You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
dark
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
adventurous
challenging
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
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:
Complicated
A Russian novel that takes place in the 1930s, the story is about Satan and his posse, which includes a talking cat, arriving in Moscow and wreaking havoc on the literary elite. The humor went over my head. Didn’t love it. Just okay.
challenging
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
‘’-if there is no God, then who, one wonders, rules the life of man and keeps the world in order?’’
‘’Allow me to inquire how man can control his own affairs when he is not only incapable of compiling a plan for some laughable short term, such as, say, a thousand years, but cannot even predict what will happen to him tomorrow?’’
Welcome to Moscow during the Soviet era. You are about to enter the best country in the world, ruled by the best regime in the world that offers a chance for 20 people to live together in a gloriously crammed commune, an opportunity to be viciously hunted and cancelled because of your beliefs and if you so much as dare to say that you believe in God, you are toast, my friends.
Because the good USSR people do not want you to believe in God. They want you to bow down and bare your behinds for the benefit of the Motherland. Stalin is your god.
‘’I no longer have a name, I have renounced it, as I have renounced life itself.’’
It is a strange late afternoon in May. The world seems to stand still as two writers are approached by an enticing foreigner who begins to slowly, efficiently and mercilessly deconstruct their atheistic propaganda. As they are clearly shown what is there in front of their eyes, the foreigner predicts catastrophes and deaths and it becomes apparent that he is actually Satan. And Satan starts narrating the dark day of Jesus’ Trial, focusing on the inner conflict of Pontius Pilate and his role in the Divine Economy that changed the world forever.
Oh, but it is a sad era when the Devil has to prove that God exists…And a sorrowful, cursed people…
‘’ ‘Well, by your life’, replied the Procurator. ‘It is high time to swear by it because you should know that it is hanging by a thread.’
‘You do not believe, do you, hegemon, that it is you who have strung it up?’, asked the prisoner. ‘If you do, you are mistaken.’
Pilate shuddered and answered through clenched teeth:
‘I can cut that thread.’
‘You are mistaken there too’, objected the prisoner, beaming and shading himself from the sun with his hand. ‘You must agree that the thread can only be cut by the one who has suspended it.’
In one of the most glorious story-within-a-story moments in Literature, the focus of the Master’s novel falls on Pontius Pilate, the heart of the book, one of the most controversial (and unluckiest…) men in History. In a chapter of extraordinary interactions between him and Jesus Christ, we see the Procurator trying his best to save the prisoner, but all his efforts fail. Ultimately, his cowardice becomes his greatest sin even if he was dealt the wrong card. He cannot escape his role in the Divine Economy, yet his pain is heartbreaking. We see him trapped by a net of secret services, delegations, directives, the USSR in a nutshell. Suffocated, he realises that immortality comes with notoriety and all he is left to do is stare at the moon, looking for a way to reach the One who he sentenced to be crucified.
Bulgakov excels in the Biblical parts of the novel. The silence, the emotions of the characters, the expressions that demonstrate the horrific violence. His trial is moving and unsettling and it is clear that no one can intervene with God’s plan. Full of symbolism, Pilate’s character may easily be any one of us. The Execution chapter avoids the violence but depicts despair in the character of Saint Matthew the Evangelist, the terror and death, the vultures, the heat, the crowds, the last minutes on the Cross. The impact is electric. Even atheists would respond to such horror and, perhaps, this may have been Bulgakov’s intention all along. The Burial is summoned by a single cry from Pilate’s soul:
‘’Even by moonlight, there is no peace for me.’’
Do you want severed heads and people vanishing and the Arts being viciously persecuted? The Motherland has you covered. And who needs witchcraft when you are in the USSR? Bulgakov’s satirical commentary on the regime is simply wonderful as Satan and his minions expose the hypocrisy and utter misery of the people during the dark era of Communism.
‘’Love leaped up out at us like a murderer jumping out of a dark alley.’’
