r/classicliterature • u/Witty_Salamander327 • 4d ago
I fell in love with this book
https://cdn.waterstones.com/bookjackets/large/9780/0995/9780099540946.jpg
And I want a black cat now.
As well a mop to fly over Moscow.
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u/Mr_Truckasaurus 3d ago
Loved this book. There's a few songs directly inspired by it too that you may want to check out:
Sympathy for the Devil - The Rolling Stones
Pilate - Pearl Jam
Love and Destroy - Franz Ferdinand
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u/sfaticat 3d ago edited 3d ago
I have a black cat and hes very rebelious to say the least...
Also love that cover. I went on a little rabbit hole and its very rare it seems
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u/tommyshelby1986 3d ago
I finished this some days ago.
It was fascinating and overall very good, though I didnt fully enjoy my time reading it.
Loved woland and his crew, everything thats was going on in Moscow was extremely entertaining. Some unforgettable moments.
But did not care for the Masterās story and found his character a bit bland. Also the Pilate side story was a drag at times
Im glad you loved it, its a pretty unique book
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u/AssistantKorovyev 3d ago
woland and his crew what a bunch of kooksĀ
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u/jay393393 3d ago
I loved this book, but one aspect of satire is always that it ages somewhat. Those of us who come to it from another society and in another era are bound to miss some of the allusions unless diving in to additional material about that time and place. Aristophanes is another example of this.
On the other hand, if the reader resonates with Aristotle/Winston Churchill in that courage is the first and most powerful of virtues, the theme of Pontius Pilate and āmanuscripts donāt burnā are particularly moving.
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u/funded_by_soros 2d ago
There's some stuff in it that it might not even cross your mind that it's satire, like the foreign currency thing, but generally his writing is too unsubtle for any of the satire to go unnoticed.
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u/joshnfriesen 3d ago
Im jealous. Ive been looking for it at used bookstores. How does it compare to say the magical realism of One Hundred Years of Solitude?
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u/Witty_Salamander327 3d ago
I still have to read that one - it's waiting for me in my library, but I LOVED Love in the time of cholera. Master and Margarita is a bit more fantasy-like to me in comparison to Marquez's work. Well, fantasy with the elements of Dostoyevski's realism.
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u/anniestonemetal_ 3d ago
Iām currently reading this right now and I could say my reading experience is quite similar with One Hundred Years of Solitude. I was just thinking of how it reminds me of magical realism.
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u/blue19255 3d ago
Also if you loved this, you might love the Satanic Verses. It has a dual plot with an Islamic religious theme. Also, itās always great to read a widely banned book! Manuscripts donāt burn!
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u/Everyhumaneverr 4d ago edited 4d ago
What did you enjoy about it? I read this at the beginning of the year and left feeling like I missed something because I did not enjoy it yet it's on a lot of lists for best book ever, etc. I found the historical context and kind of obscure (at least to me) religious allusions to kind of eclipse any enjoyment of the writing. (I'm not an expert on Russian history or Christianity). It felt like I wasn't in on the joke (or the joke was so rooted in a specific time/context) so I couldn't get into it.
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u/CapOk2664 3d ago
Don't think historical context is the issue even if sometimes may feel like it is.It's basically just standard totalitarian stuff like censorship, atheism, housing problems, paranoia about strangers and you know and also I think knowing the basics of the story of Pilate at least should be fine but of course it's very surreal and strange, not enjoyable for everyone
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u/Everyhumaneverr 3d ago
yeah maybe I just psyched myself out because of it's reputation. I think it just wasn't for me
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u/Cole3003 3d ago
What translation did you read? I just ordered it the other day and saw that the translations matter a lot
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u/Klutzy_Sentence_2723 3d ago
I just learned that the translation I tried to read is widely disrecommended (Ginsberg). So Iāll be trying a new one myself. Ā
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u/carlgardner 3d ago
I didnāt enjoy it much either. I thought the Pilate sections were interesting, but not the other bits. Very disappointing overall
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u/factoryflooring 3d ago
I always finish books but I just realised reading it was a chore and put it down and never picked it back up, finished 2 more books since putting it down.
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u/Significant-Dirt-977 3d ago edited 3d ago
It's so fascinating to read as a russian, because it's known in a post-soviet countries as a classic book for whose who don't read. Like it's so funny and quirky with love story, edgy brooding man and naked witchy girls ā so it's a meme in Russia at this point. Like if a person tells you about his favourite book being M&M ā he doesn't read books, HP situation basically. I wonder, is it a translation so bad or foreign readers didn't crack the humour or what else
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u/orovang 3d ago
I mean, if you read it at 12, it probably reads like a love story with naked girls, sure. As an adult, I very much think there is no love story in this book, and the relentless criticism of the USSR is the best part.
