From AudioFile
Since the Russian government forced Pasternak to renounce the Nobel Prize in 1958 and refused to allow publication of Dr. Zhivago in Russia, it's natural to think of it as a political novel. It is not...at least, not primarily. Although the historic events in Russia from 1903 to 1943 form the chaotic background of the story, it's the human drama as seen through the eyes of Yurii Zhivago that gives it meaning. As Yurii becomes a prisoner of the Partisans, separated from his wife and family and then from his great love, Lara, his brooding intelligence finds courage and dignity far beyond that of any political ideology. Despite the superb narration of Philip Madoc, however, this isn't an easy book in audio. There are about sixty main characters, all with complicated Russian names, none printed in a list for clarification. Even if such a list is borrowed from a printed book, there are still confusing twists in the complicated plotÐas well as intimidating place namesÐwhich can be difficult to follow on tape. Does this mean that the recorded book is impossible to understand? No, only that it's a challenge. But what an exciting challenge it is! With the eloquence of Philip Madoc as inspiration, a dedicated listener will be privileged to experience the full power of one of the great books of this century. J.C. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Book Description
Introduction by John Bayley


Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian


The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature
Novel by Boris Pasternak, published in Italy in 1957. This epic tale about the effects of the Russian Revolution and its aftermath on a bourgeois family was not published in the Soviet Union until 1987. One of the results of its publication in the West was Pasternak's complete rejection by Soviet authorities; when he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958 he was compelled to decline it. The book quickly became an international best-seller. Dr. Yury Zhivago, Pasternak's alter ego, is a poet, philosopher, and physician whose life is disrupted by the war and by his love for Lara, the wife of a revolutionary. His artistic nature makes him vulnerable to the brutality and harshness of the Bolsheviks; wandering throughout Russia, he is unable to take control of his fate, and dies in utter poverty. The poems he leaves behind constitute some of the most beautiful writing in the novel.


From the Inside Flap
Introduction by John Bayley

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Introduction by John Bayley

SYNOPSIS

This famous novel of the Russian revolution and Civil War became a cause celebre when its publication was cancelled by Soviet authorities and Pasternak had the manuscript smuggled out of the country for publication. Doctor Zhivago was cited by the Swedish Academy when it awarded Pasternak the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958 (an award that Pasternak refused, under pressure from the Soviet government).

The controversy surrounding the novel's publication and the notoriety of the David Lean's popular film adaptation of the novel have obscured the quality of the work itself. Simply stated, Doctor Zhivago is one of the most powerful books published in the 20th century and will be read long after the memory of its publication history has faded; it not only brings the Russian Revolution and the early Soviet era to life, it tells the stories of some of the most memorable characters to be found in all of literature.

FROM THE CRITICS

Edmund Wilson - The New Yorker, November 15, 1958

...one of the very great books of our time.... The incidents succeed one another with so much invention and vivacity, with such range of characterization and description, each submerges us so completely in the atmosphere of its moment of Russian life... Doctor Zhivago will, I believe, come to stand as one of the great events in man's literary and moral history. Nobody could have written it in a totalitarian state and turned it loose on the world who did not have the courage of genius.... His book is a great act of faith in art and in the human spirit.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING