Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

Mistrz i Małgorzata by Mikhail Bulgakov

4 reviews

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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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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pythonesque's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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alexandra_skl's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

4.25

While the allegory can sometimes be a bit confusing, the book still serves as a poignant critique of Soviet absurdism and nonsense

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