Mikhail Bulgakov
1967
Around 375 pages
There are some novels that I would dread dissecting in an academic environment, but I think it really would have helped me to have more context for this novel. This novel is so heavily laden with historical references, and I probably only understood 15% of them. So I probably didn't glean as much from this novel as I could have.
Where to begin with the plot of this fever dream? Satan comes to Moscow with his posse and wreaks havoc over three hot summer days. Pontius Pilate has achieved immortality due to fucking over Jesus and lives in regret. Immortal people are so hard to please. Mostly, it's a story about the oppression of early Stalin days and the scarier aspects of Soviet bureaucracy, which includes vampires and black cats.
Bulgakov is tackling so much different topics, that the result is inevitably going to be a trippy nightmare. Again, I would have had a better time with this if I was better versed in all the allusions that Bulgakov made.
Not really my style, but I can appreciate the genius that went into creating a work like this.
RATING: ***--
Interesting Facts:
Interesting Facts:
One of Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century.
Adapted into film, comics, ballet, radio, television, and music.
Bulgakov was among the invited guests who attended the Spring Festival at Spaso House, the residence of the U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union, hosted by Ambassador William Bullitt. Critics believe he based his novel on this event.
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