Reading the Chunksters discussion

This is the placeholder for the upcoming schedule. We tentatively plan to embark on a new adventure in May. I will post the schedule as soon as I check out the book from the library. My edition is in Russian, and I do not think it will help, so I need the English version.

Dianne will be leading the discussion.

Please be patient and give me a couple of days.

Posting schedule at top of thread for easy reference:

May 01 - Part I ( The Five O'clock Express, A girl From a Different World)
May 08- Part I (The Sventitskys' Christmas Party, The Hour of the Inevitable)
May 15 - Part II (Farewell to the Old, The Moscow Encampment)
May 22 - Part II (Train to the Urals, Arrival)
May 29 - Part II (Varykino, The Highway, The Forest Brotherhood)
June 05- Part II (The Rowan Tree, Opposite the House of Sculptures)
June 12 - Part II (Return to Varykino, Conclusion, Epilogue)
June 17 - The Poems of Yuri Zhivago, General Discussion

My library has Max Hayward's translation. I guess this is going to be my preferred version :-) I will counter-check it with the Russian original and see how much the adage is true - one who translates fiction is a slave, one who translates poetry is a competitor. :-)
There are poems in the novel, and I do not think it is a spoiler. They are very conspicuous ;-)

I'm not sure how much I will be able to participate since I seem to be reading chunksters for another GR group but I have a great fondness for Doctor Zhivago and Russian literature in general. Anyone who is interested in the controversy around the P&V translations can google "Pevear and Volokhonsky" to find articles on both sides. Our library has both the P&V and the Hayward so I think I will go with the Hayward.

I have the translation by Hayward and Harari and then some poems in this volume translated by Guerney. I have had this on my to-read shelf for so long. I can never forget the scene from the film where the lovers meet in the frozen house, or the massive battle scenes, nor can I forget the final scene, which I wont talk about. Hollywood probably took a lot of liberties! As usual! I am not reading anything else right now in other book clubs, so this is going to be exciting!

I'll join in as a re-read and just poke around the discussion threads. I read it just a few months ago and still think about it.

Yay! Drew! Greg! Biblio! Will be excellent to have you all joining :)

Yay! I am so excited that I get to read along with you all this time. Life has been so hectic the past year I haven't been able to join a group read but I am thrilled that my first one will be Doctor Zhivago!

Not to stir the pot but I have read many of the P&V translations and enjoyed them, is there other translations that are preferred? I am curious to see if I missed options when I was looking at translations.

Danielle wrote: "Yay! I am so excited that I get to read along with you all this time. Life has been so hectic the past year I haven't been able to join a group read but I am thrilled that my first one will be Doct..."

wonderful, welcome Danielle!

Here is an article regarding the translations!




https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...

Dianne,
You are thinking about the Hayward/Harari (not Garnett).

Haaze wrote: "Dianne,
You are thinking about the Hayward/Harari (not Garnett)."

oh lol! I forgot that dr z is probably one of the ONLY russian works garnett has not translated! the guardian article discusses the dr z translations though

Dianne wrote: "Danielle wrote: "Yay! I am so excited that I get to read along with you all this time. Life has been so hectic the past year I haven't been able to join a group read but I am thrilled that my first..."

Thanks! So it is really more of a personal preference? If one prefers a more technically accurate text or one that is better at conveying the emotion and feeling behind the text? Why can't someone combine the two types and just make it easier for us to see both side by side. I think I might try to buy an ebook version of the Hayward and Harari translation to compare some of the passages against.

I think you can't go wrong with either one of those two to be honest!

Dianne wrote: "I think you can't go wrong with either one of those two to be honest!"

That is kinda what I gathered from the article, some prefer one style over another. I am a more technical person so that may be why P&V appeal to me. Plus I kinda enjoy looking up some of the weird phrases because I always find more than just the meaning, I find a little bit of the history which in turn makes the works better. I am a nerd like that though...lol

Thanks again for the link to the article!

I hope to join in here, but am deep into another chunkster with Musil, and a bit behind on my Trollope. So, a definite maybe.

Hmmm that sounds familiar Dan! Musil is my weekend agenda! But I will accept a definite maybe :)

I'm going to read along too! I have had this book for ages (the Hayward translation apparently) but it has always intimidated me. I'm glad to have some buddies to read with! I've never seen the movie either.

Excellent Lahni! Welcome!

I did the George Burns Ketchup, Catsup comparison of P & V and Hayward. By far I preferred Hayward. It just seemed so poetic, beautiful and still highly readable/enjoyable.

I haven't forgotten about Musil... he's hanging out at the library. I'll cart him home in May.

I'll be reading mine in Russian too - a copy is already on its way to me. Hopefully it arrives before May 1st.

