I feel a protective ache towards Lara in this chapter. Her internal conflict makes her feel real and human in that messy, aching way where desire and damage blur together. It leaves me wondering how these experiences will shape the way she loves and what she’ll come to believe she deserves.
Cams, these recaps are so helpful for clarifying the reading, and your added bits of history are very helpful as well. I’m really enjoying this slow read.
A couple of lines I especially enjoyed this week were Pasternak’s descriptions of Madam Guishar “a plump blonde of about thirty-five subject to spells of palpitation alternating with her fits of silliness’ and Faina Silantievna Fetisova, Madame Guisar’s assistant “…a bony woman with warts in the hollows of her cheeks. A cigarette in a bone holder clamped between her yellowed teeth, squinting her yellowish eyes and blowing a stream of yellow smoke from her nose and mouth…”
Fits of silliness made me chuckle and the other could be a Disney villain!
And also, poor Lara. I want to read ahead and know what happens with her but I’m going to wait.
Your post and going over the chapter really helps, I was getting so confused when new people and names kept popping up. Getting the history behind this helps so much. And also love the pictures you have added!!
Watching your video and accompanying photos I realize I know the area. I can picture modern office buildings and restaurants along with the absolutely gorgeous train station. There’s also a beautiful white and gold church really close by that struck me then as showcasing history and the modern world in one frame. I will have to reread the descriptions of the area.
The foreshadowing of Lara and her life to come is excellent and intriguing the language quite predictably describes aspects of Lara and and her demeanor/ inner life that the movie couldn’t capture.
The images of the trains and tracks is one of the most outstanding of the movie as I recall.
I’m fascinated by trains and of course they figure prominently in Russian history literature and life (as necessitated by the vast landscape). It wonderful to read about the inner workings of life behind and around a train station in such depth.
Thank you Cams, I fell a bit behind but catching up. I echo previous comments on how helpful your recap is. I'm still undecided with most characters but Komarovsky... that one I dislike significantly! Waiting to read how his fate unfolds
Thank you for this Cams.its so good to have the background history to what’s going on as it’s felt quite complicated and so many characters to slot into place.
At the moment while I’m feeling sad for the way Lara is being used I’m not yet warming to her…something about the way she treats the young lad who clearly has a crush on her. She’s certainly aware of her own beauty and the power that comes with it. I’ll be interested to see if this changes for me as I read on.
I feel a protective ache towards Lara in this chapter. Her internal conflict makes her feel real and human in that messy, aching way where desire and damage blur together. It leaves me wondering how these experiences will shape the way she loves and what she’ll come to believe she deserves.
Indeed. It'll be interesting to see who she's going to become as we follow her and Yury through the novel.
Yes, I can see why you said this. I found myself re-reading passages about Lara myself.
Cams, these recaps are so helpful for clarifying the reading, and your added bits of history are very helpful as well. I’m really enjoying this slow read.
A couple of lines I especially enjoyed this week were Pasternak’s descriptions of Madam Guishar “a plump blonde of about thirty-five subject to spells of palpitation alternating with her fits of silliness’ and Faina Silantievna Fetisova, Madame Guisar’s assistant “…a bony woman with warts in the hollows of her cheeks. A cigarette in a bone holder clamped between her yellowed teeth, squinting her yellowish eyes and blowing a stream of yellow smoke from her nose and mouth…”
Fits of silliness made me chuckle and the other could be a Disney villain!
And also, poor Lara. I want to read ahead and know what happens with her but I’m going to wait.
Your post and going over the chapter really helps, I was getting so confused when new people and names kept popping up. Getting the history behind this helps so much. And also love the pictures you have added!!
Thanks, Margo! I'm glad my work is helpful.
Watching your video and accompanying photos I realize I know the area. I can picture modern office buildings and restaurants along with the absolutely gorgeous train station. There’s also a beautiful white and gold church really close by that struck me then as showcasing history and the modern world in one frame. I will have to reread the descriptions of the area.
I enjoy looking up photos when I’m reading historical fiction. It really helps to bring it to life in my imagination.
The foreshadowing of Lara and her life to come is excellent and intriguing the language quite predictably describes aspects of Lara and and her demeanor/ inner life that the movie couldn’t capture.
The images of the trains and tracks is one of the most outstanding of the movie as I recall.
I’m fascinated by trains and of course they figure prominently in Russian history literature and life (as necessitated by the vast landscape). It wonderful to read about the inner workings of life behind and around a train station in such depth.
There’s plenty more train imagery to come!
Thank you Cams, I fell a bit behind but catching up. I echo previous comments on how helpful your recap is. I'm still undecided with most characters but Komarovsky... that one I dislike significantly! Waiting to read how his fate unfolds
Thank you for this Cams.its so good to have the background history to what’s going on as it’s felt quite complicated and so many characters to slot into place.
At the moment while I’m feeling sad for the way Lara is being used I’m not yet warming to her…something about the way she treats the young lad who clearly has a crush on her. She’s certainly aware of her own beauty and the power that comes with it. I’ll be interested to see if this changes for me as I read on.
Thanks for sharing your observations, Grace! Will you end up warming to Lara? We shall see!
This was an excellent and helpful recap, Cams. Loving it!
Thanks, Russell! Good luck on your talk tonight. 👍🏻
I can't wait! I LOVE Hesse's The Journey to the East!