A Dog's Heart (1968)
by
Mikhail Bulgakov
Book Read: 25 July 2015
Note Written: 29 July 2015
The story is set in Soviet Union of 1920's, where a doctor/scientist transplants the pituitary and sexual glands of a man to a stray dog, in a bizarre experiment. 'A Dog's Heart' is a dark tale which gives us a lot to think and reflect upon. You really have to read it to feel it- it was disturbing to me, almost the same way Animal Farm disturbed me. Reading the 'Introduction' part after the novel gave me a lot of insights to it. It is a satire of the new Russian nation then- the Bolsheviks experimenting with the idea of communism in the nation to build a new kind of populace and seeing it backfire on themselves slowly. It is a sad fact that the novel wasn't allowed to be published in the nation it was born until about 60 years later. The story is told from various points of views, the best of which is the beginning and the end, where the narration is from the view of the Dog, Sharik. I felt sad reading those parts- it is true, street dogs are perhaps the most insulted beings, ever, may be after mosquitoes (but I doubt it). It would be these unwanted creatures who would have seen the true face of people amongst us- how they behave when they don't have to be socially acceptable. Looking forward to reading more of Bulgakov.
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