Cobbett's Literary Rides 

Dr Zhivago
6/10
The story is about a doctor (Zhivago) who is a liar and a cheat. A womanising no good who loves them knocks them up and then leaves them. Even the so-called love of his life Lara, who I might add was not his wife.
During the course of the book, Zhivago does this to three women: Tonya (his wife), Lara, a nurse he worked with and Marina, the live-in lover who he also ditched to go and live a single life. So, no, Dr Zhivago is not the greatest love story of all time as it is billed.

The next irritating thing is the characters have several names each. For instance Lara is also Larissa Fyodorovna, Lurochka, and Antipova. Her husband is Pasha Antipov AKA Strelnikov and yes, I understand why he had to change his name, but the author keeps flitting between the three. Pasha, Antipov and Strelnikov. The English translation did not take into account that in English-speaking countries women's surnames do not differ from the male so Lara Antipova is Mrs Antipov. The author refers to her several times as simply 'Antipova' and so, as a non-Russian speaker, you have to figure out who he is on about. 

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On a positive note, the book gives a comprehensive insight into Russia through several of the history changing eras. The Russo-Japan war, The Russian Revolution and WWI. It's worth a read for an insider insight into Russian history from the viewpoint of someone who lived it.