Pasternak intentionally used the "Apocalypse" theme. I enjoyed his point about how Christ brought about a revolution that made the individual have intrinsic worth, and that Western civilization was founded on that principle. His statement that the revolution brought back the god-kings of ancient Mesopotamia and the ruler worship and thus represented the kingdom of the Antichrist was just as profound and thorough of a refutation of communism as Dostoevsky's refutation in the legend of the Grand Inquisitor from The Brothers Karamazov.
Political correctness is the pettiest form of casuistry.
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
So, let's talk about Doctor Zhivago.
15/03/2010 12:51:09 PM
- 1556 Views
I liked it a lot.
15/03/2010 03:24:34 PM
- 820 Views
I mostly agree with your points, but I'm not sure Zhivago was ever disillusioned with revolution.
15/03/2010 09:19:54 PM
- 749 Views
Re: I mostly agree with your points, but I'm not sure Zhivago was ever disillusioned with revolution
15/03/2010 09:57:29 PM
- 861 Views
Yes, it's the Soviet state, not the revolution, that he hates.
15/03/2010 11:16:29 PM
- 685 Views
There will be more later. Much more. So lets start at the beginning.
15/03/2010 04:22:15 PM
- 741 Views
... I'm clearly lacking in braincells.
15/03/2010 05:03:35 PM
- 834 Views
... yes, you moved to scotland? *NM*
15/03/2010 05:42:21 PM
- 318 Views
I didn't notice the Anna Karenina connection. That's a good point.
15/03/2010 09:26:41 PM
- 772 Views
Yes. Perhaps we should tell the non-Russian speakers/readers that the name of the protagonist,
15/03/2010 10:22:39 PM
- 877 Views
Zhivago is the Church Slavonic genitive singular of живой (zhivoi), "living"
15/03/2010 11:18:23 PM
- 723 Views
I thought this was a great read, and I'm sure I've missed a lot, which will make a reread good too.
15/03/2010 05:16:19 PM
- 872 Views
On balance, there IS a love story. Just not quite the one that most people think.
15/03/2010 09:34:20 PM
- 777 Views
I noticed that as well
15/03/2010 09:42:04 PM
- 857 Views
There is a lot of Christian eschatology, too
15/03/2010 09:46:59 PM
- 773 Views
Yes. This is what I was going to say, just not as articulately. *NM*
15/03/2010 10:12:33 PM
- 307 Views
My initial thoughts
15/03/2010 06:02:21 PM
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Re: My initial thoughts
15/03/2010 08:54:15 PM
- 748 Views
There appears to be a lull, so some background - How many of you have read anything about
15/03/2010 08:19:07 PM
- 743 Views
I've read bits & pieces.
15/03/2010 08:33:41 PM
- 785 Views
Ok, since you're interested, here is some "light" reading for you. Approach with caution.
15/03/2010 08:47:42 PM
- 910 Views
Re: Ok, since you're interested, here is some "light" reading for you. Approach with caution.
15/03/2010 11:05:22 PM
- 795 Views
Thank you for calling it "light" reading. The quotation marks were comforting.
17/03/2010 09:56:26 AM
- 720 Views
I will read and respond to this when I remember to bring my glasses home from work! *NM*
17/03/2010 06:14:31 PM
- 301 Views
Fiction or non-fiction?
15/03/2010 09:21:04 PM
- 915 Views
Familiar with the history, though I've never exhaustively studied the time period.
16/03/2010 02:20:23 PM
- 820 Views
Why would you consider this a classic? What made it so good or profound for (plural) you?
16/03/2010 11:19:23 PM
- 768 Views
Put a question mark at the end of the first sentence and read my response. *NM*
17/03/2010 12:09:58 AM
- 281 Views
Some questions.
19/03/2010 08:27:38 AM
- 719 Views
As an addendum to what Greg wrote:
19/03/2010 05:56:56 PM
- 768 Views
The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them
21/03/2010 05:34:03 PM
- 817 Views
It looks a bit strained to me.
22/03/2010 03:28:34 AM
- 707 Views
So far the reviews are pretty glowing, as are the Amazon reviewers.
22/03/2010 01:44:19 PM
- 815 Views
In other news, I read about 100 pages of The Island at the Center of the World.
22/03/2010 03:48:47 PM
- 756 Views
I finished it last night - the last 100+ pages rather fast, considering how long the whole took.
21/04/2010 01:00:50 AM
- 574 Views