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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
Lost interest, will pick up later.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Finally finished this for a book of a month. It took me 2 months.
Though I personally did not like it, I can see why people do like it and why they may recommend or suggest it. The book feels like it was written with love and lots of effort. For me, it was hard to follow and I did not enjoy it even though the confusion is one of the reasons why it's popular. Reading it made me feel overstimulated since there was so much going on with the author's style and I already am disordered when it comes to processing and languages anyways. So, this book wasn't for me. That's okay. :,)
Something I loved was the chaos and of course, I loved the cat. I loved the surrealism and the magic. It was interesting to see the devil play with Russia and nobody believing Ivan. While reading this, I found myself in the habit of imagining it as an opera aha: Killing, betrayal, insanity, kind of romance. Nothing about it is boring or bland. So give it a time if you are a good reader or know how to use tools to help you.
Though I personally did not like it, I can see why people do like it and why they may recommend or suggest it. The book feels like it was written with love and lots of effort. For me, it was hard to follow and I did not enjoy it even though the confusion is one of the reasons why it's popular. Reading it made me feel overstimulated since there was so much going on with the author's style and I already am disordered when it comes to processing and languages anyways. So, this book wasn't for me. That's okay. :,)
Something I loved was the chaos and of course, I loved the cat. I loved the surrealism and the magic. It was interesting to see the devil play with Russia and nobody believing Ivan. While reading this, I found myself in the habit of imagining it as an opera aha: Killing, betrayal, insanity, kind of romance. Nothing about it is boring or bland. So give it a time if you are a good reader or know how to use tools to help you.
Review at: https://washingdish.es/blog/books_2025#the_master_and_margarita
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"Manuscripts don't burn" ("Рукописи не горят")
The Master and Margarita is my most favorite book which impresses me so much every time when I read this excellent masterpiece again and again. The novel tells about numerous important interesting things, namely, a romantic affair of Master and Margarita, the eternal struggle between Satan and God, and moral values of Soviet citizens at the beginning of 1920’s.
In my opinion, it is one of the most wonderful and best books of this great writer. The characters of the protagonists are presented very convincingly. The story impressed me so much that I have a feeling that I know these persons very well and am able to read their thoughts. The interesting fact is that Voland is not a negative character in The Master and Margarita . As for me, he is like a teacher: he punishes people only when they commit sins. Voland is a villain with kind aims and hopes that one day people will become better without committing sins.
Despite the book is quite big and at times hard to understand even for us, native speakers, I still consider it being one of my most favorite ones…
FACTS…
• The Master and Margarita novel is said to have been read by Mick Jagger and influenced his writing of the song "Sympathy for the Devil".
• The Franz Ferdinand song "Love and Destroy" was based on a scene where Margarita flies over Moscow on her way to the Walpurgis Night Ball.
• In the videogame Grand Theft Auto 4, a mission is entitled "The Master and The Molotov", in which you kill a Russian man named Mikhail.
• The grunge band Pearl Jam were influenced by the novel's confrontation between Yeshua Ha-Nozri and Pontius Pilate for the song, "Pilate" on their 1998 album "Yield".
"Not causing trouble, not touching anything, fixing the primus" ("Не шалю, никого не трогаю, починяю примус") - (a "primus" is a brand/type of portable stove) – Behemoth :)
The Master and Margarita is my most favorite book which impresses me so much every time when I read this excellent masterpiece again and again. The novel tells about numerous important interesting things, namely, a romantic affair of Master and Margarita, the eternal struggle between Satan and God, and moral values of Soviet citizens at the beginning of 1920’s.
In my opinion, it is one of the most wonderful and best books of this great writer. The characters of the protagonists are presented very convincingly. The story impressed me so much that I have a feeling that I know these persons very well and am able to read their thoughts. The interesting fact is that Voland is not a negative character in The Master and Margarita . As for me, he is like a teacher: he punishes people only when they commit sins. Voland is a villain with kind aims and hopes that one day people will become better without committing sins.
Despite the book is quite big and at times hard to understand even for us, native speakers, I still consider it being one of my most favorite ones…
FACTS…
• The Master and Margarita novel is said to have been read by Mick Jagger and influenced his writing of the song "Sympathy for the Devil".
• The Franz Ferdinand song "Love and Destroy" was based on a scene where Margarita flies over Moscow on her way to the Walpurgis Night Ball.
• In the videogame Grand Theft Auto 4, a mission is entitled "The Master and The Molotov", in which you kill a Russian man named Mikhail.
