Considered one of the finest creations of Russian literature in the 20th century…. And available in book stores.
I have plagiarized the following synopses - happy reading:
Mikhail
Bulgakov's devastating satire of Soviet life was written during the darkest
period of Stalin's regime. Combining two distinct yet interwoven parts—one set
in ancient Jerusalem, one in contemporary Moscow—the novel veers from moods of
wild theatricality with violent storms, vampire attacks, and a Satanic ball; to
such somber scenes as the meeting of Pilate and Yeshua, and the murder of Judas
in the moonlit garden of Gethsemane; to the substanceless, circus-like reality
of Moscow. Its central characters, Woland (Satan) and his retinue—including the
vodka-drinking black cat, Behemoth; the poet, Ivan Homeless; Pontius Pilate;
and a writer known only as The Master, and his passionate companion, Margarita—exist
in a world that blends fantasy and chilling realism, an artful collage of
grotesqueries, dark comedy, and timeless ethical questions.
The Master and Margarita is a complex and
multi-level novel. The city of Moscow is made unsafe by professor Woland and
his henchmen. These suspects prove to be of diabolic origin and make the life
difficult of the artists, civil servants and others who are walking along with
the regime. In a very contagious manner the reader becomes witness of
decapitations, arson, black magic, abductions, counterfeiting of currency and
self-satisfied people who are litterally put in the nude... no lack of fantasy.
Margarita is not afraid of the satanic company. She calls on the devil, flies
on her broom through Moscow as an experienced witch, in search of her
disappeared lover, the Master. He stays in a psychiatric institution. He had
written a book on Pontius Pilate, with a completely new variant of Jesus'
trial. But the manuscript was rejected by law-abiding editors and in the press
appeared ominous articles about the novel while it was never published. As a
result, the master collapsed totally, and he even burned his manuscript. But it
shows up again because.. Рукописи не горят or "manuscripts don't
burn"...
The punitive expedition of the devil throughout
Moscow, Margarita's search for her lover and excerpts from the Master's novel
about Pontius Pilate are the most important materials for The Master and
Margarita. The book is not only a funny and sometimes caustic criticism on the
soviet society between 1920 and 1940 but also a touching love story... And the
devil, after all, does not at all appear a bad chap. The book shows the large
creative fantasy of Bulgakov. His work is part of a Russian tradition of satire
that started with Gogol and continued with authors as Zostchenko, Ilf and
Petrov.
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