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grahamlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
If you like non-fiction and modern history than this book is very interesting. I learned a lot about post WWII Russia that I had no clue about (the things they leave out of World History classes). It was also a great book to finish right before Banned Books Week, as it shows what can happen when a real culture starts banning books and the ideas that spur them. Cold War Russia was a real life dystopian novel. It didn't make me want to read Doctor Zhivago but I appreciate its place in modern literature and modern history.
vegancleopatra's review against another edition
2.0
Boy that subtitle is misleading. I really only recommend The Zhivago Affair if you have a strong interest in Boris Pasternak, aka the author of Doctor Zhivago. This book turned out to be more of an autobiography of Pasternak than anything else.
I have not yet read Doctor Zhivago, which I thought may have been a error but ultimately it did not matter. Yes, there is a summary of the novel in the beginning, just skip it if need be. Overall the book does have a little CIA and a little Kremlin, though mostly just the presence of the Kremlin power and influence rather than the actual Kremlin detailed. It takes nearly half the book before the CIA is detailed at any length and that does not last very long, which was highly disappointing to me because it was the part I was most interested in.
Overall, The Zhivago Affair is a summary of some of Pasternak's life and great detail regarding Pasternak's life after the drama of the publishing of Doctor Zhivago. There is also a great deal of time dedicated to the reaction of publishers, critics and various countries etc. to the novel itself, which for me does not make for very interesting reading. It was, however, interesting how the CIA tried to use the novel to influence citizens in the USSR from within, unfortunately this was not as much of a focus as I would have liked.
And honestly? The book rather made me less interested in reading Doctor Zhivago...
I have not yet read Doctor Zhivago, which I thought may have been a error but ultimately it did not matter. Yes, there is a summary of the novel in the beginning, just skip it if need be. Overall the book does have a little CIA and a little Kremlin, though mostly just the presence of the Kremlin power and influence rather than the actual Kremlin detailed. It takes nearly half the book before the CIA is detailed at any length and that does not last very long, which was highly disappointing to me because it was the part I was most interested in.
Overall, The Zhivago Affair is a summary of some of Pasternak's life and great detail regarding Pasternak's life after the drama of the publishing of Doctor Zhivago. There is also a great deal of time dedicated to the reaction of publishers, critics and various countries etc. to the novel itself, which for me does not make for very interesting reading. It was, however, interesting how the CIA tried to use the novel to influence citizens in the USSR from within, unfortunately this was not as much of a focus as I would have liked.
And honestly? The book rather made me less interested in reading Doctor Zhivago...
lnatal's review against another edition
4.0
From BBC Radio 4 - Book of the Week:
By Peter Finn and Petra Couvee. Portrait of Russian poet and novelist Boris Pasternak and a time when literature had the power to shake the world.
By Peter Finn and Petra Couvee. Portrait of Russian poet and novelist Boris Pasternak and a time when literature had the power to shake the world.
zizabeph's review against another edition
4.0
Overall a well written book about the behind the scenes publication of Doctor Zhivago. I learned a lot, both about the book and the political world in which the writing and publication took place.