The Master and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov BOOK REVIEW
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
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The "devil take him" and "the devil with you" idiom is used all over Russian lit. It's similar to saying "go to hell", it's just used more ironcally in the novel
"Однажды весною, в час небывало жаркого заката, в Москве, на Патриарших прудах, появились два гражданина..."
It is absolutely stunning in English but let me tell you all !! It is a freaking masterpiece in Russian 💔
It's even better in the original Klingon!
@@boristurovskiy351 need to try
@@lofi-lullaby4513 To return to seriousness, in my opinion, among the very best Russian literature has to offer. I reread it once a year at least! Glad you appreciate it!
I’m seriously tempted to learn Russian JUST so I can appreciate the literature in its original tongue.
I’ve been waiting for this one! I read the book this summer and loved it.
Edit: I’m sorry you didn’t like it though. I do somewhat agree with you that it’s confusing and kinda overly whimsical but for me that was part of the appeal.
I am from Spain and yesterday I just saw your review of "Hard rain falling" of Don Carpenter that I am interested in,I like how you did it.
Besides,this video was a perfect review of "The Master and Margarita"(Bulgákov would feel proud).This novel is one of my favorites books ever,so is that I tattood on my leg "Manuscripts don't burn".Is a masterpiece with a high story behind.Part of itself based on true events.
One more curiosity I want to tell is that "Sympathy for the devil" of "The Rolling Stones "song is based on the book as well.
Greetings and keep doing great reviews,you gain another subscription.
It's actually my favorite boo, and I say this as someone who doesn't really like things that are supposed to be funny. But there's something about the way it juxtaposes to the serious and philosophical matters presented within the book that leaves me okay with it. I even laughed out loud several times while reading it and I don't think I've ever laughed while reading and almost never do watching movies. Generally I just don't like silly shit I'm very sensitive towards it but with this for some reason it just seemed okay to me.
I didn’t get this book at all. I wouldn’t have finished if it weren’t for the book club, and getting to the end was a chore. I def connect to the Iranian reading Fear and Loathing analogy. Thank you for the review.
i couldnt finish this book. stopped halfway and i was wondering what i was missing because it seemed like anyone who read it ended up loving it... the whole "are you entertained" thing you mention is spot on. its reassuring to hear it and that im not the only one.
Yeah your thought that the concept has been done or improved so many times it seems stale is pretty accurate. This is a book you have to read in the beginning of your literary journey. It’s the same like 1984, BNW et al.
I read this after, Whisperers, Private Lives in Stalin’s Russia, which revealed the very dark realities of 1920-1930’s Soviet Union, which made it a revelation!
That's my favorite book! Thamk you so much!
Satan’s Ball is one of the best scenes in literature!
Speak for yourself lol Have you not read WAR AND f*cking PEACE??!! Ha!
I have to put this idea somewere out there - I aways thought that the animation studio behind Coraline should do a mini-series adaption of this classic story. I don't think live action will ever do it justice
Thank you for this video. This book was shows briefly in the movie a man named OTTO stating that talented Tom Hanks. I was curious so I clicked on your video sadly I moved on at 2 minutes. I’m not into watches 😊 next
Amazing idea the "Greenaway - Nyman" adaptation.
Funny how you summarize the book as a cheap magic trick because there is a magic show that takes place in the book that leaves its audience with nothing in the end LOL. I personally love that book, but I can see why you would think that.
hello, why did you delete the review of lolita??? it was my favourite!
I couldn't agree with you more. I feel a little less guilty for not loving this novel now.
Masterpiece!
0:09 Not secular, but rather atheistic
I've read it in russian, and for me - it's the best fiction book in the world.
Hello from Russia! Thank you for this video. Please read some of the Leonid Andreyev's works, he is one of the most interesting and unique russian writers, his short novel "The Red Laugh" left me speechless
You had me worried with your advertising but gradually I discovered your wit exists. You are quite funny. Much funnier than that overrated nonsense of a book. Thanks.
Well done. A dry, lifeless review of a classic.
I am from Russia and I did not like this book too
I literally just reread this one a few weeks ago. One of those rare cases where the "You'll laugh, you'll cry, it'll change your life" descriptions is actually true.
Along with "Mason & Dixon" by Thomas Pynchon, it's by far the best thing I've read all year.
