Well done you for persisting that far while hating it that much. If I were truly hating it I’d have given up and given my copy to my mother. :p

Which, the Julie Christie film? Because that one is a bit boring.

Yeah, the dialogue can be a killer. I’m a very dialogue-oriented reader. When the dialogue’s stilted, it makes a huge difference to my appreciation of the book.

I’ve never read anything by Tolstoy except his art criticism. I loathed it, but I impartially loathed everything I read in that wretched wretched class. You’re the second person to say his books are more accessible with the characters than Dr. Zhivago’s, so maybe I will give him a go in a few months (or years).

I do love Nabokov’s writing, but I tend to think he sounds like a bit of a jerk as a dude. If he found Dr. Zhivago melodramatic, what must he have thought of Tolstoy then?

I remember the snowy landscapes really well, but not the suit. I particularly remember them coming to a house and it was all snowed out, and everything was ice. That was gorgeous.

Yes, exactly! There is also an element of me being very intolerant of Russians in particular. Ancient Greek and Roman literature doesn’t sound like the way people really talk, and yet I love it ferociously. It’s what you’re used to, I guess.

Not my reproduction. Straight quote from the book. People can’t talk like that! How would anything ever get accomplished? :p

Maybe try watching the film first. If I hadn’t watched the film first – actually two film versions – I’d be totally lost. The films help me keep the characters straight, and let me keep my reading momentum when things get slow.

You are so silly. I’ll have to ask Laura’s smugsasmugs if that is the way Russians speak. To hear her tell it, they all talk like this: “Give fries.” “Take ticket for train.”

It’s not my version. It’s real. I stole it straight out of the book. Russian translated dialogue is UNSPOOFABLE. (Insofar as it’s already a spoof of itself, not insofar as you can’t make fun of it.)

I believe the film took some serious liberties, but I also think that things get a bit more interesting. My recollection is they maybe have a kid together? And I think at some point Tonya and Lara get to meet. Awkward.