Books Read in April

Dr.Zhivago by Boris Pasternak

A wonderful life-affirming love story set in revolutionary Russia. The movie is much more romantic but the book, although fairly difficult and heavy reading at times, is much more rewarding. Lizok, who teaches and translates Russian, has a very interesting section about this novel at her blog: Dr.Zhivago

We've been discussing this at my Russian Literature group and it's been very enjoyable!

I just watched the series again. This was much closer to the book than the film and I actually preferred it in some ways, although the film is so stunningly beautiful. It's a good idea to watch them both after reading the book. The series tells more of Lara's and Dr.Zhivago's stories so that the viewer has a better understanding of the characters.

Keira Knightly is not as luminous as Julie Christie but considering the fact that she was only sixteen when this was shot, her acting is quite amazing. Hans Matthiesen is a poetic and sensitive Dr.Zhivago. The best actor in this is Sam Neill. He really thrives on the part of Komarovsky!

The Flirt by Kathleen Tessaro

A fun romp through the lives of various people living in 'Cool Brittania' who need to learn some hard life-lessons about love. I really liked the main character, Hughie, who reminded me somewhat of Hugh Grant! Tessaro's other books were deeper, however.



Rose Cottage by Mary Stewart

A sweet and simple love story with a slight mystery. Good holiday reading.

Clutch of Constables by Ngaio Marsh

A clever mystery and full of eccentric characters, this was a good book but rather old-fashioned in many ways now.

Journal of Solitude by May Sarton


This is a tale of a woman's struggles with solitude and depression. Her descriptions of nature are quite beautiful. At times I found this book soothing and my reading group loved it. However, I did find some of it depressing and I wasn't all that keen on it.

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