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Summary: Imagine Poe had a sense of humour...
Review: There are three strands in this amazing book. There is aplausible, 'realistic' picture of 1930s Russia, with its communalapartments, erratic services, eternal drabness, and suppressed terror, its phoney 'official' literary culture, its labyrinthine bureaucracy, but, most of all, a populace ready to dob in their neighbour to save their own skin, inventively greedy, like the bourgeoisie of many classic novels...This book is about many serious things - life under a tyranny where every sense of the individual, moral, cultural and spiritual has been wiped out; the duty of the artist in the face of this; the consequences of moral cowardice; the transformative power of culture. In one way the novel is a Calvino-like detective story, as characteers and readers hunt for the end of the Pilate novel.But what are unforgettable are the set-pieces searing your imagination, the mixture of terror and comedy, despair and romanticism; the sheer iconcoclasitc glee of such a work bursting out of a dour, bleak, rigid culture; the growth of an extraordinary heroine; the cast of varied, marvellous characters. If only all books were like this - it has everything you could ever need.
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Summary: A masterpiece, but choose a right translation¿
Review: I am Russian, and have read this novel (which is my favorite Russian novel), in Russian. However, for some reason, a week ago I decided to look through Michael Glenny's translation of this novel and I was shocked by the various little mistakes in the text. In the very first dialog, one of the main characters asks for a glass of Narzan (which is a famous brand of mineral water in Russia), which M.Glenny translates as lemonade. Close, but no cigar...And it goes further like this. That leads me to believe that the translator probably was not familiar with nuances of Russian language, or may be simply didn't care. Nevertheless, I know that it had been the only one English translation available since 1967 and thanks Mr.Glenny for that. Now we have Mirra Ginsburg's more accurate translation (I have checked), which makes me happy. The novel is truly fascinating. A really remarkable person wrote it. Bulgakov was a doctor by profession, he received an exellent education in the pre-Revolutionary Russia and lived through the horrors and turmoil of the Revolution of 1917 and the Civil war. This is a wonderful satire on Communism and a biblical story. This novel populated by very interesting characters, one of them is "unknown visitor" Woland, who is the Satan visiting Moscow with his entourage. Woland is a complex figure, a diabolical seducer, father of lies - the Devil himself, but also "he, who has brought the light" - Lucifer. He laughs at the Soviet Communists, who mistakenly think that they have rooted out all evil and have build a society which is even beyond the good and evil. In the clash with Woland they watch how the "perfect" and godless society crumbles down. Please read it, and you will enjoy it, because the novel goes beyond Russian culture to the world of archetypal characters and events that have meaning to all humans.
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Summary: Magical, Captivating Read
Review: I don't know that I can add anything more about how wonderful this book is than what has already been said. This is a wonderful read, complex, philosophical, political, and it can be enjoyed on many levels. I read it non-stop from cover to cover because this book is that enthralling and compelling - it transports you to a different world. It left me breathless with my heart pounding at 5am when I finished it. However, I did want to contest what one review said about which translation was better since I have read both - I felt that the Ginsberg edition was slightly better than the other published by Vintage since it does a far better job of catching the magical element of the novel, but that may simply be a matter of taste. On the other hand, it will be a gripping - even heartstopping read - which ever translation you read.
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Summary: Bulakov a genius!
Review: This is one of my favorite books. It is surreal and imaginative, a real gem. Underneath the strange story lays an intelligent satire of Stalin, the Soviet Union and Goethe's Faust. Bureaucracy, redemption, madness, dialectics of good an evil are some of the themes of this wonderful book. Bulgakov es un genio, este libro es surreal e imaginativo, una parodia sobre la Union Sovietica en la era de Stalin y el Fausto de Goethe. Temas como la burocracia, el bien y el mal, la locura son tratados magistralmente en este libro.
