Rating: 
Summary: Book is great-this translation is inadequate!
Review: I love Bulgakov. I know the Master and Margarita by heart. And I was dismally disappointed in my anticipations of usual delights interacting with this book. I write interacting, because this book is more then just reading material. But back to the translation. It has missing passages, whole paragraphs, it uses wrong terms and notions. I had to return my copy. I expect to have more luck with RICHARD PEVEAR AND LARISSA VOLOKHONSKY translation published in PENGUIN BOOKS 1997, since I pre-viewd it one of the on-line libraries.
Rating: 
Summary: Harry Potter meets Franz Kafka
Review: This book was so convoluted, I could never get into it. All the allegorical stuff going on. I think if it were in context, like read in conjuction with Russian History, with someone explaining the references to Christianity and all the other interwoven tales, it might have made more sense. I'm sure it is very cleverly written, and a significant piece of work, but I didn't enjoy reading it much.
Rating: 
Summary: pure magic
Review: it's beyond any description how this book has touched my heart all over again since I first opened it. I remember I first read it when I was 16. Since then I opened it at least ten times and it told me a different story each time.
Master and Margarita is like a surprise egg: you can give a hint but you can never tell for sure what is hidden within: it's a surprisingly funny novel, it's magic, it's an astonishingly unexpected rollercoaster that doesn't let you slip away while you're riding it at full speed. Be prepared for the ultimate brain fast-lane. And do be prepared to be provoked and fascinated.
It's a book like nothing before.Dragica Susnik, 29, Slovenia, Europe
Rating:
Summary: I wonder if it survived the translation....
Review: I've read the book in it's native Russian-although probably ,some sort of censured version.... It's very multi-level,I saw different things in it every time I've re-read it-and believe me,you'll want to re-read it. Sort of a mix between the real life(as real as Russia after the 1917 revolution may seem to us now),and the mystic world of Voland and Azazaello,and of course-the period just before Jesus was killed in very ancient Jerusalem... Very much recomended!
Rating:
Summary: The Devil goes down to Moscow
Review: Few books have had as interesting a history as has THE MASTER AND MARGARITA. originally,written "for the upper drawer" this book's existance owes a great deal to the tenacity of Bulgakov's widow who kept the manuscript safely hidden for many years until it could be published in the USSR in the 1960s. But even then certain things were not allowed to make their way into print, nudity and oblique references to the terror that gnawed at the Soviet Union during the 1930's were deleted. two previous translations were carried out. One based on the censored Soviet text and the other based on the text as Bulgakov intended it. This, the third translation combines the best elements of both, being at the same time reaqdable and complete. This may make The Master and Margarita sound rather dull indeed. However, rarely has a wittier and at the same time more profound book come out of Russia. The book follows the adventures of the Devil and his mihions as they cause havoc on Stalinist Russia, visiting destruction upon the petty bureaucrats who were having such a profound effect on Russia. These antics are a funny as anything ever attempted by the Marx Brothers. But this book also features the love story between the Master and Margarita who like the principle characters of Dickens are often pushed off center stage by Bulgakov's demons. There is also an account of the last days of Christ (or is it?. Though an enjoyable read, in the final estimation, this is a profound meditation on the nature of good and evil.
Rating:
Summary: Read & Love it!! Let the forces of Evil in...
Review: As a Russian, I had an advantage to read it in original language. As one of my fellow compatriots already mentioned, please be careful with the translation. I think this one is one of the best translations. If you have imagination, ever wondered if there are forces of evil, and if there are - what would they look like and what would they do, if you are fascinated by magick, if you ever thought that there must be something out there to punish the mass stupidity - then it is a book for you. Mihail Afanasievich Bulgakov, my favorite Russian writer, the authour of this masterpiece of the world literature, has lived through every word of this book. If you read about the author, you will see who is behind every character in this book. If you are familiar with the Russian culture, you will know that this book is a classic not to miss. It is just so Russian - innocent and diabolique at the same time. When I first read it I was around 14 and I read it non-stop until I finished. I could not tear myself away. It is so fascinating and full of believable unbelievable - like everything what Bulgakov writes about. He certainly is a master of grotesque, and makes a reality a grotesque which remains with you forever and makes life more fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!I have a book and carry it around everywhere I move around the world, and I read it on a regular basis. Together with Alice in Wonderland from my childhood, definitely a #1 book for me!!!
Rating:
Summary: The middle path...
Review: I am taking the middle path with my view that while the book possesses some poignant prose, it's essential message is one of antiChristianity. As a practicing Theravada Buddhist (who, unlike others, knows enough not to say "God bless" when pure Buddhists have no god) I must say I was taken aback by the antiGospel presented in the tale of Pontius Pilate. Pilate is a fascinating character. Yeshua, on the other hand, is presented as quite the opposite of his Jesus of the Gospel counterpart; Yeshua is fearful to the point of cowardice, bumbling and idiotic, he dies violently, does NOT rise (key difference with the Gospel, that any fool with the most remedial knowledge of the Gospel would know), and ends up a corpse buried with other common criminals. How this can substitute for the Gospel, how this shows Jesus coming off fine is WAY beyond me. This is an antiGospel. Those who are not Christian wont be offended. The book is fine fiction, but not to be taken seriously.
Rating:
Summary: The best work of fiction ever!
Review: To put it simply, it is the best work of fiction that has ever been written. There are literally very few Russians who could say it is not their most favorite book. Please read it, re-read, and re-read again - the book will never fail to open ever new layers for you, brilliantly placed there by Mikhail Bulgakov.
Rating:
Summary: How sadly mistaken are those who will not see....
Review: Mr. Richards is so far off the mark, that I will not bother you with criticism of his commentary. Suffice it to say, that this work is so far beyond anything I've ever read as far as christ alegories, as to want for description at all. If you have known the gospel, fallen away from it, and have no intention of coming back to it, but recognize it's truth, take up this book and sublimate the exquisite literary portrayal of what might happen afterwards.... And this is from a zen buddhist. Christ comes off just fine, TYVM, and the robust nature of the message thereto remains unabated, for those not too myopic to see beyond their own, selfish noses. Everyone should read this work. Period. God bless you and keep you, Mr. Bulgakov, you have shown, if ever so briefly, the attenuation between black and white, and a path for those who seek the same.
Rating:
Summary: International Classic
Review: This has become one of my favorite books. There are a few qualities in particular that I love. First, there is the wonderful, honey-thick Russian language. The translation successfully draws you into the vocabulary and imagery of Russia. Second, it is a funny book. I imagine that it is most amusing to people who have a good knowledge of Goethe's Faust and Russian culture and politics, but there is plenty of humor that is surface level. Third, there are some very moving passages, in particular the scenes with Pontius Pilate. I have recommended this book to many friends and family. I have only read this edition of the book; but in reviewing other copies, I would strongly recommend this one with the notes. Some of the historical, political and literary allusions are too specific for the average reader and the notes very unobtrusively guide you through the book.
| 
