Master and Margarita
**muscial mood preference: The Beatles - Revolution**
This book has got it all: crucifixions, vodka-drinking cats, decapitations and naked women flying around on broomsticks. What's more, it is a refreshing change from the books that most people think of when they hear the term "Russian literature." Bulgakov is no Tolstoy or Dostoevsky, he is something completely different and rare, and I mean that as a great compliment to the lot of these Russian masters. All three of them are wonderful writers, each with their own strengths. But Bulgakov differs from the other two is in his ability to infuse his work with a light-hearted humor, even when his subject matter is deadly serious. Tolstoy is known for epic tales on the grandest of scales, and Dostoevsky for his insights into the dark side of the soul; Bulgakov breaks away from his literary forefathers by creating fiction with a unique flare and stories that dance off the page, with an undeniable helping of humor that is extremely rare in Russian literature, especially from the period of the 1930's.
Most enticing to me, was the chapter entitled "Pontius Pilate". It is an imaginative re-telling of the age old story of the last hours of Jesus Christ (Yeshua Ha-Nostri). The chapter has a focus on the procurator and his time before and after his encounter with the Nazarean rabble-rouser.
The book is Bulgakov's vision of a Satanic visit to Moscow in the early 1930's. In the guise of a black magician(Woland), the Devil wreaks havoc upon the Stalinistic society. In the last ten chapters, magical tricks, disappearences and Satanic spells literarily slide toward a Gommorrah of decandence and sin, climaxing with Satan's Ball.
Afterwards, Satan is no longer the sower of chaos and discord or the "prince of darkness", but rather, just a anti-establishment figure who "saves" his followers by transforming them into witches. Following the ball, the disciple Matthew appears to beg Satan to redeem the Master and Margarita. All funny and also sad parts of a wonderfully entertaining book.
I think that anyone who has a background or a fascination in Russian literature or history should take a stab at this book, if only to better understand this portion of Soviet social history.
This book has got it all: crucifixions, vodka-drinking cats, decapitations and naked women flying around on broomsticks. What's more, it is a refreshing change from the books that most people think of when they hear the term "Russian literature." Bulgakov is no Tolstoy or Dostoevsky, he is something completely different and rare, and I mean that as a great compliment to the lot of these Russian masters. All three of them are wonderful writers, each with their own strengths. But Bulgakov differs from the other two is in his ability to infuse his work with a light-hearted humor, even when his subject matter is deadly serious. Tolstoy is known for epic tales on the grandest of scales, and Dostoevsky for his insights into the dark side of the soul; Bulgakov breaks away from his literary forefathers by creating fiction with a unique flare and stories that dance off the page, with an undeniable helping of humor that is extremely rare in Russian literature, especially from the period of the 1930's.
Most enticing to me, was the chapter entitled "Pontius Pilate". It is an imaginative re-telling of the age old story of the last hours of Jesus Christ (Yeshua Ha-Nostri). The chapter has a focus on the procurator and his time before and after his encounter with the Nazarean rabble-rouser.
The book is Bulgakov's vision of a Satanic visit to Moscow in the early 1930's. In the guise of a black magician(Woland), the Devil wreaks havoc upon the Stalinistic society. In the last ten chapters, magical tricks, disappearences and Satanic spells literarily slide toward a Gommorrah of decandence and sin, climaxing with Satan's Ball.
Afterwards, Satan is no longer the sower of chaos and discord or the "prince of darkness", but rather, just a anti-establishment figure who "saves" his followers by transforming them into witches. Following the ball, the disciple Matthew appears to beg Satan to redeem the Master and Margarita. All funny and also sad parts of a wonderfully entertaining book.
I think that anyone who has a background or a fascination in Russian literature or history should take a stab at this book, if only to better understand this portion of Soviet social history.
posted by Brian at 3:27 a.m.
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