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franzischi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
little_librophile's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, and Mental illness
Minor: Homophobia
Many characters end up in mental hospital The homophobia tag is for that one of the characters has the alias f*ggot. From research I found that the word used in russian sounds like that but more accurately means buffoon, but I guess my edition translates it as that 🙃liaandersson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and Murder
miamcmillan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
also idk if my strong dislike for the writing was bc it's a 'classic' written almost a century ago, but ive never had the same gripe w/ other classics ive read?? such a wasted opportunity bc this had such an amazing premise, w/ brief brilliant moments here and there, the titular master and margarita were actually delightful, and the end tied things quite well tgt. off to read 5-star reviews to see what others saw in this book.
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Religious bigotry
woahnelly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Death and Gore
Moderate: Domestic abuse
It's just banging and you've gotta read itfyre_flies's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Written between the 1920s and 40s, this classic was published posthumously due to the strict censorship of Soviet Russia.
The story follows the devil, Woland, and his peculiar entourage, which includes an enormous talking cat with a penchant for vodka and ill timed humor, in a visit to Russia.
Bukgakov combines supernatural elements with a layer of dark comedy and satire, flawlessly them playing off each other. The eponymous characters, however, only come into play in the latter half of the narrative after Margarita brokers a deal to be host, "Queen Margot", at the Devil's Ball in return for finding her missing lover - the unnamed Master, who has written an interesting tale of the history of Pontius Pilot...
Here is a very quick review:
The characters were vibrant, the descriptions magnificent and the action and dialogue was well constructed but the flow was bitty and all over the place. It appeared to me more like a set of short stories about the devil making trouble in numerous hilarious, satirical and at times serious ways. The ending too, felt a little underwhelming to me.
I also believe that readability and, in turn, enjoyability for this work depends a great deal on the translation and the format you read it in. I struggled through sections when reading certain translations but thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook experience (the one I chose was a Naxos edition read by Julian Rhind-Tutt which I really recommend).
Due to this, it didn't get my highest review, but it has definitely made me interested in reading more of Bulgakov's works in the future. I really enjoyed how he managed to blend humour with serious subjects in a way that doesn't clash and doesn't take away from the importance of the subject he is discussing.
Read if you like slow-paced yet action filled stories that are slightly wacky and very satirical, with sprinklings of seriousness and humour. It is literally the definition of a wild ride.
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Body horror and Child death
bryonyporter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
fyre_flies's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Alcohol
Minor: Gore
clairvoyant's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Body horror, Death, and Blood
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Suicide attempt