Reviews

This book was funny and clever, even though a number of the jokes went over my head. I think if I knew more about Bulgakov, the Soviet era, and Russian history, these un-landed jokes would make a lot more sense and be a lot funnier. All in all, Diaboliad was enjoyably silly and a great work from Bulgakov.

bookherd's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

These stories are a bit madcap, and most of them have sly references to the infernal in them: characters saying "The devil only knows," or a sulfurous smell, or a building burning down in an inferno. They cover everything from a clerk at a bureaucratic agency losing his mind over a series of clerical errors to a story about the lengths one man would go to avoid having his apartment requisitioned to house more people. These stories, especially Diaboliad and The Fatal Eggs, contain the seeds of the absurd and malevolent world of Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita.

fabiola_m's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging funny tense medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated

caracabe's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

Bulgakov might have been addicted to morphine, but he often wrote like a coked-up Kafka. (That’s a good thing.)

aerithb's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I didn’t really enjoy this book. it was much too confusing for me to follow and by the time that i finally thought I understood something the book was over. This was my first book by this author and I can somewhat understand the appeal because of his unique use of humor but overall it just fell flat as I couldn’t get into and didn’t really care for the characters or plot.

glaslaschwarz's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

i was so confused and i loved it.
4/5

kaja_01's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

More...