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zachlittrell 's review for:
The Master and Margarita
by Mikhail Bulgakov
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.