I went into this book with optimism. I did a small bit of research and saw a few people recommending to read the Pantheon translation. It's not available in Kindle format, so I ordered a physical copy. It cost a bit more, but I was heading on a road trip, and it was my treat to myself.
I'm going to add spoilers in this review, because I want to rant. I wasted good money for a particular translation, and for what? A "classic" that I don't quite understand. In what way did I not understand it? I honestly am not sure why this is considered a classic. I considered quitting, but I also felt compelled to read the whole thing since I spent more on it than I normally would.
Zhivago is one of the most irritating characters I've read. At one point, I wanted him to get eaten by wolves. I have no idea what people see in him and wish someone else had been the main character. Gordon or Dudorov or anyone else. I'm not even sure how to describe Zhivago in a way that will explain why I dislike him so much. I hate the way he just floats along, sometimes fainting, sometimes hiding, other times giving up on something.
And then there's the women in his life. Tonia has my sympathies. ALL my sympathy. She never did anything wrong, and Zhivago just forgets about her. Multiple times. And he never does meet back up with her, and we never find out what happens to her. She's just pushed aside. Later, Zhivago leaves his new love Lara to "find his family." But he gives up and forms another family with Marina. What. The. Heck.
Aside from the dramatic Zhivago, the book wasn't bad. When it was dealing with the social and political incidents of the time, I enjoyed it. The end was the reprint of Zhivago's poems, but I skipped them. I am not a fan of poetry, and I was just kind of over the book at that point. But weighing the amount of time spent of the main character with the interesting parts, this one was a pass.
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