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axelarda 's review for:
Le Maître et Marguerite
by Mikhail Bulgakov
quite difficult at first to comprehend the storyline, its various characters and its events which seem to be so random that one could miss the real point behind the book if a proper reflexion is not done about it. but the thing is that the events of the book are not what matters (which seems logical given that half the characters and nearly everything that happens in the book belongs to fantasy and is supernatural), but rather the meaning behind the events and how they mirror the creepy truth about the stalinian regime, because this is what this novel is about.
the main characters include the master, margarita, and the devil accompanied by his fellows. the latter embody the stalinian government and spread chaos all over russia throughout the whole novel by the use of "dark magic", as the author qualifies it, and a power to alter reality according to their wish.
due to those powers, the characters that witness the unexplainable events and situations that the devil and his team manage to provoke are either sent afar (hint : exile), killed, or declared mentally ill. the devil can thus remain clean from all accusations regarding the chaos that he spreads, because he is able to eliminate all witnesses and pieces of evidence, just like the stalinian government used to do when it was in charge of the ussr.
many mindblowing events provoked by the devil actually occur in front of everyone, but no one seems to notice the absurdity of these situations that they witness, or are so scared of the repression that they decide not to what they see (hint : repression from the regime against those who opposed it). some characters in the book are even compelled to bow under the government (example : margarita's necklace which is so heavy it forces her head to bow, or the scene where several people are "hypnotized" and forced to sing a song that glorifies the regime)...
thus, many hints and messages are conveyed in this novel with a big dose of sarcasm, aiming at emphasizing the absurdity of the dictatorship and denouncing its leaders.
the religious aspect of the novel must also be mentioned, as some chapters directly take the reader to pontius pilate's and Jesus's time, evoking the crucifixion, but altering biblical events and shaping them to strike the reader. in fact, during the ussr, atheism was proclamed by the government, churches were closed, priests were persecuted and religious education was prohibited. the soviet government even refused to put a capital letter to "God", writing it "god". this aversion for religion is also what's condemend and denounced by the author in the novel. in fact, even characters such as the devil make it seem ridiculous that some people don't believe that Jesus existed, such as koroviev's discussion with berlioz and ivan shows it in the beginning of the novel. moreover, in the chapters dedicated to pontius pilate, the reader can even see that he seems to be remorseful for having condemned Jesus to death.
the fact that there is an important religious dimension to this novel enables us to say that this is a pious novel, while still being political and a true form of rebellion against the ussr and staline, with whom boulgakov actually had a tense relationship, because of the censorship staline used to attack boulgakov's works with and prevent them from being spread.
the novel is truly well written and put together, it is a remarkable work but since im not fond of stories and events that are not realistic or down to earth, i got a bit bored and rated it 3 stars, also because the events were not really what mattered the most in the novel and i personnaly prefer more realistic and practical stories.
the main characters include the master, margarita, and the devil accompanied by his fellows. the latter embody the stalinian government and spread chaos all over russia throughout the whole novel by the use of "dark magic", as the author qualifies it, and a power to alter reality according to their wish.
due to those powers, the characters that witness the unexplainable events and situations that the devil and his team manage to provoke are either sent afar (hint : exile), killed, or declared mentally ill. the devil can thus remain clean from all accusations regarding the chaos that he spreads, because he is able to eliminate all witnesses and pieces of evidence, just like the stalinian government used to do when it was in charge of the ussr.
many mindblowing events provoked by the devil actually occur in front of everyone, but no one seems to notice the absurdity of these situations that they witness, or are so scared of the repression that they decide not to what they see (hint : repression from the regime against those who opposed it). some characters in the book are even compelled to bow under the government (example : margarita's necklace which is so heavy it forces her head to bow, or the scene where several people are "hypnotized" and forced to sing a song that glorifies the regime)...
thus, many hints and messages are conveyed in this novel with a big dose of sarcasm, aiming at emphasizing the absurdity of the dictatorship and denouncing its leaders.
the religious aspect of the novel must also be mentioned, as some chapters directly take the reader to pontius pilate's and Jesus's time, evoking the crucifixion, but altering biblical events and shaping them to strike the reader. in fact, during the ussr, atheism was proclamed by the government, churches were closed, priests were persecuted and religious education was prohibited. the soviet government even refused to put a capital letter to "God", writing it "god". this aversion for religion is also what's condemend and denounced by the author in the novel. in fact, even characters such as the devil make it seem ridiculous that some people don't believe that Jesus existed, such as koroviev's discussion with berlioz and ivan shows it in the beginning of the novel. moreover, in the chapters dedicated to pontius pilate, the reader can even see that he seems to be remorseful for having condemned Jesus to death.
the fact that there is an important religious dimension to this novel enables us to say that this is a pious novel, while still being political and a true form of rebellion against the ussr and staline, with whom boulgakov actually had a tense relationship, because of the censorship staline used to attack boulgakov's works with and prevent them from being spread.
the novel is truly well written and put together, it is a remarkable work but since im not fond of stories and events that are not realistic or down to earth, i got a bit bored and rated it 3 stars, also because the events were not really what mattered the most in the novel and i personnaly prefer more realistic and practical stories.