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Summary: My favorite book of all time
Review: I can't really write a review that could do this book justice...nor do I feel comfortable even attempting to explain why I love this book so much in an amazon.com forum. However, I will put this very simply,...This is my favorite book of all time. Not only is it unbelievably enjoyable, but it is a piece of literary genius. Please read this soon! (I have given five stars to books that are trash, that I enjoyed because they were five stars worth of trashy enjoyment, but this really, TRULY deserves every single star that people give it)
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Summary: It was love at first sight
Review: I feel compelled to add my own meager voice to the chorus of praise Master and Margarita has received. I first read Master and Margarita (the Diana Burgin/Katherine O'Conner translation) as a second year slavic languages and literatures major on the recommendation of my professor. Although skeptical at first (I still had the notion that great literature was supposed to be boring), after I read Master and Margarita that first time I was enraptured by the complexity, depth, phliosophy, wit and sensitivity of this obvious master piece of russian literature. I have since read the book eight more times, carried it with me on trips and given it a permanent place on my night stand. As with every great work of literature, I have never tired of it. It speaks to me in a different way every time. On translations, I must say unequivocally that the Diana Burgin/Katherine O'Conner translation is by far the best. Translation is not about transcribing word for word the literal meaning of the text. It is about capturing the voice of the author, recreating the style and expression of his work. This is done admirably in the Burgin/O'Conner translation. They capture beautifully the nuances of Bulgakov's style, which is so much a part of his charm as a writer. Their translation truly adds to the international prestige of both Bulgakov and Master and Margarita. Having enjoyed it so much, I decided to devote my research paper this semester to a study of his satire and have seriously considered making it my area of specialization. Once again I can only say that this is by far the best book I have ever read and that I hope others who read it will be as inspired by it as I was.
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Summary: Russia's Greatest Literary Accomplishment!
Review: Enough of sentimentality! Yes, Russian authors ARE capable of modernist brilliance! Bulgakov combines real feelings (not overblown ones) and odd and histerical situations that make for a completely wonderful 330 pg. novel that draws you further into its world(s) and builds a connection with its characters. Simply amazing.
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Summary: Magic and Wonder and the Mystery of Life
Review: This book is the truly masterpiece of XX Century's wretched humankind.It makes you unaccountably sad,like the poor Master,or existentially guilty,thinking of Ha-Nozri,who dies for all our sins;at the same time,you can't help but laugh wildly at the misfortunes of some miserable self-inflated bureaucrats and yes-men,when Absurd splats on their despicable ludicrous face.Who else can mix comic an tragedy,political satire and spiritual celebration of Love ? Nabokov said what Pynchon and Foster Wallace goofly tried to say.Life is a Mystery,in the sacred sense.
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Summary: Great novel, great translation
Review: I read The Master and Margarita as a teenager (the Michael Glenny translation), and was stunned. I thought it was the best novel I had ever read, combining spirituality and acerbic humor. The new translation is, if possible, even better. Bulgakov's other works, (Heart of a Dog, Days of the Turbins, etc.) are all worth reading, but this is his masterpiece. The comments in some reviews about this novel being inaccessible to Americans are incorrect; I do not understand any Russian, but was still deeply moved. The Ginsburg translation utterly fails to capture Bulgakov's wit. While that is only part of the value of the book, I recommend you stay away from that translation.
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Summary: Acesable for anyone with a hearth and a brain
Review: There seems to be some trashy translations of the Master and Margarita. We just got a new brilliant Norwegian version who got rave reviews in all our major newpapers. Back in 1976 I was reading the Master and Margarita for the 2 time I had the radio on and the Norwegian corenspondent of Moscow was on the news with his review from the opening nights of the Master& Margarita in Moscow. It was the first time it was aloud in a theater. He was suprised because the audience were so negative, until he discovered they were all KGB/military/Politnicks from the party. Bulgakov detested these people and ridicules them the whole book trough. Good ridance. He creates some of the funniest scenes in any books, some of the most inventive dialogues, one of the most lovely romances, a most belivable meeting with the most famous son on earth and his tormentor (or vice versa?), and the most catty cat there ever walked on four and two! Read Bulgakov with your heart and its more than enough. Read him with your brain and thats great to! Combine the two and you got everything. You do not have to know russian or russian politics to understand the book. I don't and I love it. You only need a open mind and a heart. I have gone on to see it on the ecene in Edinburgh (ok, but to few actors) Copenhagen (brilliant; I still have the $ bills) and in Stockholm (Lena Ohlin was not at her best unfortunately and the same russian director was minimalistic). If you have a open mind and love good literature then this is the book for you. If the first pages dont grab you, wait to you are ready for them. It's worth waiting for.
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