Utter chaos. Hatred towards the people of faith. Persecution. Yet there is hope in the face of Love. Margarita loves beyond measure. She sacrifices her soul to save the man she loves. But it is not a wise choice, is it? Love or no love, you cannot sell your soul. It is a perilous journey, culminating in a Wild Hunt and a Danse Macabre hosted by Old Nick in a part that contains a multitude of parallels and metaphors aiming to expose the Satanic nature of the regime and the vanity of the human race. Is Margarita brave or plain stupid? Perhaps both.
Using motifs such as the moody evenings, the lights of the windows, the acacias and, most importantly, the moon, with specific references to Faust in a land where Hell is empty and all the devils are here, and some of the most surreal moments where satire is mixed with hallucinations, Bulgakov creates a monumental novel, poignant, even sacred. An ode to undying love, forgiveness, and God's glory.
It is not meant to be an easy read. If you are unwilling to read between the lines, uncover the layers, and actually put the brains that God has given to you to work, then walk away.
One of the greatest novels ever conceived in the history of Literature.
‘’Remember to pray for me.’’
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
I’m a bit on the fence here. On the one hand, this book was not to my taste at all and a bit of a disappointment. To "get" this book also meant you need a good amount of context, which I was obviously not in the mood to research and read up on.
On the other hand, something tells me it will be stuck in my head for some time to come. It is certainly a unique piece of work.
On the other hand, something tells me it will be stuck in my head for some time to come. It is certainly a unique piece of work.
challenging
dark
mysterious
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Cosa succederebbe se il diavolo decidesse di farsi un giro per Mosca? E se si facesse accompagnare da un variopinto entourage tra cui un gatto nero parlante?
Chiedetelo a Bulgakov.
Il Maestro e Margherita è l'assoluto capolavoro di Bulgakov e tra i più bei libri della letteratura del 1900; ambientato nella Mosca del primo '900 il "protagonista", il diavolo Woland e la sua banda, iniziano a mescolarsi alle vite di ignari moscoviti e a creare scompiglio nelle loro ordinarie giornate.
In questo romanzo si alternano due piani di racconto parallelo: da una parte le avventure di Woland in giro per Mosca e dall'altra la storia di Ponzio Pilato in un alternarsi di capitoli che fa girare la testa.
Ho amato questo libro? Ni. Mi ha fatto divertire, mi ha tenuta incollata verso la fine, mi ha intrattenuto, ma non l'ho amato. I nomi del titolo, il Maestro e Margherita, arrivano solo verso la metà del racconto e non mi sono risultati più di tanto incisivi, la loro storia d'amore è carina, ma mi aspettavo molto di più.
Per me questa è la storia dello scompiglio che Woland & friends portano in città, dei problemi che creano e dei traumi che queste povere persone sono costrette a sopportare per il divertimento del lettore.
Sono felice di averlo riletto dopo l'università e di aver potuto apprezzare tutte le sfumature di questo romanzo.
Chiedetelo a Bulgakov.
Il Maestro e Margherita è l'assoluto capolavoro di Bulgakov e tra i più bei libri della letteratura del 1900; ambientato nella Mosca del primo '900 il "protagonista", il diavolo Woland e la sua banda, iniziano a mescolarsi alle vite di ignari moscoviti e a creare scompiglio nelle loro ordinarie giornate.
In questo romanzo si alternano due piani di racconto parallelo: da una parte le avventure di Woland in giro per Mosca e dall'altra la storia di Ponzio Pilato in un alternarsi di capitoli che fa girare la testa.
Ho amato questo libro? Ni. Mi ha fatto divertire, mi ha tenuta incollata verso la fine, mi ha intrattenuto, ma non l'ho amato. I nomi del titolo, il Maestro e Margherita, arrivano solo verso la metà del racconto e non mi sono risultati più di tanto incisivi, la loro storia d'amore è carina, ma mi aspettavo molto di più.
Per me questa è la storia dello scompiglio che Woland & friends portano in città, dei problemi che creano e dei traumi che queste povere persone sono costrette a sopportare per il divertimento del lettore.
Sono felice di averlo riletto dopo l'università e di aver potuto apprezzare tutte le sfumature di questo romanzo.
Definitely going to need a reread but enjoyed the mirroring story that laid out in the last few chapters.