Summary

In the East, October–December 1958, Olga felt proud that Boris had won the Nobel Prize in “The Emissary.” Yet she also feared retaliation from the State, for “accepting the Prize would be…an even greater indignity” (289). Boris told her that he accepted the Prize, and soon after, the Kremlin condemned the novel on a world stage. All Russian writers of importance were summoned to a Writers’ Union meeting to discuss “the issue of the Nobel” (291). Olga read nasty opinions about Boris in the papers, and no one stood up to defend Boris. Ira’s school created a forced protest against Boris and Doctor Zhivago. At the Writers’ Union, each took their turn speaking out against the novel, and he was “expelled” from the group (293). With this news, Boris emotionally spiraled out of control. He acknowledged his...