Reviews

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

karmyi's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

jedwards97's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

The Master and Margarita is a wild ride. Book one dashes between different moments of absurd chaos that flourishes in Moscow after the arrival of the devil, whilst book two delves into a traditional linear narrative involving the devil and Margarita. The typical “antagonist” characters, if you can call them that, are the most enthralling. Their bouts of comedy mixed with acts of terror create such an entertaining read that the book stands out immediately as one of a kind. The writing has so much deeply embedded meaning that I need to give it a second read to grasp all of the ideas and feelings comprehensively, it was so easy to get sucked up in the story (in a great way) that I felt I whizzed past much of the deeper concepts of the novel. It was my first read of magical realism, i can only hope many other works in the genre have followed suit!

gsolar's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

annaerma's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

pellesmith's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

5.0

eliya's review against another edition

DNF at 30% 

Loved the unforgiving fever dream of it all and I decided I need to save it for a time where I can actually pay attention more to it. 

I listened to the audiobook (incredible vocal performance) and if I got distracted for a second the scene changed whiiiiiildly enough where I couldn’t even remember where I had missed. I don’t think my reading skills match this book yet lol. Planning to pick back up when life is a little less crazy. 

malakhkelevra's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

poischiche31's review against another edition

5.0

What a ride. Wonderfully bizarre and beautifully written. I wish I had someone to discuss this one with! 

mythicalbeast's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

rkaufman13's review against another edition

3.0

Oh Russian fiction.
I wish I had "gotten" this-- a very dear friend recommended this book, plus it's one of Daniel Radcliffe's favorite reads and that should count for SOMEthing, right? But alas, I just think I'm not cut out for allegorical Russian fiction from the 1930s.

Parts of this book were very sweet, parts were fascinating. But the "humor" was, I fear, entirely lost on me, and the fact that it takes basically half the book before anything starts HAPPENING was just...ugh.

I also hate patronymics. Sorry. :(