Book - 11, The Master and Margarita

The Master and Margarita (1967)

by

Mikhail Bulgakov

Book Read: May 2015

Note Written: 11 July 2015

'The Master and Margarita' was a little difficult for me to get into in the beginning, as it took me some time to register the names and certain events (many characters had multiple names, multiple ways of being called). Slowly the book started making sense and all the bizarre events happening became absolutely engrossing for me- some comedic, some sad, some horrific etc. You don't get absolute clarity of events until you reach the 'Part 2' section of the novel. The Master and Margarita is genius work! Wit, awe, excitement, horror, sadness, laughter, wonder, death, loyalty, are all in it, all over it. In these, loyalty plays a major factor. The chain of events caused by the appearance of the Devil in Moscow of 1930s, and the way he rewards people loyal to him, uncovering certain truths and unleashing a certain form of justice through his apprentices, form the crux of The Master and Margarita. The novel, as I understand, was not allowed to be published when it was completed in 1940, due to censorship issues. The footnotes in the edition by Alma Classics were really helpful in understanding the background of the story and its events but it would always be better for me if the notes were in the pages itself, not in a separate section in the end. It was very inconvenient for me and disturbed my flow of reading, as I had to flip pages back and forth every now and then.

The Master and Margarita- A mix of all emotions. A great read!