Safe Conduct (1949)

As an avid fan of Soviet literature, I wanted to enjoy this, Pasternak's mid-life autobiography, more than I did. For me his medium, a dense and lofty form of prose, often got in the way of the message.

I found msyself re-reading certain particularly tricky paragraphs over and over, meaning still escaping me after several reads. (I'm not an impatient reader, but my patience was tried on several occasions.) Long passages involving Pasternak's take on literary theory weighed particularly heavily.

I found most engaging Pasternak's description of Venice in the nineteen-teens, an admirable account that gives ample credit to the city's reputation as a gem in the European crown; and the passionate and boyish devotion Pasternak expresses towards the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, an immortal artist apotheosized by his suicide. ( )