Tag Archives: Master and Margarita

     "The fact is that a year ago I wrote a novel about Pilate." "     You’re a writer?" asked the poet with interest.       The guest’s face darkened, and he shook his fist at Ivan that then … Continue reading → Continue reading →

There is a telltale sign that what you’re reading is a Russian novel–aside from the triple-named characters.  For me, it’s a sense of drama within the story that excites the characters yet is presented to the reader in a more … Continue reading → Continue reading →

And so the show is onstage, with Professor Woland seated, the black cat prancing about, and Fagot/Korovyov taking over the act.  What is promised is black magic tricks and an expose, but the magic is beyond comprehension except for its … Continue reading → Continue reading →

As I mentioned, the variety of characters, the different story paths were leading up to what the reader, as he learns more and more, comes to believe will be a momentous and telling part of the narrative.  The mysterious and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Despite what some adventure loving readers may claim, the novel that becomes a literary classic always has some kind of carefully considered plot. It simply is not the main priority of the narrative. In this novel, where much is implied … Continue reading → Continue reading →

As the strange professor moves through this novel, we suspect that he is the devil himself as the obviously fantastical takes over: But there were worse things to be seen in the bedroom: sprawled in a relaxed pose on the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I can tell now, even this early in the book, that this is one to be read a few times.  Bulgakov has admirably written a story that is intrigueing and encompassing of character, action, mystery, conflict and structure, enough to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So far Bulgakov has killed off one of the main characters, but added two more; a weird little man and a large black cat. Mikhail Alexandrovich Berlioz has been beheaded by a train, and the poet has realized that something … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I’ve struggled through many a book refusing to seek out reviews and opinions of others.  Looking at this as both influence and plagiarizing of ideas, I feel that it’s always best to go it first alone and then look at … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Chapter 1 leads into Chapter 2 as the strange foreigner, a Professor who claims to be in Moscow to decipher text of black magic, starts the tale of Jesus and Pontius Pilate, which is where the Chapter begins. Names changed … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Yep, it brought me back many years to The Brothers Karamazov where everyone has at least a triple-name — Mikhail Alexandrovich Berlioz, and Ivan Nikolayevich Ponyryov (who writes under the pen name Bezdomny) are the two characters we meet by … Continue reading → Continue reading →

While I still haven’t gone through the poetry (I admittedly skim) of Confrontation, I found myself really anxious to start in on this one, having held it as a treat to look forward to reading. So I may not start … Continue reading →