Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Master and Margarita

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

17 reviews

applesodaperson's review against another edition

challenging funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This book was honestly such a struggle to get through, but I still really enjoyed it, and am glad I finished it. Personally, I just have a really hard time with Russian literature in general. The way it is written, and the fact that every character has life three names, means it takes me a lot of brain power to read. But I will say, this book was easier to read then some other Russian lit I have read. About this book in particular, I thought it was super fun and random and whimsical, and my favorite part was Margarita becoming a witch and just destroying some guy's apartment. Speaking of Margarita though, I am confused as to why her name is in the title, when she really wasn't in the book all that much. She was just a side character, as much as Ivan Homeless was. And "The Master" part of the title isn't really even referring to Satan, the main instigator of the book, but to her lover who wrote the book about Pontius Pilate. And that's another thing, I enjoyed the biblical narrative, but I still don't quite understand what its significance to the story was. Despite being pretty confused by this book, I still did enjoy it.
Read from the Provo library.

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rchatterjee188's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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readingsponsoredbybts's review

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dark lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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mardy's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

cuntiest book ever

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sticky_'s review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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mikarala's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I really, really hoped my rating would be higher than this.

Based on the description and what I'd heard about this novel, I honestly thought it was going to be a new favourite. Like, an absurdist story about the devil visiting 1920's/30's Soviet Moscow and getting up to hijinks and causing chaos? Sounded right up my alley. Unfortunately, the matter-of-fact tone that was (I believe) meant to come across as absurdly understated just felt dull and lifeless to me. I was constantly losing track of where I was in the text due to lack of interest. I feel like the mayhem of the events of the story were not well served by the narrative style. For reference, I read the Burgin & O'Connor translation, which is the one I saw most recommended when I searched, so maybe other translations have a little more panache, but yeah, frustratingly, the writing somehow made incredibly ridiculous and absurd events seem incredibly boring. (Although, I will admit I did become somewhat more invested in the second half of the story.)

That's unfortunate, because I do think there are some really interesting themes in this novel. Bulgakov parodies the absurdity of Soviet beaurocracy, drawing a parallel with the Roman state/Pontius Pilate that crucified Jesus Christ (Yeshua Ha-Nozri in this text) out of political cowardice with the cowardly actions of modern Muscovites living under the Soviet state. The final chapters actually almost made me up my rating a bit because there are actually some pretty thought-provoking quotes about the nature of evil and how it without it, good also wouldn't exist, but ultimately 3 stars is where this book actually lands for me, even if there are some really complex and fascinating thematic elements.

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