Il Maestro e Margherita

One sentence synopsis... Completely bonkers political satire that weaves together two tales - in one the Devil and his entourage visit Soviet Moscow and in the other Pontius Pilate is tormented by his choice to sentence Jesus to death. .

Read it if you like... ‘Faust', Gabriel Gracía Márquez, The Rolling Stones song ‘Sympathy for the Devil' (Jagger referenced the book as an inspiration for the song in 1968). This is not your typical Russian novel with painful chapters of peasants doing farm work (looking at you Tolstoy), it's really funny and layered - and features a giant, murderous cat. Woland is a better fictional imagining of the devil than even the legendary classic ‘Meet Joe Black'. .

Dream casting... Baz Luhrmann just bought the rights to make it into a movie. I couldn't think of a better director to take this challenging novel on than him.

This is a really weird 4 stars to give. I couldn't tell you exactly what happened in this book, it mostly read like a chaotic fever dream from start to end, but it was not only readable but surprisingly engaging. Every chapter made me feel like, “Gosh, this is too chaotic, I'm going to skim.” but I generally end up pretty gripped by the action of what's going on.

I definitely feel like I'm missing a lot of historical context here as my knowledge of the USSR, its culture, and the political place it was at is rudimentary at best. Despite that, though, I could definitely see how this whole gimmick of having these fantastical and diabolical characters creating trouble all around Moscow and driving so many of its citizens actually insane, and then how the authorities/militia reacts to this, is quite an obvious commentary in itself.

Overall, a fever dream I'd recommend if you're in the right headspace for some bewildering chaos.

There is no greater misfortune in the world than the loss of reason.”
― Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita

This novel was a pleasant surprise. I read it as part of my exploration of magical realism and it ended up being my favorite of the books in this genre.

Among my favorite elements are the crazy slapstick and surreal scenes involving a being known as Woland (the devil) and his entourage, who came to Moscow to torment the Soviet literary elite of the time (1930s). The supernatural band also makes fools of the citizens of Moscow who come to his theatrical show, greedy for money and material possessions. I'm not deeply familiar with Russian history (though I do remember the basics) so some themes and allusions, as well as the people Bulgakov was satirizing, were probably lost on me, but it didn't stop me from enjoying the ride.

Oddly, the title characters don't come into the book until the second half. The lovers Master and Margarita are separated by the Master's struggle with his novel, which drives him to madness. His novel won't be accepted by publishers because it is not permitted to write about Christianity in a positive light. As much as I enjoyed the sillier stuff, I was emotionally invested in this part of the story.

Woland doesn't torment these two. He helps them as repayment to Margarita for hosting his demonic party. Woland seems less of an evil character to me but more of a mischief maker who is there to trick people who are already full of themselves anyway. (Traditionally we see the devil as there to tempt the innocent or the lost and despairing.) Woland exists to punish those who go along with what they are told and deny the truth. (One of the truths being that artists in Stalin's Russia are not allowed to be daring but only to write and enforce government propaganda.)

One of the most amusing bits is the epilogue of the story, in which the Moscow authorities spend time covering up all the damage that Woland and company have done. The surreal things people saw–all the people that end up in the mental institution, the deaths, the fire, the guy that was magically transported to Yalta–are all spun with some rational explanation.

Interspersed in the novel is a story about Pontius Pilate and the crucifixion of Jesus from Pilate's point of view. (It is relevant because this is the novel the master is working on.) Pilate is guilty of the same cowardice as the modern Russians because he feels inside it is wrong to destroy Yeshua (Jesus) but he goes along with it anyway. There's a variation on the Judas aspect of the story as well. Having been raised Catholic, I'm very familiar with the crucifixion story, and I appreciate an interesting re-telling.

This is one of those books that the more I think about it, the more I like it. I'm sure I will have to come back to it and reread it at some point.

Premier classique russe que je lis, et magnifique découverte. L'histoire est entêtante, puissante, emplie de mystères et de secrets, le texte projette des images plein la tête avec virtuosité. Le côté fantastique de l'histoire est extrêmement bien amené, avec beaucoup d'humour, toujours bien maîtrisé. La critique sous jacente est très bien maîtrisée et révèle beaucoup de l'esprit d'époque. Une superbe découverte.

