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A review by sidharthvardhan
Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov
4.0
That of a stray dog is one of the hardest lives of all. Always suffering from hunger and being forced to live under open sky come rain or winds. And they are always afraid of people around them - a fear probably born of some violent experience.
Our protagonist is one such dog. The first-person narrative of dog in first few chapter will put a knowing smile on face of anyone who has observed dogs closely.
What follows is a cruel experiement in which some of dog's body parts are replaced with that of a dead man. And thus sci-fiction themes of moral issues relating to genetic engineering and that kind of thing is there. The description kind of reminded me of this inhuman experiment. Disgusting, isn't it?
Another way of looking at it is a satirical allegory of revolution. The dog-human being the government of prolls. The very name of human whose organs were used (a thief)
Chugunkin derives from Russian word for cast iron. Of course after transformation, iron becomes Stal or steel, which is word from which Stalin's name is driven.
There are some rather funny moments. The dogs of Russia are apparently rather well informed. They all know how to read - mostly from hoardings over groccery shops, restaurants etc. They are also well versed in all curses in Russian language. They are also well versed in language of revolution.
Our protagonist is one such dog. The first-person narrative of dog in first few chapter will put a knowing smile on face of anyone who has observed dogs closely.
What follows is a cruel experiement in which some of dog's body parts are replaced with that of a dead man. And thus sci-fiction themes of moral issues relating to genetic engineering and that kind of thing is there. The description kind of reminded me of this inhuman experiment. Disgusting, isn't it?
Another way of looking at it is a satirical allegory of revolution. The dog-human being the government of prolls. The very name of human whose organs were used (a thief)
Chugunkin derives from Russian word for cast iron. Of course after transformation, iron becomes Stal or steel, which is word from which Stalin's name is driven.
There are some rather funny moments. The dogs of Russia are apparently rather well informed. They all know how to read - mostly from hoardings over groccery shops, restaurants etc. They are also well versed in all curses in Russian language. They are also well versed in language of revolution.