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Either, though specifically I was thinking of non-fiction. The Shrike Send a noteboard - 15/03/2010 10:11:52 PM
The Russian Revolution?

I'm especially curious to hear your thoughts about this particular topic as the background of the book was written by a product of the time period of the late Tsarist system/early Soviet System and its rare for Americans/Brits/non-Russian Euros to read anything about the Russian Revolution not told from the perspective of the Capitalist West.

Seven Days That Shook the World, plus several excerpts from my 20th century European Cultural History class, along with Bulgakov and Soltzhenitsyn, among others whose names escape me now. I just finished the book and will have a mini-essay on it ready in a few hours. The Russian topology and patronymic patterns did not confuse me much, due to previous exposure.


Most people don't learn much about the Russian Revolution. And here we have the backdrop set against the Russian Revolutions. How many students of history in high school even learn about the American involvement in the Russian Revolution?

So it is interesting for me to see who has a good background in history or specifically the Russian Revolution so they can understand from what perspective Pasternak is writing this. He stayed in Russia. That is a powerful thing when so many of his compatriots left.
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So, let's talk about Doctor Zhivago. Tom - 15/03/2010 12:51:09 PM 1558 Views
I liked it a lot. wahooka - 15/03/2010 03:24:34 PM 822 Views
I mostly agree with your points, but I'm not sure Zhivago was ever disillusioned with revolution. Tom - 15/03/2010 09:19:54 PM 751 Views
Re: I mostly agree with your points, but I'm not sure Zhivago was ever disillusioned with revolution wahooka - 15/03/2010 09:57:29 PM 863 Views
Yes, it's the Soviet state, not the revolution, that he hates. Tom - 15/03/2010 11:16:29 PM 686 Views
I see your point. wahooka - 15/03/2010 11:36:30 PM 777 Views
The idea of revolution was perpetual. In theory, anyway. The Shrike - 16/03/2010 12:30:46 AM 845 Views
So far, so good ranagrande - 15/03/2010 03:58:44 PM 808 Views
There are lots of good quotes. Tom - 15/03/2010 09:20:26 PM 673 Views
I have finally finished it. ranagrande - 22/03/2010 12:31:24 AM 835 Views
There will be more later. Much more. So lets start at the beginning. The Shrike - 15/03/2010 04:22:15 PM 742 Views
... I'm clearly lacking in braincells. Rebekah - 15/03/2010 05:03:35 PM 836 Views
... yes, you moved to scotland? *NM* jh - 15/03/2010 05:42:21 PM 318 Views
It's not contagious! Rebekah - 15/03/2010 05:47:41 PM 667 Views
It probably is. Don't worry, we still like you! *NM* Tom - 15/03/2010 09:55:07 PM 322 Views
I didn't notice the Anna Karenina connection. That's a good point. Tom - 15/03/2010 09:26:41 PM 774 Views
Yes. Perhaps we should tell the non-Russian speakers/readers that the name of the protagonist, The Shrike - 15/03/2010 10:22:39 PM 879 Views
Zhivago is the Church Slavonic genitive singular of живой (zhivoi), "living" Tom - 15/03/2010 11:18:23 PM 725 Views
I knew those Larry - 15/03/2010 11:22:02 PM 816 Views
I thought this was a great read, and I'm sure I've missed a lot, which will make a reread good too. Rebekah - 15/03/2010 05:16:19 PM 874 Views
On balance, there IS a love story. Just not quite the one that most people think. Tom - 15/03/2010 09:34:20 PM 779 Views
I noticed that as well Larry - 15/03/2010 09:42:04 PM 857 Views
There is a lot of Christian eschatology, too Tom - 15/03/2010 09:46:59 PM 773 Views
Yes Larry - 15/03/2010 11:23:23 PM 913 Views
Yes. This is what I was going to say, just not as articulately. *NM* Rebekah - 15/03/2010 10:12:33 PM 307 Views
My initial thoughts Beqi - 15/03/2010 06:02:21 PM 823 Views
Re: My initial thoughts wahooka - 15/03/2010 08:54:15 PM 750 Views
Which idioms were you talking about? Tom - 15/03/2010 09:43:09 PM 800 Views