I'm a fan of Pynchon, but I've tried reading Mason & Dixon (it's been on my shelf for four years now) and managed to get a little over halfway through. And even that took a lot of patience. I'm bored out of my skull by it. Why did you enjoy it so much?
Hiiiii
@@nl3064 The humor was a big seller for me. Particularly, the part where the devil is whining to the lawyer about how he’s actually reverting to working FOR God again had me in stitches. It also just hit me with more emotion than “Gravity’s Rainbow” did, overall. Just my opinion, of course
I totally get your reaction to this book. I personally really enjoyed it but I also got a kick out of it because I used to live in Russia and it admittedly is bogged down with lots of Soviet/Russian cultural references. Any way, great review as always.
Also on your comment that Soviet Russians being freaked out by things - There is a ton of superstition in Russian culture. Not necessarily fear, but superstition...
WHY YOU NO LIKE TALKING CAT? DEVIL TAKE YOU!
I feel like Wes Anderson could do a good Master and Margarita. Maybe sth like The Fantastic Mr. Fox
❤👍 I'm always finding material I want Wes Anderson to put his mark on. Like the latest songs from 'Beach House'.
The Coen Brothers could do a good job of 'Master and Margarita' too.
Honestly the best idea I've ever heard
The last person who should be allowed to touch it
No, definitely not! I'm a fan of Wes Anderson, and also a fan of Master of Margarita, I have read it three times, I was born still in Soviet Union and my grandparents and great grandparents actually lived through Stalin Times, and it's not something like Wes Anderson would truly understand, or could understand the depth of the situations Bulgakov talks about in the book. And it should be NOTHING LIKE Fantastic Mr. Fox, which is a great film, but has nothing to do with Bulgakov's novel.
I remember reading this when I was in my Russian-literature-reading frenzy (still am btw). After finishing it I was like, what the devil have I just read?! It came as quite a shock for me because before that, I was reading Crime and Punishment, Fathers and Sons and some Leonid Andreyev's so I thought The Master and Margarita will give me the same 'taste' but ha! was I in for a surprise 😂
Bro this is so me. I just finished crime and punishment and just starting off Russian literature in general. But this master and margarita book is weird, boring and absurd. I am thinking of quitting it halfway. Its nowhere as good as crime and punishment in the first 200 pages. Would you recommend me abandoning this book?
@@hamood8934imo the second part with margarita was far more interesting. keep going, at least for the satisfaction of finishing the book
@@hamood8934 If you liked Crime & Punishment, then you will love The Brothers Karamazov.
@@CVUK I did finish the karamazov brothers and I gotta say that it has my favourite book ever since. I absolutely loved it
maybe you lack imagination... which is ok. but calling this book boring i...s extreme.
This is one of the greatest novels ever written!
What a coincindence! I've just started reading it and now your review pops up! Makes you really wonder who governs human life and, in general, the whole order of
things on earth.
I think for once you actually did not get it. I say with respect of course, I saw a lot of depth reading this book, a lot. I respect your opinion of course, but I genuinly think you didn't get it, perhaps the kind of books you have been reading just dont match the style of Master and Margarita, but anyways, lets keep on reading
I literally just bought the most beautiful 1st American Edition of The Master and Margarita 4 days ago! This video couldn't have been dropped at a better time!
This is one of my favorite books. I first read it years ago when I was diving into Russian Liturature. It hit me hard then. As a young protestant man I thought I understood the story fully but it wasn't until my conversion to Orthodoxy and a re-read a few years later that the message of Bulgakov truly hit me in a wholly different way. In my opinion the way he meant for it to hit the pubic he was writing it for at the time. I'm co hosting a book club on this book over the next couple of months so I'm glad to read it once again.
I read it first when I was a teenager (as most Russians do because it's part of a school literature course) and at that time I was mostly amused by the talking cat and all Koroviev jokes, those were the best parts. Later when I reread it I got more interested in Jerusalem scenes (which I used to skip as a teenager). Also, when I learned more about the Russian history of that period and Bulgakov's own fate, I could understand the satire better. But I agree that it's a kind of book which "you had to be there to understand" (together with other Russian satire masterpieces of that time "The Twelve Chairs" and "The Golden Calf" by Ilf and Petrov). Anyway, thanks for reading and thanks for your opinion. It's always very interesting to see the view from the outside, how the books considered iconic in Russia are perceived by people from other countries.
