A review by dnglvr
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The Master and Margarita reads like an adult fairy tale or a Cat In The Hat book, weaving allegories that reflect the political, social, economic, and spiritual landscape of the Soviet Union. The novel has a hallucinatory quality- so I wasn’t surprised to learn, upon researching the author, that Bulgakov struggled with a morphine addiction.  The novel demands a deliberate pace, careful attention to footnotes, and frequent use of a browser to decode the author’s nuanced literary and historical references.  I can appreciate this work however unfortunately surrealism does not appeal to my literary taste.