
Dr Zhivago is hard reading
I bought this book to help me understand life in Russia at the time of the 1917 revolution, as part of the research for a novel of my own that I am writing. Read more
Published 22 months ago by E. Mills
Dr Zhivago
An excellent read and a very good translation of the original by Boris Pasternak. I loved the fascinating story and couldn't put it down. Superb. Highly recommended.
Published on 29 Jan 2010 by M. D. Haydon
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