Jesus Christ this was exquisite. I usually don't read Russian literature because it's not up my alley, but this has been a surprising exception. Bulgakov mixes the traditional patterns of big Russian writers such as Dostoevsky and Tolstoi, but with a splash of magical fantasy. Woland has been a fucking delight; I mean, how many books have the Devil himself present? Even then, how many are that well written when compared to Woland? Behemoth and Azazello made for a unique comedic duo. Until now this is probably one of the best books I've read in 2021.

Hebt ge dat ook soms, zo van die halve paniekaanvallen van “aargh al die klassiekers die ik eigenlijk zou moeten gelezen hebben maar die ik nog niet gelezen heb”?

Ik anders wel, om de zoveel tijd. En als een boek omschreven wordt als “Many critics consider it to be one of the best novels of the 20th century, as well as the foremost of Soviet satires”, dan is dat voor mij voldoende om op de lijst ‘dan eens te lezen, dan' gezet te worden.

Het valt niet altijd mee, van die boeken die enorm goed gevonden worden, maar deze keer wel. Er staat meer dan een mens wil weten op de Wikipediats; het punt is: ik heb het graag gelezen, het verhaal van de Duivel die naar de USSR komt, verweven met het verhaal van Pontius Pilatus en zijn schuldgevoel.

Ik ben content dat ik nog naar de Sovjetunie gegaan ben vóór het einde van het communisme: dat maakt dat ik er mij alsnog wat meer in kan inleven, de histories van buitenlands geld en achterdocht en verlinking.

Neen, leutig boek. Oh, en goed ook, veronderstel ik.

More like a 4.5/5

Story : The devil comes on earth and wants to do a magic show, Margarita is searching for her Master and we get another take on Pontius Pilate's story. It's interesting how there are 3 storylines, but I didn't really cared for Pontius Pilate's part... everything else was really interesting and it's amazing how Bulgakov combined satire with macabre happenings. Also, the relation between good and evil is really well tackeld... humans are the cause for everything apparently. The descriptions are also well made and sometimes, unsettling.

Characters : Woland is just great, Woland's sidekicks are just great, Margarita is just great, The Master is just great... these characters are really intriguing and funny! We don't know very much about them, but what happens to them and what decisions they make compensate for that. It's interesting how The Master is Bulgakov himself...

Overall : I've only read this and The Double by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and I'm already starting to think that russian literature is going to be my favorite... yeah, you should read it!

W 1966 r, niemal 30 lat po śmierci autora, miesięcznik “Moskwa” opublikował w listopadowym wydaniu pierwsza część Mistrza i Małgorzaty. Wcześniej książka przez wiele lat krążyła w drugim obiegu. Dzieło Michaiła Bułhakowa przetrwało mimo rozmaitych przeciwności, trudności i jest współcześnie uważane za jedno z największych osiągnięć literatury rosyjskiej XX w. Wiele zdań, jakie pada w tej książce, stało się przysłowiami. “Rękopisy nie płoną” i “Tchórzostwo to największy grzech” to stwierdzeniami mającymi wielkie znaczenie dla pokoleń, które przeżyły czasy sowieckiego totalitaryzmu. Wpływ powieści zaznaczył się nawet w dziełach kulturowo odległych - od magicznego realizmu Ameryki Łacińskiej po Rushdiego czy nawet Rolling Stonesów (mówi się, że piosenka Sympathy for the Devil została zainspirowana tekstem Bułhakowa). Dzieło to składa się z dwóch odmiennych, choć powiązanych ze sobą opowieści. Jedna rozgrywa się we współczesnej Moskwie, druga w starożytnej Jerozolimie. Autor powołuje do życia dzi dziwaczne postacie, pochodzące z innego świata, wśród nich Wolanda (Szatana) i jego demoniczną świtę oraz pozbawionego imienia pisarza zwanego Mistrzem i jego kochankę, Małgorzatę, kobietę zamężną. Każda z nich jest złożona i dwuznaczna moralnie, a ich motywy zmieniają się wraz z zaskakującymi zwrotami akcji. Książka wręcz pulsuje magiczną energią i siłą wyobraźni. Momentami jest to doskonała satyra na życie w Związku Sowieckim, jak i religijna alegoria rywalizująca z samym Faustem Goethego oraz pozbawiona granic fantastyczna burleska. Dzieło Bułhakowa demaskuje “oficjalne prawdy” z siły karnawału, który wyrwał się z kościelnej kontroli.