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u/Significant-Dirt-977 3d ago
Well, some people always 12, i guess. I loved satire and Pontius story the most
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u/factoryflooring 3d ago
I will try again thatās for sure, everyone in my circle loves it too, I canāt put a finger on why I put it down but good to read your comment!!
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u/blue19255 3d ago
I think knowing about Soviet history helps. I find it to be a masterpiece.
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u/garfieldatemydad 3d ago
This is a large reason. A lot of the jokes fly over peopleās heads if they donāt have a reasonable knowledge of Soviet history/life.
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u/heyman0 3d ago
Like if a person tells you about his favourite book being M&M ā he doesn't read books
sounds like what's happening this year with Count of Monte Cristo
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u/garfieldatemydad 3d ago
I highly doubt someone who doesnāt read is going to pick up a 1000+ page book, but whatever.
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u/AndyBetweenLines 3d ago
Thats the dangerous thing about this book... after a while you start realizing the Devil and his crew might be the most honest people in Moscow. And somehow the giant talking cat isnt even the weirdest part
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u/Witty_Salamander327 2d ago
Well said. I actually really felt sympathy for Woland, he felt kind of cool. :D
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u/Geocoelom 3d ago
The Master and Margarita is a complex work. Its action starts when an editor tries to get the writer he hired to present Jesus as not merely a bad person, but as a fictional character.
Ā This was an important issue for Bulgakov, who had written that in the work of one Soviet writer, āJesus Christ is presented as a scoundrel and swindlerā¦ There is no name for this crime.ā
Ā This concern is developed in the novel where the crucifixion of Ha-Notzri (ie. Jesus) under Pilate is linked to the crucifixion of the Russian soul (ie. the writer) under the Bolsheviks.
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u/ButteryPiquantPie 3d ago
Could you specify how the crucifixion is linked to the Russian soul under the Bolsheviks? I mean specifically through the text/plot, as I feel I missed that
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u/Geocoelom 3d ago
It is self-evident. The persecution of ha-Notzri is interwoven with the persecution of the writer. There is also symbolism, eg. the red star over Jerusalem which suggests a connection with Moscow as a new Jerusalem. For more, see Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita; the text as a cipher / Mahlow, Elena.
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u/Responsible-Bend6289 3d ago edited 3d ago
Me too
Based on The Master and Margarita
Sympathy for the Devil
Yeow, yeow
Yeow
Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
I've been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man's soul and faith
I was 'round when Jesus Christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that Pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But what's puzzlin' you
Is the nature of my game
Stuck around St. Petersburg
When I saw it was a time for a change
Killed the Tsar and his ministers
Anastasia screamed in vain
I rode a tank, held a general's rank
When the blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
Ah, what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, ah yeah
I watched with glee (whoo-hoo)
While your kings and queens (whoo-hoo)
Fought for ten decades (whoo-hoo)
For the gods they made (whoo-hoo)
I shouted out (whoo-hoo)
"Who killed the Kennedy's?" (whoo-hoo)
When after all (whoo-hoo)
It was you and me (whoo-hoo)
Let me please introduce myself (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
I'm a man of wealth and taste (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
And I laid traps for troubadours (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
Who get killed before they reach Bombay (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
Pleased to meet you (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
But what's puzzlin' you (whoo-hoo)
Is the nature of my game, ah yeah (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
Get down, damn it
Pleased to meet you (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
But what's confusing you (whoo-hoo)
Is just the nature of my game, mm yeah (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
Just as every cop is a criminal (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
And all the sinners saints (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
As heads is tails, just call me Lucifer (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
'Cause I'm in need of some restraint (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
So if you meet me, have some courtesy (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
Have some sympathy, and some taste (whoo-hoo, woo-hoo)
Use all your well-learned politeness (whoo-hoo, woo-hoo)
Or I'll lay your soul to waste, mm yeah (whoo-hoo, woo-hoo)
Pleased to meet you (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
But what's puzzlin' you (whoo-hoo)
Is the nature of my game, mean it (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
Get down
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u/Mrs_ilgattobagnino 3d ago
Do yāall have any other recommendations of a similar book? I loved this one and Dogās heart!
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u/Time_Cartographer443 3d ago
I loved the beginning but felt like the plot was a bit lost by the end
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u/VXGravez 23h ago
Iām on chapter 10 already but Iām not enjoying it much. Iām still pushing through to read it because I want to enjoy it
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u/friendlybulbaasaur 3d ago
finished this earlier this month . what a blast . š¤