Doctor Zhivago. By Boris Pasternak. Collector’s Edition. Easton Press. Norwalk, 1997.

Boris Pasternak was a Russian novelist in the USSR who achieved international acclaim. He was a successful translator and poet, but his 1957 novel titled Doctor Zhivago elevated him to new heights. In 1958, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Sadly, however, he was forced to decline the award after USSR officials became suspicious of his political loyalties. Yet the novel and his prestige remain. Doctor Zhivago follows its titular character through the Russian Revolution to WWII. The work was denied publication in the USSR and led to significant backlash, but as the Soviet Union dissipated, Doctor Zhivago has been rightly placed among the best literary works from Russia in the twentieth century. Readers and critics praise its fidelity to character, depictions of historical events, and challenging yet rewarding plot. For any collector of Russian literature, it is an essential volume.

This collector’s edition is in about-fine condition. In the original leather, finely gilt stamped. Raised bands. Gilt spine label. Binding very good with only a few rubbed spots to spine and edges. Text block fine. Gilt edges. Silk moire endpapers and bookmark sewn in.

An about-fine collector’s copy of Doctor Zhivago.