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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
I read a different translation with lots of helpful footnotes.
Individual chapters and stories are great not sure I really got the point of it at large.
This was a pretty wild ride but I'm still meh about it. I can appreciate it's critique of the Soviet society, specifically the government's suppression of free thought and artistic expression, but I felt it was trying to be too serious and too wacky at the same time.
3.5 stars. Despite its high overall rating, all of my goodreads friends who've read it also awarded 3 stars, and mentioned many of the same issues I'm going to bring up. So it's clearly not just me!
A fun story of the mess and confusion (and deaths) the devil causes when he and his sidekick demons arrive in Moscow. Whenever he or his retinue are in the scene, the book is entertaining. A lot of the other bits are not, however, and I struggled to pay attention. This wasn't helped by the fact that I got many names mixed up, I'm sure this is my own issue because, being foreign, they are unfamiliar.
The "present day" story is intertwined with the story of Pontius Pilate and like everyone else, I found this part quite boring. I wish it was more brief.
Overall, in turns an entertainment and a struggle to get through.
A fun story of the mess and confusion (and deaths) the devil causes when he and his sidekick demons arrive in Moscow. Whenever he or his retinue are in the scene, the book is entertaining. A lot of the other bits are not, however, and I struggled to pay attention. This wasn't helped by the fact that I got many names mixed up, I'm sure this is my own issue because, being foreign, they are unfamiliar.
The "present day" story is intertwined with the story of Pontius Pilate and like everyone else, I found this part quite boring. I wish it was more brief.
Overall, in turns an entertainment and a struggle to get through.
This is beautifully written and totally crazy, loved it but am sure I missed most of the point. Need to re-read one day...
adventurous
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
slow-paced
What a trip. What a flippin trip. This book gave me so much joy and made me feel so alive. Such a different approach to story telling and yet so relevant. A commentary to a world that I did not have the opportunity to explore and experience and yet I was so profoundly touched by it. I find that books of this school of literature may not be so "easy" to read with their long descriptions and relatively slow pace. But that in itself is something that I believe challenges a reader to embrace a different and new experience in reading. So grateful to the friend who reccomended this.