Doctor Zhivago
I have been reading Doct
or Zhivago by Boris Pasternak over the past two weeks. It is an amazing novel. I won’t spoil the story, but I’ll say that it is the tale of Yuri Zhivago from his boyhood to his elderly years.
The story starts around 1903 and continues through the periods of upheaval during Russia’s revolutions. It’s the story of family, friends, and the changes in their lives during extradinary times of change and uncertainty.
I’ve never read a book that spanned such a long period of time. Like the Dostoyevsky novels that I’ve read, Doctor Zhivago has 2 - 3 dozen characters. Each of these characters has a rich background and is well developed. The characters each have their own well described lives which intertwine and interrelate. The story starts and many points, from many angles. Each of these angles is like a peice of string that Pasternak has woven together in unpredictable ways.
The events of the story are more moving and interesting because they involve characters which have weathered over the years, and fermented through hundreds of pages. Sometimes they reappear suddenly in unexpected circumstances, not unlike the amazing coincidences of our own lives. The element of impossibility is captured in a believable almost romantic way.