Part 9, Chapter 1
- Whenever he gets a chance, Zhivago stops doing his farm work and writes a few lines of poetry.
- Zhivago reflects on how nice it is to live a farmer's life and to grow his own food.
- Zhivago mentions that his family's use of the land is illegal, since it's being concealed from the local authorities. If the authorities knew, they'd probably take half (or more) of everything the Zhivagos grew. No one knows anything about it, though, because they're living so far out in the sticks.
- Zhivago knows deep down that both he and Mikulitsyn owe their lives to Anfim Efimovich, the guy who keeps helping them out, even though he's a diehard Communist.
Part 9, Chapter 2
- Zhivago notes in his diary that the growing season has been decent, which is good for him and his family while they've been getting settled.
- Zhivago goes through a short list of the stuff his family does to get by, like digging potatoes and pickling cucumbers.
- Anfim Enfimovich supplies the family with kerosene to help them heat their house through the night. Either Zhivago or Alexander reads to the family out loud each night.
Part 9, Chapter 3
- Zhivago thinks that his wife Tonya is expecting their second child.
Part 9, Chapter 4
- Zhivago waxes philosophical about art.
Part 9, Chapter 5
- Zhivago can feels the first signs of the genetic heart defect that killed his mom. It doesn't sound good.
- Zhivago wants to go to the local library to read up on the local area and its history.
- Zhivago has dreams at night that make him reflect in the daytime about what dreams might really mean. He thinks that the stuff that comes out in dreams is the stuff you encounter in daily life, but don't really notice at the time.
Part 9, Chapter 6
- Zhivago keeps reading poetry with his family and offers a few personal views on the Russian poet Pushkin.
Part 9, Chapter 7
- Zhivago writes in his diary about how much he wishes he could write a book that would last. But he feels so overwhelmed by all the Communist clichés of his time that it's hard to think of anything original.
Part 9, Chapter 8
- It's the spring thaw. The Zhivagos have made it through their first winter in Varykino.
- Zhivago writes about how much he likes listening to the songs of the local birds.
Part 9, Chapter 9
- The farm work is starting up again for the year, so Zhivago won't have time to write in his diary anymore.
- Peasants visit Zhivago sometimes looking for medical attention; word has got around that he's a doctor. He wants nothing to do with medicine, but he can't turn people away when they come to him sick.
- Out of nowhere, Zhivago's half-brother Evgraf shows up for a visit. He's dodgy about what he's doing there and what's going on in his life.
- Evgraf makes visits to the nearby town of Yuriatin, and Zhivago quickly realizes that this guy is more important than even Anfim Enfimovich, although Zhivago still knows nothing about Evgraf's real status. It looks like Evgraf can do a lot to make the Zhivagos' lives easier.
- At this point, we find out that Zhivago's diary ends, and that he never sat down again to continue it. That's kid of ominous, isn't it?
Part 9, Chapter 10
- Zhivago finally visits the library in the nearby town of Yuriatin and takes a moment to observe the kinds of people in the town and their mannerisms.
Part 9, Chapter 11
- While reading one day, Zhivago notices something change in the library. He looks up and sees Lara Antipova walk into the room. His heart flutters with all the feelings he had for Lara back when they were stationed together in WWI. He can tell from people's reactions that Lara is well known and well loved in Yuriatin.
Part 9, Chapter 12
- Instead of jumping up, Zhivago decides to stick his nose back in his book and pretend that he doesn't see Lara in the library. Of course, he can't concentrate on what he's reading.
- After a while, though, Zhivago bends over a desk and starts working with a lot of concentration, reading local articles and learning as much about the town as he can.
- Zhivago can tell from the Marxist books Lara is reading that she must be getting a new "political education" as part of being a teacher. Yup, if you're going to teach in Communist Russia, you're going to need to know how to teach the kids the right kind of propaganda.
- When Zhivago finally gathers the courage to go say hi to Lara, he realizes that she has finished reading and is gone.
- Zhivago walks over to Lara's stack of books and finds her address in the slips of paper inside them.
Part 9, Chapter 13
- One day, Zhivago cancels all his plans and goes to Lara's house in Yuriatin. He goes around the back way and finds Lara hanging out beside a well. He offers to carry her water buckets for her, but she won't hear of it.
- Lara knows that Zhivago's been in the area for over a year but hasn't come to see her. Word has got around. Besides, she totally saw him ignoring her at the library.
- Lara invites Zhivago into her house and he follows.
Part 9, Chapter 14
- Zhivago tells Lara the story of how he and his family came to the area. When he tells her that he's met Strelnikov, Lara seems really interested, though she says they can talk about it later.
- Zhivago tells Lara that he thinks Strelnikov is a doomed man, since he's not actually connected to the Red Army. The Communists will be okay with him as long as he's fighting the same battles as they are. But once the war is over and won, they'll get rid of him.
- Zhivago goes on a fresh rant about how no good can ever come from the Communist Revolution, since it's way too simple-minded to ever apply to a complicated world.
- At one point, Lara's daughter Katenka enters the room. She's grown up into an eight-year-old at this point.
- Lara persuades Zhivago to stay for dinner, and he agrees, even though his family is probably wondering where he's disappeared to for the entire day.
Part 9, Chapter 15
- Lara comes out and says that Strelnikov and her husband Pasha Antipov are actually one and the same guy. Pasha assumed a fake identity after being captured in WWI, and now he's returned as a military strongman.
- Pasha has always stayed near Yuriatin but has never come to see Lara and Katenka, because he can't reveal his secret. All the while, though, he has been secretly helping her.
- Lara's sad that Pasha has turned into such a violent man, but she trusts that there is some sort of larger plan going on with it. It seems that when it comes down to it, Pasha just really believes in the Communist ideas he's fighting for.
- Lara thinks that Pasha is doing all of this so that he can return to her and Katenka as a hero. He wants them to admire him.
Part 9, Chapter 16
- Zhivago heads from Lara's place back to his family in Varykino. It's been two months since the first time he ever slept over at Lara's place for the night. And yes, this is Pasternak's way of saying that Zhivago has started getting it on with Lara. And yes, he lied to Tonya about where he was.
- Sometimes, the guilt starts to eat Zhivago up when he's at home with his family. Tonya realizes it and knows he's keeping something from her. She doesn't know what, though.
- Zhivago decides that he'll see Lara one more time before breaking off their relationship. The resolve makes him feel happy.
- As he rides, however, he hears a gunshot and stops in the road. A high school student in a military uniform forces him off his horse and takes him prisoner. These people know who he is, and they want to force him to be a medical worker with their army.