Part 2: Chapter 8 - 9 Arrival and Varykino Summary

When the Zhivagos arrive at the train station near Varykino, a station master helps them arrange for transportation. Warned ahead of time that the estate Yuri's father had lost is run by a difficult man, Yuri gently pleads with him, a man named Mikulitsyn, knowing that at first he will protest but then give in. Mikulitsyn lets the Zhivagos stay in a small building with space for a garden.

Yuri starts a notebook in which he keeps various writings about his life at Varykino. He loves doing the physical labor of gathering food, harvesting timber, and the other regular chores involved with living the simple life. Technically speaking, the wood he takes from the forest is stolen property, as somebody else owns the land. However, since Mikulitsyn and his wife also must take...