The Master and Margarita

I bought this (ten bucks!) because it was on a list of books that one has to read on a Jordan Peterson YouTube video. I am utterly unable to understand why it is important that I read this. Although the book is interesting in the way that decent Soviet-era Russian novels (and admittedly many such from well before or after that period) are always interesting, I found no particularly striking knowledge or great questions within. My nearest comparison would be a Southpark quote: its just a bunch of stuff that happened. Perhaps it would have been a different read were I better versed in classical dogmatic debates and then-current Russian pop history. As it is, I found the book utterly tedious, interesting only as a window into Russia of the early (and to a degree, entire) Soviet period where people eternally feared the State and a very well-off family might be universally envied for having an entire floor of a house as their home. I would never in my life have identified either of the two versions of the Christ as such had I not been told this in the blurb, and the authors version of Satan seemed rather pointless. Killing a couple people, throwing thousands into disarray, and sending the State machinery into confusion seems remarkably flaccid and pointless in the face of the pogroms and genocides even of the authors time, much less those soon to come. Perhaps this is one of the authors themes, that Satan himself is a pauper in evil compared to man, but if so its hardly a point that is new or even well crafted. I am pondering no new philosophical or religious questions as a result of reading it, nor have I gained any insight into the nature of G-d or man. Not at all recommended.

The translation of this edition is extraordinarily good and well researched. The narrative is extremely well crafted. At times you are tempted to read a sweeping segment fast and that\’s OK, but reread it, for the beauty of language and intricateness of contents. This book is much too good to 1. go over it fast, 2. read it as if it were a bedtime story, 3. read it just once. After each chapter read the commentary on this chapter at the end of the book. It will enhance your understanding and pleasure. After reading the book reread it.

When I hear the phrase \”romance novel,\” I\’m likely to think of titillating fodder for bored housewives. Perhaps that\’s common, perhaps not. Regardless, I would without hesitation classify this book as a romance novel, and titillating fodder for bored housewives it is not. Then again, there\’s a difference between the fleeting fantasies those same housewives would want to keep in a book, and the emotional reunion between a masterful writer and his stunningly beautiful muse, being effected by none other than Satan himself. A simple summary of this story would be as follows: the Devil arrives in Soviet Russia, and hijinks ensue. Most of it is funny, some of it is profound, and surrealism pops up every now and then to make the reader feel like a child again. Around this basic plot revolves two stories: 1) the meeting of Yeshua Ha-Notsri (Jesus the Nazarene) and Pontius Pilate (whose headache never really seems to leave), and 2) the relationship between the title characters the Master and Margarita. All of these threads are skillfully interwoven, and Bulgakov does his damnedest to make the reader feel horrified, giddy, whimsical, etc. He certainly had success with me. The narration is a thing of beauty, a character in itself that alternates between stating things seemingly as they are, and taking on the attitude of the environment within the scene. There were times I felt as if I were in on a secret (in truth, I was, though I couldn\’t articulate it), and others when I felt as if there were secrets being kept from me. When the Devil\’s henchmen acted in ways that were silly and destructive, the narration itself voiced its offense, and earned guffaws from me on many occasions. As much as it chastises the Devil\’s henchmen, the narration fawns over both the Master and Margarita, both of whom express their appreciation for the diabolical crew many times over! The fact of the matter is that, without Satan, neither of the other stories could have taken place. Every character could easily inspire a paragraph like the one above, but I don\’t want to spoil too much. I\’ll just say this in closing: it\’s a beautiful thing to see the Devil know exactly what he\’s doing, foster a beautiful romance, and make Moscow better for his having been there.

Translations do distance the work to some extent from its origin, but this-at the least being supposed a somewhat more faithful rendition of the Russian- would seem to represent a rather rollick-some story that parodies both the nature of religion and yet also the totalitarianism inherent in the era of Stalin\’s Soviet Union. Little is taken seriously here beyond the validity of the self and its need for autonomy. Works of men, those on all sides, are all set up for ridicule. Thus, the work about the nature of the time in ancient Jerusalem is set up for a fall, even to the extent that it might harbor some supposed truth to the same extent as is the nature of literary criticism, the Communist state and its bureaucracy, the entertainment of the time and the supposed Psychological community. Nothing is immune from the author\’s satirical eye. Nonetheless, there is some positive note held out to self-sacrifice,even if this itself is combined with some revelatory and gratified self-realization in the end. Perhaps even the idea of self-sacrifice may be up to the author\’s bemusement. If one could fully understand the idiom of the Russian original more fully than I can claim to, it might be that even self-sacrifice may be held up to the light of skepticism. Whatever the claims that I chose to make here of intent, the work clearly proceeds in its own boisterous manner -at the most basic level- as an enjoyable read.

I bought this for a friend who had given it to me on the recommendation that it was one of the best translations. It\’s hard to believe it was written more 80 years ago, it could pass for a much more modern novel, And when you learn the backstory of the author and the severe restrictions of the Communist era that he worked within, you\’ll be even more amazed. A beautiful dreamscape of a novel that dissects and sends up the afflictions of humanity that very much exist today…

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member