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A review by millennial_dandy
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
4.0
4.5 (Just to leave room for growth upon re-read)
After polling the Russian speakers I know, I learned that ‘Master and Margarita’ is considered a good place to start if one is looking for a way to ‘break into’ Russian literature, so to speak.
Reading in translation is always a tricky business, especially when considering classics since style is often just as much a part of the reading experience as the substance. Happily, ‘Master and Margarita’ is limited to just a handful of choices, the original easily eliminated as it was of an abridged version of the text. All this to say that choosing a translation of a given book is nearly as important as reading the text itself. But unless one limits oneself to only those books published in their first language, it’s unavoidable. After all, some of these classics are big bricks of books, and imagine going to the trouble of reading a 1000-page tome only to be told ‘oh, but that translation is no good!’
Not one to fall into this trap so easily, I did my due diligence and landed on the translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky in this Penguin Classics edition. I’ve heard tell that the Diana Burgin & Katherine Tiernan O'Connor translation is considered by some to be superior, but given how much harder it was to find a copy I assume it’s not the one most people have read, and for a first run-through I was willing to go with (debatably) the second best option.
I say ‘first run-through’ because ‘Master and Margarita’ is, happily, a book that I think will == continue to get better with every re-read. The plot itself is such a delightful foray into the fantastic that it holds itself up without a reader absolutely needing to understand every little reference to be able to discuss or enjoy the reading experience. But, as with all good classics and indeed all good books, there are layers and layers to the text that are just begging to be unpacked and dissected. Hence, why I say that this is a novel that warrants multiple re-reads and even then will have inexhaustible texture left over.
Having some knowledge of Russian culture and the geography of Moscow was certainly a plus for me a reader, and gave me a sense of a few things to pay attention to in terms of the satire of the Soviet system Bulgakov was going for. Next time, perhaps, I’ll do a bit of background research and/or read ‘Faust’ and then try again. And then maybe do the same to understand the biblical angle. And so on, and so forth.
But what about the lay-reader, just looking for a good story? This is also for you. Bulgakov is hilarious. The comedy requires very little in the way of prerequisite knowledge in order to ‘get it.’ It’s absurd, existing at that great intersection of humor and horror, and much of it hinges on certain characters patently breaking social conventions and others uselessly clinging to them in an almost sitcom-y sort of way (I use this as a positive, not a condescending, comparison).
"Manuscripts don’t burn" is probably the most famous quote from ‘Master and Margarita’ and does definitely capture something of the central theme of the novel. This may well be a ‘lost in translation’ question (I’ll leave that up to Russian readers to quibble over), but generally this wasn’t a book I’d praise so much for its prose as its cleverness. There weren’t nearly as many moments where I found myself reaching for a pen to write down a gorgeous turn of phrase as there were moments where I had a sensible chuckle over a witty joke or turn of phrase.
There isn’t much I can say here in terms of analysis that would add anything to the conversation so many scholars have already engaged in, but I do feel like I more deeply understand what life in the Soviet Union was about from having read it, what its bureaucracy was like, and how certain aspects of that time have spilled-over into modern Russian culture.
Overall, ‘Master and Margarita’ was definitely a great recommendation from my friends and acquaintances, a delight to read, and one I will recommend to anyone looking for a place to start in classics as well as anyone just looking for a good tale—especially if they’re a cat person.
*Note to future self: if you find yourself in possession of (or as the possession of) a big, black cat, assume he is named ‘Behemoth’ and make sure to teach him that heads are meant to remain on necks and shoulders. *
After polling the Russian speakers I know, I learned that ‘Master and Margarita’ is considered a good place to start if one is looking for a way to ‘break into’ Russian literature, so to speak.
Reading in translation is always a tricky business, especially when considering classics since style is often just as much a part of the reading experience as the substance. Happily, ‘Master and Margarita’ is limited to just a handful of choices, the original easily eliminated as it was of an abridged version of the text. All this to say that choosing a translation of a given book is nearly as important as reading the text itself. But unless one limits oneself to only those books published in their first language, it’s unavoidable. After all, some of these classics are big bricks of books, and imagine going to the trouble of reading a 1000-page tome only to be told ‘oh, but that translation is no good!’
Not one to fall into this trap so easily, I did my due diligence and landed on the translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky in this Penguin Classics edition. I’ve heard tell that the Diana Burgin & Katherine Tiernan O'Connor translation is considered by some to be superior, but given how much harder it was to find a copy I assume it’s not the one most people have read, and for a first run-through I was willing to go with (debatably) the second best option.
I say ‘first run-through’ because ‘Master and Margarita’ is, happily, a book that I think will == continue to get better with every re-read. The plot itself is such a delightful foray into the fantastic that it holds itself up without a reader absolutely needing to understand every little reference to be able to discuss or enjoy the reading experience. But, as with all good classics and indeed all good books, there are layers and layers to the text that are just begging to be unpacked and dissected. Hence, why I say that this is a novel that warrants multiple re-reads and even then will have inexhaustible texture left over.
Having some knowledge of Russian culture and the geography of Moscow was certainly a plus for me a reader, and gave me a sense of a few things to pay attention to in terms of the satire of the Soviet system Bulgakov was going for. Next time, perhaps, I’ll do a bit of background research and/or read ‘Faust’ and then try again. And then maybe do the same to understand the biblical angle. And so on, and so forth.
But what about the lay-reader, just looking for a good story? This is also for you. Bulgakov is hilarious. The comedy requires very little in the way of prerequisite knowledge in order to ‘get it.’ It’s absurd, existing at that great intersection of humor and horror, and much of it hinges on certain characters patently breaking social conventions and others uselessly clinging to them in an almost sitcom-y sort of way (I use this as a positive, not a condescending, comparison).
"Manuscripts don’t burn" is probably the most famous quote from ‘Master and Margarita’ and does definitely capture something of the central theme of the novel. This may well be a ‘lost in translation’ question (I’ll leave that up to Russian readers to quibble over), but generally this wasn’t a book I’d praise so much for its prose as its cleverness. There weren’t nearly as many moments where I found myself reaching for a pen to write down a gorgeous turn of phrase as there were moments where I had a sensible chuckle over a witty joke or turn of phrase.
There isn’t much I can say here in terms of analysis that would add anything to the conversation so many scholars have already engaged in, but I do feel like I more deeply understand what life in the Soviet Union was about from having read it, what its bureaucracy was like, and how certain aspects of that time have spilled-over into modern Russian culture.
Overall, ‘Master and Margarita’ was definitely a great recommendation from my friends and acquaintances, a delight to read, and one I will recommend to anyone looking for a place to start in classics as well as anyone just looking for a good tale—especially if they’re a cat person.
*Note to future self: if you find yourself in possession of (or as the possession of) a big, black cat, assume he is named ‘Behemoth’ and make sure to teach him that heads are meant to remain on necks and shoulders. *