Yo, I just did a review of this book myself like a month ago, lol! It was such a unique book! Simultaneously silly and sad and so many other things too. One of the best Russian novels to come out of the Soviet period, definitely.
It must have been a very dry period.
@@antidepressant11 It kinda was. I guess it's hard to produce world class literature when you have censors breathing down your neck and you might get shot or sent to a gulag if you write the wrong thing.
@@TH3F4LC0Nx I get that part. The back story. But shouldn't we judge a book on its own merits? This book just doesn't rate alongside crime and Punishment or Anna Karenina.
And you will say it's a different style of book. Which can't be compared.But if people are going to rate it a great book, there have to be solid reasons besides the writer was going through a hard time with censors.
@@antidepressant11 oh I would say it far surprasses Crime and Punishment.
But yeah it is a different style, written in a totally different society. It is not an easy task to compare those.
Ah an important book for me despite only reading once in my 20s....opened my eyes to alot of religious tropes found in literature....very clever satire, also just so odd. I remember I kept thinking of shadow puppet plays for some reason whilst reading it...liked his A Dogs Heart /Heart of A Dog book too. It's like an early rendition of the film The Fly..... Must read both again!....like you say it might be the memory of it that's better than the reality of reading it ....🧐 Also I just bought Faust the classic film special edition blu ray. Amazing! A must see.❤️🔥👍
It is my favourite book, making me think that our approaches to reading it differed. I see it as very relevant today as the big problem in the West is cowardice, just as it was during Stalin's reign in the USSR. Most of the evil is initiated and committed by secular government officials looking to curry favour by abandoning principles, not the Devil.
I suggest that you try to figure out why so many people thought it was the most remarkable novel of the 20th century. Bulgakov did what Dostoyevsky did as he attacked the moral relativism that the USSR represented. That was what mattered, not the talking cat.
This is so inspiring for the thing I’ve been trying to write for nearly 20 years.
Make a video about Don Quixote, please!
OK this is interesting, I didn't like The Great Gatsby and I could not get through Master and Margarita, finally I don't feel so alone haha :D
I'll keep you company too :)
That moment when you said you didn’t like the song this book inspired either, I died laughing. 😂 I’ve been meaning to read this novel in my pursuit of reading more Russian literature. I wasn’t a big fan of Faust either, so I’m guessing this is going to be quite a ride.
@@nonsequitur8115 I agree!
The song was the reason I picked up this book lol
Master and Margarita is also one of Salman Rushdie's favorite novels, and was (quite clearly) a huge influence on The Satanic Verses.
One of the best books i have ever read.
I’m so happy you covered this book, it’s of of my absolute favourites! Thanks for another great review! :)
I mean... He's not literally saying manuscripts don't burn. Pretty sure he understands that paper is flammable. The "manuscript" in this instance is a metaphor for art, freedom of expression, the creative spirit, etc. Censors can physically burn manuscripts, but they can not destroy the ideas or the artistic spirit that produces them. That's immortal. Bulgakov burned his original manuscript, but the idea persisted within him, so in a sense, it wasn't really burned. Then he re-wrote it and died... And still the ideas persisted, through the influence they had on those around him. They persisted so strongly that they survived a repressive, Orwellian regime that really did "disappear" people for writing subversive literature.
hey Cliff! have you ever read Guimarães Rosa? he's maybe the most unique Brazilian author. just a recommendation :)
There are few translations of his works into English, sadly. 😢
Completely agree with the fact about confusing Russian names. However, I loved the book. But again, I am a 22 year old liberal arts student in the middle of a pandemic, what do I know. Talking black cats amuse me ;_;
One thing is clear, you have not understood this book even one bit.
Keep reading, dear. Annushka has already bought the sunflower oil, get yourself ready Americans.
This is exactly how I felt reading the book. The beginning was interesting, then she got on a broom...ugh... oh no, no, no.... The Great Gatsby, Baz Luhrman did that film too LOL
The Master and Margarita written by Mikhail Bulgakov was not a piece of art russian novel but it was a kind of revealing hidden facts about how things run in this world
You can see the movie as well; you may find real signs you yourself may see of that unknow world which moves and control everything.. The story concerns a visit by the devil and his entourage to Moscow during the Soviet Union. The devil, manifested as one who challenges the Soviet citizen's beliefs towards religion and condemns their behavior throughout the book.
