Reviews

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

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ndenitto's review

1.0

DNF'd at the 50% mark. I read the Richard Pevear translation of this book and I cannot believe that it reached print. Clunky, overly-descriptive, and lacking any sense of flow whatsoever. Unbelievable to me that no editor pushed back on this, especially since it's the official Penguin 50th anniversary edition.

gringogabby's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious medium-paced

4.25

oliwill1's review against another edition

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funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

makennadykstra's review against another edition

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4.0

“gods, my gods. how sad the earth”

an absolute feat of a novel, brilliantly and delicately composed to thread contemporary russian trauma into a winding, magical adventure of a loving & vengeful witch, her novelist lover, a large large cat, satan, a flying pig. not my personal favorite *type* of book but an excellent book nevertheless.

also will be renaming my cat Spirit of Evil and Sovereign of the Shadows (evie for short)

“what would your good do if evil didn’t exist, and what would the earth look like if all the shadows disappeared? … do you want to strip the earth of all trees and living things just because of your fantasy of enjoying naked light? you’re stupid.” 305