 |
| The Kremlin, Moscow, Russia |
New York : Vintage Classics, 2011.
xxviii, 675 p. ; 21 cm.
I've been wanting to read Dr. Zhivago for some time, and given it's length (675 p.), it seemed like a good choice for a summer read.
I enjoyed a lot about this novel - it richly conveys the crazy reality that war and revolution can force on people, and the ways in which people try to find a meaningful life within that. It is also a great love story, of course, which is probably part of why the movie version in the 60s was so successful.
I liked the historical content and movement of a lot of the book, but I did find that the plot began to get a bit unwieldy and confusing as the novel went on, and felt rushed to me at the end. I also just found the increasing number of improbable coincidences became distracting as read the book.
This was a good book, but not a fantastic novel, in the way that Dostoevsky and Tolstoy have their truly magnificent articles. However, if a student is a fan of Russian/Soviet history and literature and is looking for a good read, Dr. Zhivago may be just what the doctor ordered!
