translated from the Russian by Max Hayward and Manya Harari
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
First published in 1957 this novel is the story of four Russians set against the backdrop of the Russian revolution. It is a classic, tragic, love story. It is also a beautifully constructed novel where individuals are "tossed about like corks in the tumult...thrown up against each other in all sorts of unexpected ways and places" (as John Bayley puts it in his introduction to the novel). In addition to characters being thrown up against each other Pasternak does the same thing with details--contrasting the beautiful with the squalid and the monumental with the quotidian.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
First published in 1957 this novel is the story of four Russians set against the backdrop of the Russian revolution. It is a classic, tragic, love story. It is also a beautifully constructed novel where individuals are "tossed about like corks in the tumult...thrown up against each other in all sorts of unexpected ways and places" (as John Bayley puts it in his introduction to the novel). In addition to characters being thrown up against each other Pasternak does the same thing with details--contrasting the beautiful with the squalid and the monumental with the quotidian.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and plan to read it again. This book is on my classics club list as well as my TBR pile challenge list. I am also counting it toward the What's in a Name challenge for the category of "Q, X, Z."
I would like to read this book. I don't like books of that length but I think it would be worth it. It has such an interesting history.
ReplyDeleteThis is on my to reread list for one day. I love the book and the movie though there are differences - the cinematography is stunning of course and now informs the images in my head when I read the book.
ReplyDelete