Anna Khachiyan Aug 28, 2012

it was amazing bookshelves: russian-lit

Recommended to Anna by: Mom Recommended for: Everyone Read 2 times 's review

From a relatively overlooked author (Dostoevsky and Chekov usually get top billing) comes perhaps the greatest work of Russian literature (if not of literature, period). Bulgakov's epic novel spans two millennia, going from Biblical Judea to Revolutionary Russia, and introduces us to some of fiction's most mesmerizing villains—the Mephistophelean figure of Woland, the fanged assassin Azazello, the mischievous, plaid-loving "ex-choirmaster" Koroviev and Begemot, the foul, murderous cat who bombs at chess, totes a Browning and, standing on hind legs, is about the size of a human dwarf. (Wouldn't this be the role for Peter Dinklage?).



If you think Dostoevsky is the master of psychologically prescient character studies, think again. Bulgakov's allegory of socialism deals in the most mundane of human motivations, cowardice, jealousy, pettiness, treachery and deceit, and is an early document of the cultural moment, with its rampant housing shortages and even more rampant love of acronyms. His account of the saga of Jesus and Pontius Pilate is notable for its unelevated credibility (fundamentalists call this blasphemy). And when Satan and his retinue arrive in corrupt, godless Moscow, you know shit's gonna pop off. This double structure was even cribbed by Salman Rushdie in his equally monumental but much more mediocre book, The Satanic Verses. Just sub "Christianity" for "Islam" and "Soviet Russia" for "the Subcontinent." And, voilà, we have a fatwa!



Bulgakov is a brilliant satirist and, stylistically, his cadence and pace are unmatched. His plot-lines and descriptions practically beg for cinematic adaptation, though the best one I've seen is a miniseries and vaguely porny (hint, hint). Perhaps the most remarkable and translatable feat of this book is in fact his ability to combine the rather lowborn art of satire with the elevated form of an epic. If you can't read it in Russian, this is an adequate translation.