Biblio wrote: "I did the George Burns Ketchup, Catsup comparison of P & V and Hayward. By far I preferred Hayward. It just seemed so poetic, beautiful and still highly readable/enjoyable.

I haven't forgotten abo..."

Thanks Biblio! It is fascinating to me that despite the PV hype other translators seem to be preferred for those that prefer a more artistic approach to translation of Russian works. I have never read BOTH a PV and another translation of the same book. I have the PV and like it, but perhaps the next Russian book I read I will try another just to compare.

Andrea wrote: "I'll be reading mine in Russian too - a copy is already on its way to me. Hopefully it arrives before May 1st."

Super, very glad you are joining us Andrea!!

Dan wrote: "I hope to join in here, but am deep into another chunkster with Musil, and a bit behind on my Trollope. So, a definite maybe."
Hi Dan, I was about to read the third in the Barchester series, but it can wait.

Lahni wrote: "I'm going to read along too! I have had this book for ages (the Hayward translation apparently) but it has always intimidated me. I'm glad to have some buddies to read with! I've never seen the mov..."
Lahni, the film is incredibly romantic. I think, though, the book will be less so.

Andrea wrote: "I'll be reading mine in Russian too - a copy is already on its way to me. Hopefully it arrives before May 1st."
Andrea, great! It will be fascinating to have people reading in Russian and English (and maybe other languages)!

Andrea! That's so awesome to have a Russian speaker ^.^ *happy dance*

So, here is the schedule. I thought it would be a nightmare to break the book into sections, but it looks like the book was written for our group's reading speed.
Most of the weekly selections consist of two chapters and the length is 55-70 pages long.
From my personal experience, there are always faster readers, but because both Dianne and I read read it some time ago, I do not think opening threads ahead of the schedule will be an issue.

I looked at both versions - the original and the English versions, and they pretty much match each other when it comes to chapters and titles; as for the content, well ... it depends. Emotional depth is always different for different languages, and some aspects are more accentuated than others due to the nature of languages per se ...

May 01 - Part I ( The Five O'clock Express, A girl Form a Different World)
May 08- Part I (The Sventitskys' Christmas Party, The Hour of the Inevitable)
May 15 - Part II (Farewell to the Old, The Moscow Encampment)
May 22 - Part II (Train too the Urals, Arrival)
May 29 - Part II (Varykino, The Highway, The Forest Brotherhood)
June 05- Part II (The Rowan Tree, Opposite the House of Sculptures)
June 12 - Part II (Return to Varykino, Conclusion, Epilogue)
June 17 - The Poems of Yuri Zhivago, General Discussion

I believe Dianne will be leading the discussion as soon as she approves the schedule, and I will chime in as often as I can.

Zulfiya wrote: "So, here is the schedule. I thought it would be a nightmare to break the book into sections, but it looks like the book was written for our group's reading speed.
Most of the weekly selections con..."

the schedule looks great Zulfiya, thank you!!

I will open up the first thread in a few days that will cover Part I, of course spoilers are allowed within each individual section so we can freely discuss as we go along.

Note that the chapter headers may be slightly different in your version (mine are), but I think you should be able to track the schedule. If you have any questions, message me.

In my PV version, the first week will be Part One and Part Two of Book One (The Five O'Clock Express and A Girl From a Different Circle).

I am unlikely to participate much in this one because I have too many other books on the go to want to re-read this one. I read the Max Hayward translation.

Ok thanks for letting us know Hugh!

I am new to the group. I saw the group introduced on my home page, checked it out, and saw I was just in time for Dr. Zhivago. I have always wanted to read this, so I ran out and purchased the Pevear/Volonsky translation this morning! Yay! It was the only translation they had, but it is what I read Anna Karenina in and I loved it so I probably would have chosen it. I'm so excited to read with you all.

Awesome Candace, so glad you are joining us!

I was hoping to finish By Gaslight before starting this book, but decided instead to put it down and focus on Dr. Zhivago. Very excited to read this with all of you.

Awesome Tanya, glad you are joining!!

My library has the P&V translation. I'm going to start it this evening. Looking forward to the discussion!

I read it not too long ago but this time I'm reading with the schedule. There is a lot to discuss!

My book has not arrived yet, so it looks like I have to fall behind a little. If it's still en route by the end of the week, I might start a public domain ebook, though it's not my ideal reading format.

I've had this book shelved for years. I will try to participate.

Excellent glad to have you Amy!

I'm a bit late to the party, but my book finally arrived! I'm starting it right away.

Same! My copy (trans by Max Hayward) arrived on Saturday and I'm on chapter 2. Sadly not going to be able to read on schedule this month, hopefully should be able to catch up in the last two weeks.

No worries Andrea and Sofia! Post as you can and we will be there :)