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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
I wasn't enjoying the Master and Margarita until I thought of it as a light comedy play. It really doesn't have the structure of a novel -- more of the structure of a play. It begins with two characters, an editor and a poet, in Stalinist times, discussing God and Jesus. The editor is a true communist and rebukes the poet for not being certain that God does not exist. Enter the devil and his entourage. The devil has two proofs of God's existence -- there is no devil without God, good and evil are necessary copartners and the Devil personally knew Pontius Pilate and Jesus. So the editor is summarily executed for being an unbeliever and later sent to nothingness. The Devil explains that everyone goes where they believe they will go. The poet ends up in an insane asylum after briefly serving as a ghost of the lost aristocracy with their belief in the power of icons to repel evil. He is saved and becomes a believer and is at peace in the insane asylum. The Devil wreaks havoc on the communist society -- giving women disappearing clothing and shoes and greedy bureaucrats money that transforms into foreign currency for which they are arrested as traffickers in foreign currency. But the Devil's true role is to punish the bad and reward the good. He does very little permanent damage. It becomes clear at the end that the Devil has been doing God's work.
I can see why the Soviets wouldn't like this story, but it is pretty mild by today's standards. My favorite parts were the stage show and the Satanic ball. I think there were a lot of satiric jokes about the Soviet literary community that I didn't get. There was a Virginia Woolf reference and I felt like Captain America "I got that! I got that reference!" But everything else was opaque. I'm sure there are websites I could go to that deconstruct and I did find a reference to the Griboyedov house that explained what it really was, but that is more work than I am willing to put into for this. I got the gist of the story.
There is an intense sense of sadness throughout. The Soviet art is bad art. There are denunciations, imprisonments of the sane in insane asylums, arrests of people for trafficking in foreign money who are innocent, forbidden thoughts, a new aristocracy of the people who conform. There is a great deal of fear expressed in the book -- everyone is on edge and expecting the worst. You can really feel the times.
I can see why the Soviets wouldn't like this story, but it is pretty mild by today's standards. My favorite parts were the stage show and the Satanic ball. I think there were a lot of satiric jokes about the Soviet literary community that I didn't get. There was a Virginia Woolf reference and I felt like Captain America "I got that! I got that reference!" But everything else was opaque. I'm sure there are websites I could go to that deconstruct and I did find a reference to the Griboyedov house that explained what it really was, but that is more work than I am willing to put into for this. I got the gist of the story.
There is an intense sense of sadness throughout. The Soviet art is bad art. There are denunciations, imprisonments of the sane in insane asylums, arrests of people for trafficking in foreign money who are innocent, forbidden thoughts, a new aristocracy of the people who conform. There is a great deal of fear expressed in the book -- everyone is on edge and expecting the worst. You can really feel the times.
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
relaxing
slow-paced
adventurous
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
This book was a whirlwind and was a very intriguing read. The story is so fun to read and is a good satire on 1930s Stalinist Moscow. The book has two different stories in it and both are incredible. It really shows us how there isn't any real distinction between good and evil, and that we should not fear the unpredicted but embrace it instead. Additionally, who doesn't love a cat in a book? Behemoth is so funny in the book.
I think I'm going to review this book before I even finish it to be honest. I absolutely loved this book; it's descriptive, in a way that keeps me interested, and funny. Each scene in its setting is described perfectly, with a bit of humour that really does make you laugh, but it also retells stories, such as those in the Bible, with different interpretations.
The way the devil goes around Moscow and creates mischief is creative and funny, whilst also showing the way society in Russia behaved and what they believed in back when the book was written. For example, how holding foreign currency was perceived as, ultimately, a betrayal to Russia, yet it also showed the reality behind the corruption of government officials back then (because the very people that preached this idealistic socialism, they hid foreign currency and kept pocketed money that should've been handed to the government), even though supposedly it was a fair country.
I suppose Bulkagov used the Devil as a way to show how communist Russia would punish people back then for being greedy (not handing in money when they're meant to, tax evading, holding foreign currency, interacting with foreigners etc) as well as believing anything other than what the socialist party believed in (religiously, economically, socially etc).
Maybe the Bulkagov was also trying to show everyone the truth and failings of socialism through the devil's mischiefs.
Bear in mind my interpretation might differ from other peoples, this is just my opinion and I don't take Literature so I'm not super knowledgeable about annotations and stuff.
Edit: So I'm pretty much at the end of the book and I must say it's definitely not what I expected. So past halfway the devil meets the Margherita and her story begins, taking her from her home to basically another dimension of the same world, where multiple planes exist so that space isn't confined. She eventually goes and experiences devilish things in the flat where Berlioz died, and asks him after everything, to grant her a life with the Master, her beloved, forever. Its cute to be fair. But for me, the most interesting part was again... the retelling of pontious pilot and the aftermath of Jesus' death. The story was just so interesting and descriptive.
Guys! If you love a descriptive book (warning! there is a lot of description which can get heavy at times) then you will like this book. :)
The way the devil goes around Moscow and creates mischief is creative and funny, whilst also showing the way society in Russia behaved and what they believed in back when the book was written. For example, how holding foreign currency was perceived as, ultimately, a betrayal to Russia, yet it also showed the reality behind the corruption of government officials back then (because the very people that preached this idealistic socialism, they hid foreign currency and kept pocketed money that should've been handed to the government), even though supposedly it was a fair country.
I suppose Bulkagov used the Devil as a way to show how communist Russia would punish people back then for being greedy (not handing in money when they're meant to, tax evading, holding foreign currency, interacting with foreigners etc) as well as believing anything other than what the socialist party believed in (religiously, economically, socially etc).
Maybe the Bulkagov was also trying to show everyone the truth and failings of socialism through the devil's mischiefs.
Bear in mind my interpretation might differ from other peoples, this is just my opinion and I don't take Literature so I'm not super knowledgeable about annotations and stuff.
Edit: So I'm pretty much at the end of the book and I must say it's definitely not what I expected. So past halfway the devil meets the Margherita and her story begins, taking her from her home to basically another dimension of the same world, where multiple planes exist so that space isn't confined. She eventually goes and experiences devilish things in the flat where Berlioz died, and asks him after everything, to grant her a life with the Master, her beloved, forever. Its cute to be fair. But for me, the most interesting part was again... the retelling of pontious pilot and the aftermath of Jesus' death. The story was just so interesting and descriptive.
Guys! If you love a descriptive book (warning! there is a lot of description which can get heavy at times) then you will like this book. :)
dark
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Finished reading this oddball classic about the Devil and his retinue causing havoc in Soviet Moscow. Some of it is a riot, some of it is a bit obscure now (Bulgakov has some scores to settle about how the historicity of Jesus was debated in 1920s and 30s Russia!), and it is a bit repetitive, but overall still an interesting read.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
