The Master and Margarita

[natacha]

Hello!
Wondering if any of you had read The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov, and what your veiws were on it.
I read it ages ago when I didn't have too much knowledge of Russian history but recently I read it again and the analogies are hilarious, wondering what sorts of analogies and attacks on Stalinism/society at large and the human being you thought you saw.

Obvious one is Woland/Devil/Stalin and his band of weirdos who are all desrcibed as "foreigners", and the way that they seem to scheme their way in to Soviet life, show up humanities weaknesses, and terrorise Moscow's intellectuals. Also the way he seems omnipresent throughout, perhaps alike the way people under Stalin felt they were constantly being judged and watched. Arrest or people feeling they like they will be arrested in the book comes up a lot.

I thought it was interesting the way Bulgakov used religion as one of the three main plots in the story even though Soviet Russia was atheist, any thoughts on this?

Also, Woland (devil/Stalin) actually does some good in the end (I won't spoil this for anyone reading too much) he exposes greed, liberates the Master and unites Christ and Pilate, what do you think of that?

One of the main 3 stories that makes up The Master and Margarita is of "The Master" and "Margarita", two lovers, I felt like he was saying at the end that people should be free to love, if they are not free to be creative and have individual thoughts.

I've a million more but its boiling in this library, thoughts on these? Anyone read Heart of a Dog?

[Soviet]

Are you really left?
"Heart of a Dog"," Master and Margarit" - the favorite books of Russian philistines.

[Absolut]

Ive read The Master and Margarita, I thought it was one of the better books Ive ever read. I cant remember exactly right now, was some time since I read it, but I really liked the subtle criticisms of the Soviet system that Bulgakov made.

Other than that, it was hilarious.

[natacha]

Are you really left?
"Heart of a Dog"," Master and Margarit" - the favorite books of Russian philistines.

Liking 'The Master and Margarita' does not mean you cannot be left wing! Have you read the book? It is a criticism of the social controls under Stalin and the way these effected peoples sense of self and their ability to use their imagination and create things, especially with Russian Association for Proletarian Writers on your back.
Heart of a Dog is much less soviet I agree with you on that one, I found it funny but didn't like it as much, in its commentary of soviet society, but i think he was talking of the specific experience there, not of communism as a whole.

[Soviet]

It is a criticism of the social controls under StalinIt is criticism from right wing,don't you see?If you've read "Heart of a Dog" you'd have understood Bulgakov's political views.He was petty bourgeois and he described Soviet reality as a petty bourgeois.
Listen,Bulgakov ended "The Master and Margarita" at 1940,just a year before the Great War.Are you sure that generation wich owerthrowed Hitler was like Bulgakov's heroes?

[natacha]

I see you're Russian, and so are my family (Russian, Latvian and Polish), "social reality" as you call it - life, to them, wasn't life as they wanted to live it, they had almost no freedom under Stalin, my greatgrandmother was sent to Sevvostlag and was given no reason. I'm not going to argue about this with you, I wanted to speak about The Master and Margarita and its themes - not only relating to soviet life but to the human being, love, religion, etc. To write a book criticising such extreme civil liberty controls as were under stalin is not right wing, though I admit that Bulgakov was mainly against the Soviet system (i've only read two of his books).

Anyway any thoughst on the actual books themes are welcome! i saw a post a few years ago on this book and it had about 40 positive replies. Natasha

[Soviet]

I 'd not argue with you too,I only want to ask you:have you ever read Sholokhov or N.Ostrovsky?

[natacha]

Ah yeah, I have "tales of the don" or "from the don" back at my mum's house but haven't read it, is it good?

[MilitantAnarchist]

I have the book, but havent read it yet... im busy getting through all my Palahniuk stuff before his new one comes out... will let you know what i think of it when im done tho :p

[Soviet]

All Sholokhov's things are good.The best is "And Quet Flows the Don" .
What I want to say is that of couse you can read Bulgakov but if you are really left you must read more soviet authors-to understund better Soviet history.

[Ell Carino]

This is an absolute gem of a novel, I was laughing from the beginning to the end.

[Femme_Fatale]

Sadly, i read the book in english...but the translation was flawless. its one of those books i can read over and over <3
the movie is awesome too


All Sholokhov's things are good.The best is "And Quet Flows the Don" .
What I want to say is that of couse you can read Bulgakov but if you are really left you must read more soviet authors-to understund better Soviet history.
or "deti arbata" by rybakov..perfect portrayal.. or a movie called "zaveshanie lenina" based on short stories by Varlam Shalamov.. those masterpieces give a rather clear idea of what it was really like

[The Ungovernable Farce]

Yeah, Master and Margarita is awesome, as is Heart of a Dog. M&M manages to simultaneously be brilliant as a clever/arty type book, and have a talking cat which is just ace in itself. The idea that you should have to agree with all a writer's political views before you can like their work is obviously ridiculous.
Have you read any Victor Serge? Conquered City is the best novel about the Russian Revolution/Civil War I've read. Grimmer than Bulgakov, but also really well-written.
Gogol's also really good for surreal satire-type stuff that's more fun than most relentlessly grim Russian novelists (not that there's owt wrong with the relentlessly depressing school of Russian novelists, of course). Obv, he was writing about a different set-up, but one massive corrupt bureaucracy is much like another.

[Trystan]

I enjoyed it, but not as much as I expected too. Maybe I had a bad translation. "Heart of a Dog" is superb, too, even if it's a bit right-wing (but in fairness I thought that the more bourgeois characters were also treated quite mockingly). It's hilarious stuff.