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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A few things, to start:
1. My library only had this ebook through Hoopla, which means I had to read it on my phone and it lacked the X-Ray and lookup functionality that generally exists on a Kindle that, respectively, let you look up names in the book to remember who is who and look up words and places from the text instead of having to google them separately. This book REALLY would have benefited from those functions. Even with a guide, I kept losing track of who was who. (Also at the end seeing that there was a character named Ivan Nikolayevich and another named Nikolay Ivanovich was just an example of how similar many names were without getting into all the nicknames). I read Anna Karenina successfully a few years ago so I'm not unfamiliar with Russian naming conventions, but woof.
2. I imagine the translation you get of this book can make a huge difference. I read this book about ten years ago and forgot a lot of the details aside from remembering there was a cat, the devil, and that it was very odd. I don't remember it being as much of a slog as it was this time, so perhaps a different translation would have been a better read.
3. Behemoth rocks.
Okay, so. This book and I did not particularly get along. A lot of this book required dealing with some amount of anxiety produced by knowing that every character in this book was fighting a losing battle trying to bring their concerns to the militia and that they would be thwarted at every turn (including having paperwork appear and disappear at will and money turning into foreign currency in their briefcase, or showing up in their toilet tank or whatever). The devil will always win, but no one knows that or, if they do, they have no way to explain it without ending up in the looney bin as a result. That sounds like a true nightmare.
The beginning was compelling, with Berlioz trying to tell the devil himself (unknowingly) why he did/could not exist and then ending up on the chopping block in short measure, but the Master and Margarita and Pontius Pilate subplots, which were a majority of the book, felt like a slog to me. I didn't know why I was supposed to care about either the Master OR Margarita, and I found the weirdly brief vampire subplot and disappearing man bits much more interesting.
I guess I've finally paid attention enough now to know who Pontius Pilate was (I remember hearing the name a lot in church growing up but never bothered to try to figure out who he was), so that's one point in the book's favor.
I'm sure this work is genius somehow, but it felt like homework every time I read it. Maybe this is the sort of book that would benefit from being read in a classroom setting?
1. My library only had this ebook through Hoopla, which means I had to read it on my phone and it lacked the X-Ray and lookup functionality that generally exists on a Kindle that, respectively, let you look up names in the book to remember who is who and look up words and places from the text instead of having to google them separately. This book REALLY would have benefited from those functions. Even with a guide, I kept losing track of who was who. (Also at the end seeing that there was a character named Ivan Nikolayevich and another named Nikolay Ivanovich was just an example of how similar many names were without getting into all the nicknames). I read Anna Karenina successfully a few years ago so I'm not unfamiliar with Russian naming conventions, but woof.
2. I imagine the translation you get of this book can make a huge difference. I read this book about ten years ago and forgot a lot of the details aside from remembering there was a cat, the devil, and that it was very odd. I don't remember it being as much of a slog as it was this time, so perhaps a different translation would have been a better read.
3. Behemoth rocks.
Okay, so. This book and I did not particularly get along. A lot of this book required dealing with some amount of anxiety produced by knowing that every character in this book was fighting a losing battle trying to bring their concerns to the militia and that they would be thwarted at every turn (including having paperwork appear and disappear at will and money turning into foreign currency in their briefcase, or showing up in their toilet tank or whatever). The devil will always win, but no one knows that or, if they do, they have no way to explain it without ending up in the looney bin as a result. That sounds like a true nightmare.
The beginning was compelling, with Berlioz trying to tell the devil himself (unknowingly) why he did/could not exist and then ending up on the chopping block in short measure, but the Master and Margarita and Pontius Pilate subplots, which were a majority of the book, felt like a slog to me. I didn't know why I was supposed to care about either the Master OR Margarita, and I found the weirdly brief vampire subplot and disappearing man bits much more interesting.
I guess I've finally paid attention enough now to know who Pontius Pilate was (I remember hearing the name a lot in church growing up but never bothered to try to figure out who he was), so that's one point in the book's favor.
I'm sure this work is genius somehow, but it felt like homework every time I read it. Maybe this is the sort of book that would benefit from being read in a classroom setting?
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
A tale of magical realism that skewers the troubling times that Bulgakov lived in. The mix of poignancy, humor, and horror is what makes this a classic.
The Master and Margarita was a fantastic novel but not one I think can ever be fully understood because of its vast complexity. While reading the novel I felt as if I were in a feverish dream. Bulgakov must have had an intense imagination and frequently used hallucinogens while writing the book, I don’t mean this in a provocative way, I mean that it’s the only explanation I can think of that would explain the strangeness of the book.
The translated version by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky is useful with it’s footnotes and collection of personal notes Bulgakov kept while writing the novel. Bulgakov’s personal notes are intriguing in that they shed some insight into the motivations and fears Bulgakov had while writing the novel during Stalin’s reign. Without the notes provided by Pevear and Volokhonsky I suspect that I would have stopped reading the book half way through because my intellect is not capable of penetrating this epic novel. Good luck and enjoy!
The translated version by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky is useful with it’s footnotes and collection of personal notes Bulgakov kept while writing the novel. Bulgakov’s personal notes are intriguing in that they shed some insight into the motivations and fears Bulgakov had while writing the novel during Stalin’s reign. Without the notes provided by Pevear and Volokhonsky I suspect that I would have stopped reading the book half way through because my intellect is not capable of penetrating this epic novel. Good luck and enjoy!
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A thought-provoking story, especially after reading the author's history in the translator's introduction. It took a few chapters for me to get invested. As soon as the titular characters, Master and Margarita, showed up I didn't want to put the book down. It could have been done without the use of slurs, and the use of black people has nothing but slaves/objects to the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery
Minor: Cancer