The Master and Margarita in DC Public Library

May 04, 2007 martha rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook, 2025

The devil comes to Moscow, wacky things happen, and also Pontius Pilate does some stuff. This was smuggled out of the USSR. So bizarre, so fantastic.

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May 30, 2016 Brownguy rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: russia

It was just an ok novel. Felt like Tom Robbins but where I didn't get half the jokes. The first half of the book was just like "look how crazy the devil is" and then the second half is about the Master and Margarita who I didn't understand why I should care about them.

Perhaps it was written for a different time and because I am so unfamiliar with a lot of the tropes that I think Bulgakov is poking fun of, it wasn't a particularly engaging read. That said, the antics are wacky. It just didn't re ...more

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Jul 06, 2009 Marie rated it liked it

"considered one of the best and most highly regarded novels to come out of Russia during the Soviet era. The book weaves together satire and realism, art and religion, history and contemporary social values. It features three story lines. The main story, taking place in Russia of the 1930s, concerns a visit by the devil, referred to as Professor Woland, and four of his assistants during Holy Week; they use black magic to play tricks on those who cross their paths. Another story line features the ...more

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Mar 23, 2014 Ruth rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Delightfully strange/mad-cap/silly and deathly serious at the same time.

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Nov 19, 2010 joey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

This translation is a bit stilted, at times, although that may suggest that it tracks closer to the original Russian. I found the translation by Diana Burgin and Katherine Tiernan O'Connor more fluid. ...more

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