Doctor Zhivago

Introduction 

Doctor Zhivago is a 1957 novel by Russian author Boris Pasternak. Set during the early 20th century, the story follows the titular Yuri Zhivago as he deals with revolution and social upheaval in his native country. As well as being widely praised following its publication, the novel has been adapted numerous times for the screen, most famously in a 1965 film—for which Pasternak cowrote the screenplay—directed by David Lean and starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie. This guide uses an eBook version of the 2010 Pantheon Books edition, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.

Content Warning: This guide contains references to torture, gun violence, and death by suicide, which feature in the source text.

Plot Summary

Yuri Zhivago loses his mother to tuberculosis when he is 10 years old. Two years later, his father dies by suicide. The orphaned Yuri is raised by friends and family, eventually settling with the relatively wealthy Gromeko family. The Gromekos raise Yuri as though he is one of their own children, and their daughter Tonya becomes his best friend. He studies to become a doctor and plans to graduate in 1912.

Amalia Guichard is the widowed owner of a dress shop. She lives in a poor district of

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