The Master and Margarita

Finished reading The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov a long while ago now. This was an important moment because it was the first occasion upon which reading a work of Russian literature was a relaxing, enjoyable experience for me. That includes reading the "great books in comic book form" version of Great Expectations when I was ten, at my father's behest.

I shouldn't comment too much on the use of language, since I was reading in translation, but if the translators (Diana Burgin and Katharine Tiernan O'Connor) accurately represented the text at all, it is beautifully written. The imagery is captivating. The stories are a reinterpretation of the Faust story, interwoven with a Pontius-Pilate's-eye-view of the crucifixion. The Jerusalem story is initiated by a character known as Woland, who is revealed to be the Devil, as he begins telling the tale of Jesus' meeting with Pontius Pilate to two skeptical Soviets. Throughout the book, the Jerusalem story interweaves with the Moscow story in interesting ways, sometimes as reflections and sometimes as distortions of one another. This novel defies both Soviet and religious propaganda, and can perhaps best be thought of as existential magical realism.

And this will mark the beginning of a habit I wish to make of reading thought-provoking books and posting brief reviews. Let us call this:

1. Bulgakov, Mikhail. The Master and Margarita. Translators Diana Burgin and Katharine Tiernan O'Connor. ISBN 0-679-76080-6 Tags: fiction, literature, magical realism, political satire. Recommended.