“Kryje się coś niedobrego w mężczyznach, którzy unikają wina, gier, towarzystwa pięknych kobiet i ucztowania. Tacy ludzie albo są ciężko chorzy, albo w głębi duszy nienawidzą otoczenia.”

Abandoned; it just wasn't working for me. I usually like the Slavic sly-wink writing style, that little ironic edge where the author brings you in on a shared joke: Balys Sruoga, Milan Kundera, even Solzhenitsyn made it work beautifully. Here, it feels heavyhanded, like the author just thinks the reader is stupid and wants to use a bludgeon to make sure his irony is clear. (Maybe that's part of the joke; if so, I'm not smart enough to get it, and that's OK).

One of my all time favourites. I'm not quite sure what it is that I love so much about this book. Part of it is an emotional personal reason, which is that I was reading it at 4 am on the sofa having awoken because I had a premonition that my mum had just died. She had. So there's that.

I bought a nice hardback copy and it makes reading it even more enjoyable. I should read it in Russian one day. I did actually start doing that once, but it's just so much effort now that I'm so long away from having used Russian.

It's quite a fun premise: a Soviet dissident writes a book about the Devil visiting early USSR Moscow for a quick field trip / check-in, and he's delighted to find that A) none of them believe in him because they're an officially atheistic state, and B) some of them are doing plenty of wickedness without him! The whole thing is a blast. It's not a short book, but I sprinted through it.

Even though I've come to appreciate some literature written in the 1800s/early 1900s (Dostoevsky, CS Lewis, etc), usually I'm appreciating the author's ideas, or character development. But Master and Margarita is different; it's actually funny. I don't think I've ever come across a book this old that's this funny (which is especially impressive in translation).

There's also a subplot with the devil's firsthand accounts of Pontius Pilate's troubles around Christ's crucifixion day, which I found to be fascinating and good religious food for thought, as well as an unexpectedly sweet romance, plus a hilarious posse of demons-in-waiting. Rumor is that is also served as the inspiration for the Rolling Stones song “Sympathy for the Devil.”

The Master and Margarita is very different, but I loved it, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who's even a little bit interested in it.

Weird from start to finish, both subtle political satire and imaginative escapade, Bulgakov's masterpiece is certainly something that will stay with the reader for a long time. I can't think of any other book that manages to combine modern-day Moscow (at least modern for the author) with Jerusalem in the time of Christ, or the pranks of the literal Devil and his gang with a deep narrative about an artist's struggle to express himself in a society where this is forbidden and a woman's eternal devotion to this same man and his work. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll simply quote a phrase that I think perfectly summarizes this novel:
“Kindly consider the question: what would your good do if evil did not exist, and what would the earth look like if shadows disappeared from it?”
And of course the eternal:
“Manuscripts don't burn.”

I want so badly to give this five stars but I'm only giving it four on the basis that I am simply just not smart enough to have gotten this at its deepest levels.

I fully intend to go away and read and educate myself and reread this every year or so because I just know I'll get more and more out of this everytime I read it. I definitely feel this is a novel that needs to be read more than once but what I will comment on is how absurd and funny this novel is. I haven't found many novels that have made me audibly laugh out loud so many times, I loved this so much. I just want more and more of it.

The Master and Margarita is an exceptional creative work. Bulgakov's imagination is second to none. Still, I rated this based on how much I enjoyed it. I had to force myself to finish this book. I was totally apathetic to all the characters. This book simply isn't for everyone. If you prefer well-developed characters who are psychologically hard-pressed (like Dostoevsky's or Murakami's), then Bulgakov will disappoint.

I started reading this book in the english version but for some reason I couldn't make heads and toes and nails from it. I was just utterly confused. So I got the german version instead and started reading this (I was about 1/4 into the book already).

What a fantastic story and a great writing, even with only the translation as a base line I think this is wonderful written literature right here.

I really highly recommend this book to just anyone who is willing to dive into something else than the usual Pulp novels.