The Master and Margarita in Penguin Classics

Sep 14, 2016 Misha rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, russia, fantasy-sci-fi-apocalyptic-myths, literary-fiction, 20th-century, 1001-books, favourites, politics-social, beloved-characters, purchased-2012

"But would you kindly ponder this question: What would your good do if evil didn't exist, and what would the earth look like if all the shadows disappeared?"

Mikhail Bulgakov wrote the lines, "Manuscripts don't burn." Sadly enough, The Master and Margarita was banned by the very Stalinist regime that it was critical of. The book was to be finally published posthumously, nearly 30 years after Bulgakov wrote its last lines.

Satan arrives in Moscow circa 1929, along with his brood - an alcoholic, tal "But would you kindly ponder this question: What would your good do if evil didn't exist, and what would the earth look like if all the shadows disappeared?"

Mikhail Bulgakov wrote the lines, "Manuscripts don't burn." Sadly enough, The Master and Margarita was banned by the very Stalinist regime that it was critical of. The book was to be finally published posthumously, nearly 30 years after Bulgakov wrote its last lines.

Satan arrives in Moscow circa 1929, along with his brood - an alcoholic, talking cat; an assassin who is potentially a part of the undead; and the 'interpreter' or the executor of Satan's will. And all hell breaks loose! It's a city in the midst of a brutal regime. Greed, corruption, suspicion, cowardice reign over people. There is no belief in a higher power, and no sense of morality. One of the victims of this atmosphere is 'The Master', a writer whose great masterpiece has been repressed by the regime. His only support is his beloved Margarita.

What happens when Satan and his motley brood are more moral than human beings? Instead of a 'Second Coming' of Christ, it is the Devil who judges, watches as people self-destruct, further aided by Satan and his troops.

This is a biting satire on Soviet life, but fast forward to today and you will find it relevant to any nation where the Government's power reigns supreme over the will of the people. Where cruelty and suspicion take over humanity and kindness.

The Master and Margarita is one of the wackiest books I have ever read. Indeed, this involves witches, zombies, vampires, beheadings, talking cats, Satan's ball, naked dancing etc. But, there are parts that are so moving as well, so sad in its portrayal of the lived reality of this regime. Satire and absurdism meets philosophy, fantasy and literary fiction.

More than anything, this book is an ode to humanity and freedom of thought. Like all great Russian novels, it ponders upon questions of life, death, purpose, and it conveys the answers not through laying it all bare, but through some of the craziest, symbolism-ridden paragraphs in all of literature.

I loved it! ...more

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