The Master and Margarita in Our Shared Shelf

Feb 09, 2014 Lord Beardsley rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: read2014, i-can-t-with-you

I tried with you, I swear, I really did. I read you on a train, then I read you whilst waiting all afternoon in a waiting room. Then, I even spent time with you on the train back to Brussels. You were interesting, I'll give you that. I think you will be loved and cherished by many people who will see your beauty, integrity, and imagination. But you and I, we were never meant to be. You captivated me at the beginning, but then it was all just…just…too much. I couldn't keep up with all of your fri ...more

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Aug 14, 2007 Amanda rated it really liked it

Shelves: book-club, knock-your-socks-off, all-time-favorites, reread-and-to-reread

10/09, 2nd reading: This book is hilarious, and fantastic, and wickedly sharp, and I stand by the convoluted review from two years ago. I do agree with some of the things brought up at book club -- that it seems unfinished (because it is, the author died before he finished editing the manuscript) and very rooted in 1930s Soviet Union, but I liked that about it. I think even if you don't have a good understanding of Russian society at that exact time that you can still get feel for it from Bulgak 10/09, 2nd reading: This book is hilarious, and fantastic, and wickedly sharp, and I stand by the convoluted review from two years ago. I do agree with some of the things brought up at book club -- that it seems unfinished (because it is, the author died before he finished editing the manuscript) and very rooted in 1930s Soviet Union, but I liked that about it. I think even if you don't have a good understanding of Russian society at that exact time that you can still get feel for it from Bulgakov's novel. Highly recommended.

11/07, 1st reading: It's the late 1920s in Moscow when the devil comes to town with his entourage, which includes a large vodka-swilling black cat named Behemoth. What happens with the devil visits a population that doesn't believe in anything? It's brilliant and quite funny. Bulgarov satirizes the Russian literary/intellectual scene, politics, society, religion, obviously, censorship. The second half has more fantastic elements, as women become witches and Satan's ball takes place in a small apartment (which reminded me of some of the elements of Faerie in Strange and Norrell... also, there's a flying car at one point a la H. Potter). There are definite Gogolesque elements throughout the book, and allusions to Faust and related works (which I wouldn't have picked up without the endnotes and led me to think maybe I should read Faust).

This review isn't very clear, but take this from it: The book is good. And it's good in way that it can be read just for the words on the page and it's enjoyable and enriching, and it can be dealt with on a deeper basis as far as historical and literary context and enjoyed on that level as well. I was somewhere in the middle, I'd say.

I didn't really know what to expect from The Master and Margarita, having picked it up based on the fact that it's two of my friend's favorite book. Luckily, it's fantastic, hilarious, and so perfectly post-Gogol Russian. Interestingly, Bulgarov wrote the novel never expecting to see it published within his last time. The actual story of the story is quite illuminating.
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Aug 14, 2012 Maeve rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 1001-book

This books feels so ahead of it's time in style. I could imagine it influencing writers like Christopher Moore. I am going to have to chew on it a little more since there are layers to it and there is probably allegory I don't understand. I can see why this is a classic. ...more

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