I remember renting a video cassette of Doctor Zhivago as a teen (the 1965 version, obviously). It was long and I lost interest. (It actually had an intermission in the middle.) I didn't know anything about the history. I watched it again on DVD (things change!) last May and thirty years older, I was captivated. I also watched the 2002 miniseries, but I found the actors not as convincing as the dashing Omar Sharif (!) and mesmerizing Julie Christie.
Then, naturally, I had to read the book by Boris Pasternak. Wowza, I think I have mentioned somewhere on this blog that it is always a good idea to read the book before watching the film(s). The 1965 film is quite different from the book, besides some key details. The 2002 version is like a riff on the previous effort. I still like the first movie, and frankly, why didn't they get it closer to the novel the second time around? At least I had two beautiful people in mind as the main characters while I read.
And speaking of reading...I'm so glad I read this Nobel Prize winning book that the CIA helped spread around during the Cold War. I so love classic literature. The language! (I bet it sounds even better in the native tongue.) Just sink your teeth into these quotes:
Does anyone still write like this in our soundbite world? Pasternak was also a poet and it shows, no?
I had to include that last one. It seems oddly...contemporary. (Looks like I cut off the last several words which are "and left nothing behind them.")
I'm thinking of reading Moby Dick next. It doesn't have "Sea" in the title, but I think it counts for sticking to my traditional summer reading theme. What are you reading this summer?
[Book image from Amazon]
I need to read something - I'm reading nothing. I've never read this book, but the passages you shared were gorgeous!
ReplyDeletePick up Pride and Prejudice or A Room With A View or Jane Eyre. The classics will blow your mind!! (Anna Karenina has LOVELY language, but it is long and takes some concentration!)
Delete