• The grunge band Pearl Jam were influenced by the novel's confrontation between Yeshua Ha-Nozri and Pontius Pilate for the song, "Pilate" on their 1998 album "Yield".
"Not causing trouble, not touching anything, fixing the primus" ("Не шалю, никого не трогаю, починяю примус") - (a "primus" is a brand/type of portable stove) – Behemoth :)
This was a struggle to get through for me. While it all sort of comes together in the end, for most of the novel, the chapters seem to jump all over the place with seemingly unconnected and meaningless misfortunes happening to an ever expanding troup of characters. And it doesn't help to keep the characters straight when the author changes up referring to characters by different combinations of their name - first all 3, then mostly their first and second names and later to be referred to only by the character's third name.
The Devil literally goes down to Moscow, a novelist yearns for his lost love while in an insane asylum, and Pontius Pilate grips with insomnia and ordering the execution of Jesus. It's a wonderfully crazy sort of novel.
A Soviet satire meets Beetlejuice (in fact, I'm pretty sure Beetlejuice had to have been partially inspired by Bulgakov's masterpiece). Did I catch all the satirical references? No. There's probably a lot of funny things that flew right over my head. But it was an engaging read from beginning to end, and I think this modern day fairy tale resonates with current times. What the hell is right or wrong, left or right, heaven or hell? What should I do? The Master and Margarita is a not-too-subtle semi-autobiographic wishlist from the author about getting the hell out of a society and situation where this very novel would not succeed.
It's also really funny, too. That definitely helps.
Does it feel a little rough and incomplete in parts? Yeah. But I think it's a great novel that can be inadequate in interesting ways, weirdly enough. If you feel robbed by the bittersweet, ambiguous end, that's ok. So did I. But the more I ponder on it, the more I think I would've been robbed if there was a neat bow on the package. It's a novel about Satan's antics in Soviet Russia, a talking cat, naked witches, and Pontius Pilate snuggling up with his dog; you're barking up the wrong tree if you want concrete messages.
Reading tip: If you're like me and not very well-versed in Russian literature, the names can be difficult to remember, so I really recommend using a notepad to keep track of who is who -- quite a few characters also have nicknames and its hard for me to be sure which name matches with which (names like Nickolay, Nickanor, Ivan, Ivanovich...etc.). Luckily, most characters don't really stick around for too long, so don't get too frustrated if you feel lost.
A Soviet satire meets Beetlejuice (in fact, I'm pretty sure Beetlejuice had to have been partially inspired by Bulgakov's masterpiece). Did I catch all the satirical references? No. There's probably a lot of funny things that flew right over my head. But it was an engaging read from beginning to end, and I think this modern day fairy tale resonates with current times. What the hell is right or wrong, left or right, heaven or hell? What should I do? The Master and Margarita is a not-too-subtle semi-autobiographic wishlist from the author about getting the hell out of a society and situation where this very novel would not succeed.
It's also really funny, too. That definitely helps.
Does it feel a little rough and incomplete in parts? Yeah. But I think it's a great novel that can be inadequate in interesting ways, weirdly enough. If you feel robbed by the bittersweet, ambiguous end, that's ok. So did I. But the more I ponder on it, the more I think I would've been robbed if there was a neat bow on the package. It's a novel about Satan's antics in Soviet Russia, a talking cat, naked witches, and Pontius Pilate snuggling up with his dog; you're barking up the wrong tree if you want concrete messages.
Reading tip: If you're like me and not very well-versed in Russian literature, the names can be difficult to remember, so I really recommend using a notepad to keep track of who is who -- quite a few characters also have nicknames and its hard for me to be sure which name matches with which (names like Nickolay, Nickanor, Ivan, Ivanovich...etc.). Luckily, most characters don't really stick around for too long, so don't get too frustrated if you feel lost.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of the most whacky and truly fun books I've read in a long while. It felt like I wasn't doing any work at all reading it, just going along for the ride, following the various slapstick escapades and follies of the Muscovites.
My favourite theme for books to address is the theme of writing itself. And while I did love all the stuff to do with the Master's novel, manuscripts and art etc.--and got a lot of vicarious enjoyment out of the satire of the Russian literary circles--I definitely would not have liked the Master's novel very much.
My favourite theme for books to address is the theme of writing itself. And while I did love all the stuff to do with the Master's novel, manuscripts and art etc.--and got a lot of vicarious enjoyment out of the satire of the Russian literary circles--I definitely would not have liked the Master's novel very much.