Doctor Zhivago
One of the great books, I think. I'm not sure how I'd feel about it without having seen the movie, which is not only a wonderful movie but a good mental crutch for reading the book. As with most Russian novels, a notebook to write down characters as they come along is a must—every one has 3 names and a couple of pet names, too, and there's a trainload of them. This isn't a tight book, and it's not Gone With the Wind, either, but true and honest and very moving in equal parts.
