The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov ~ Review 

I watched a bunch of reviews of this book. What struck me most was that foreign reviewers either emphasized minor episodes like the devil doing justice to people for their wrongdoing or tried to parallel the events of the novel with the darkest period of the Soviet history. Well, the last definitely helps, but... I come from a former Soviet republic. We read this novel in class at school. And this is one of the most loved books in the Russian speaking world. And no one usually draws parallels between the Russian history and this book. People would rather recall the story of this novel itself, how it was written, edited by Bulgakov's wife after his death etc. If we step away from details (such as political/social satire, comic episodes, philosophy etc.) it becomes obvious that the novel is about purpose of life, passion, dedication, sacrifice, love larger than life - almost a Romeo&Juliet-like tragedy - they both died, you know... and that the Heaven and the Hell help those who seek to fulfil their destiny and give it all to what they truly believe in... Ah, I can talk about this stuff for hours... And some people find it hard to step over the talking cat... I'm sad.

Loved hearing your thoughts about this as it was one of my favourite reads. I totally agree with what you said. This story has so many layers and speaks about a lot of themes and attitudes of the Russian regime and people's attitudes. It is a book that demands to be re-read as you will not get everything it’s conveying in one read. When you are ready to do a re-read, we should do it together 🙌

I heard this book on audible. It was ok the first time through. But I really needed to use my critical thinking skills to really understand what was going on. I like your review to help me understand what was the message the novel wanted to convey. At first I believed this novel was just like Seinfeld, a story about nothing but the interactions between the characters. I believe it will be much better the second time I listen to it understanding the whole premise the author wants to convey. Watching the movie will help also. This novel was recommended by my friend in Ukraine and she told me it was part of her University education. I will have to question her on what she got out of this book. But I understand that the first time reading or listening to this novel does not make sense to the logical mind.

I really like the writing as well (I read it in Russian). This is the only work by Bulgakov that I don’t understand fully. It’s also important to keep in mind that he wasn’t able to finish it. His wife edited and put together the draft copies of the novel. This novel definitely made me want to read Bulgakov’s other works. I actually prefer Bulgakov’s other works without mystical elements to Master and Margarita.

After hearing Tiffany review it i decided there was no way I would reading it!😂

Just did a review of this book on my youtube channel. It was definitely very entertaining. In my opinion, I find the strangest part about the book is the ending.

You put your finger on my problems with the book when you mentioned the walking, talking cat that people only mildly comment on. This was so silly and stupid in my view. The same with his "Heart of a Dog." The same goes for Orwell's "Animal Farm." I don't mind talking animals at all but I mind the way these were portrayed. That book cover, however, is beautiful and I would keep the book for that reason. This is not to "dis" Bulgakov as his life and political situations were interesting in themselves. I quickly finished "The Last Day of a Condemned Man" and it was a workout, alright. I have a new job to start on Monday that I was very antsy about, but after reading this I suddenly feel fine about my life 😄😸 That poor fellow would have been happy to have anyone's life but that of a condemned man. The style is particularly Hugo's with the way the character describes the beautiful August morning of his sentencing. Only for everything to get increasingly gloomy and agitated in the month leading to the execution. In this Alma Classics edition I have there is also an angry Hugo letter against the death penalty and another prison-execution story of his called "Claude Gueux," with an omniscient narrator and a full description of the execution, unlike Hugo "just ending" "Last Day -" sort of weirdly, which is its only flaw.

You didn’t talk about the talking cat that’s much

I just didn't like it :(

I love the cover for this.