Re: Which idioms were you talking about? wahooka - 15/03/2010 10:07:23 PM 778 Views
The names are not quite as hard as it may seem at first Tom - 15/03/2010 09:41:06 PM 763 Views
There appears to be a lull, so some background - How many of you have read anything about The Shrike - 15/03/2010 08:19:07 PM 745 Views
This is my first novel in that genre, fiction or non. Beqi - 15/03/2010 08:22:04 PM 663 Views
I've read bits & pieces. Rebekah - 15/03/2010 08:33:41 PM 787 Views
Ok, since you're interested, here is some "light" reading for you. Approach with caution. The Shrike - 15/03/2010 08:47:42 PM 912 Views
Interestingly, I'm seeing parallels now that I'm reading Gibbon. Tom - 15/03/2010 09:53:15 PM 781 Views
Koenker was mine for Soviet history. The Shrike - 15/03/2010 10:08:40 PM 1054 Views
Re: Ok, since you're interested, here is some "light" reading for you. Approach with caution. wahooka - 15/03/2010 11:05:22 PM 796 Views
Thank you for calling it "light" reading. The quotation marks were comforting. Tashmere - 17/03/2010 09:56:26 AM 722 Views
I will read and respond to this when I remember to bring my glasses home from work! *NM* Rebekah - 17/03/2010 06:14:31 PM 301 Views
Finally got around to reading this. Thanks for sharing. *NM* Rebekah - 22/03/2010 04:45:24 PM 318 Views
You're welcome. *NM* The Shrike - 22/03/2010 05:14:26 PM 277 Views
I knew a bit about it. wahooka - 15/03/2010 08:36:20 PM 884 Views
Fiction or non-fiction? Larry - 15/03/2010 09:21:04 PM 916 Views
Do you mean Ten Days that Shook the World by John Reed? Tom - 15/03/2010 09:54:34 PM 767 Views
Ten...I was typing from memories of close to 15 years ago Larry - 15/03/2010 10:57:05 PM 763 Views
Either, though specifically I was thinking of non-fiction. The Shrike - 15/03/2010 10:11:52 PM 804 Views
That's what I was thinking of when I read it Larry - 15/03/2010 10:59:36 PM 807 Views
Familiar with the history, though I've never exhaustively studied the time period. Jacob - 16/03/2010 02:20:23 PM 821 Views
Enough to understand everything easily enough. Legolas - 21/04/2010 01:03:54 AM 636 Views
My own personal thoughts on Doctor Zhivago Tom - 15/03/2010 11:44:05 PM 1001 Views
This review has been helpful so far for me. Tashmere - 23/03/2010 11:39:51 PM 718 Views
Essay I just finished writing on the book Larry - 16/03/2010 01:26:23 AM 1126 Views
I'm really enjoying it. nossy - 16/03/2010 03:05:25 AM 807 Views
Hey, if I can come late to the party, so can you. *NM* Legolas - 21/04/2010 01:04:15 AM 244 Views
I'm still sailing through it AgentOrange - 16/03/2010 09:25:34 PM 800 Views
Why would you consider this a classic? What made it so good or profound for (plural) you? Tashmere - 16/03/2010 11:19:23 PM 769 Views
Put a question mark at the end of the first sentence and read my response. *NM* Tom - 17/03/2010 12:09:58 AM 281 Views
Some questions. Rebekah - 19/03/2010 08:27:38 AM 721 Views
Class can be tricky given the Russian context. The Shrike - 19/03/2010 05:09:14 PM 896 Views
Grand. Thanks for the answers. Rebekah - 20/03/2010 02:33:18 PM 743 Views
As an addendum to what Greg wrote: Tom - 19/03/2010 05:56:56 PM 770 Views
Re: As an addendum to what Greg wrote: Rebekah - 20/03/2010 02:36:36 PM 788 Views
No, Tonya was exiled. It was a fortune of timing. Tom - 20/03/2010 05:22:44 PM 789 Views
The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them The Shrike - 21/03/2010 05:34:03 PM 819 Views
It looks a bit strained to me. Tom - 22/03/2010 03:28:34 AM 709 Views
So far the reviews are pretty glowing, as are the Amazon reviewers. The Shrike - 22/03/2010 01:44:19 PM 817 Views
In other news, I read about 100 pages of The Island at the Center of the World. Tom - 22/03/2010 03:48:47 PM 758 Views
I figured that you would like it. The Shrike - 22/03/2010 05:14:06 PM 882 Views
I finished it last night - the last 100+ pages rather fast, considering how long the whole took. Legolas - 21/04/2010 01:00:50 AM 575 Views
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