The Master and Margarita combines supernatural elements with satirical dark comedy and christian philosophy..
You may think this novel a kind of fantasy until the devil visit your city sooner or later and you see all his tricks..
3:41 he wrote in Russian but was born in Kiev, Ukraine. He considered himself a Russian and more or less hated all things Ukrainian (at least judging by some of his books), but living in Ukraine still infected him with an anarchist spirit, or at least with disgust towards (Soviet) authority. And that's why I consider this book to be way too ballsy for its time - it was in a way ridiculing the all-powerful party which though it became a substitute for god. People were shot for much less in Soviet Union. I think it was a very "punk" thing to do. But in order to understand how ballsy this novel was "you had to be there". Only a person whose family smembers shared the memories of those incredibly scary times could truly understand how provocative this book was.
You can sense it and that's clearly what guys like Bowie and Jagger were responding to. I get BTF's disinterest in the grotesquerie but they're all fingers in the same balled fist.
I think personally that he saw the Ukrainian Nationalists as another group going for a power grab, with empty promises and only a goal for separating the nation and its people.
@@Damascene749 I don't know for sure about his reasoning for being anti-Ukrainian. But being from a russian-speaking region of Ukraine myself and judging by anti-ukrainian people I knew (and some older anti-ukrainian family memebers), I can assume the reason might have been the good old russian brainwashing ("russian exceptionalism" propaganda). This kind of political narrative has been an ideological axis of russian states for centuries. In short it boils down to the following statement, which is ot supported by any facts: Russians=gods (in terms of military, culture, intelligence), small nations they conquered=nationalists/potential traitors/idiots/peasants/speak primitive languages that don't deserve to exist. So you were suposed to grow up wanting to be russian, because the belonging to this culture automatically gives you a higher status in the society.
But as Bulgakov was ethnically russian he could as well have been hating ukrainians due to his "racist" pro-russian mentality. I've met people like that in my hometown too.
Whats mad is people in the states who are heavily left leaning want that time to return because 'they will do it better' lol. This may sound horrible but in order to truly understand and experience evil, you need to be exposed to the communist/Nazi era. It's something the western mindset sorely lacks
This review got me so mad, and he missed the point so freaking much, that I swear to God, I’m starting my own channel tomorrow.
I preferred "The White Guard", and "The Heart of a Dog". I'd recommend reading either of those.
Didnt read "The White Guard" yet, but I totally agree about "The Heart of a Dog".
It is a great book and it has one of the best movie adaptations ever.
Totally agree, The Heart of a Dog is timeless!
Jesus Christ. This is my favorite book. Could you make it more confusing?
Awesome bookshelf and smashing jacket
Would love to see some Murakami on this channel!
There is more depth to this book..
I am so happy to see this review! I loved this book and though I still love it I agree with all of your criticisms, and I feel very seen as an ex theater kid in my mid twenties haha. I think if you liked this book you may also like Murakami as well and vice versa.
Here's what is crazy: I agreed with your analysis and feelings about the book at about 100%. I was astounded that the first review of the book I pulled up was one that echoes my own feelings about it. . . . And yet, F Scot Fitzgerald is my favorite writer and Gatsby among my favorite books. How interesting--to think maybe I've found someone with similar taste, only to realize how nuanced life is. But cheers! Thanks for your excellent review!
I think the thing u mentioned that's missing from this book is care for the characters. The book is really a series of events some interesting some blah. A lot blah. That and descriptions. There's no internal dialogue. Just a story being told with "weird" names made weirder because everyone has more than one name or similar names.
I just finished Master and Margarita as a barely 21-year-old who usually appreciates very whimsical media and hated it lol. I kept wanting to dnf it but I kept hoping it would get better and it just didn't. Boo.
I loved when I read it years ago but totally understand people just not being interested or even confused by it.
I read this book while visiting my parents and my dad let me name the porch cat he's adopted 'Behemoth' :) (PS it's a really good book)
See I am having the exact same opinion. I’ve even stopped reading entirely because I can’t bring myself to slog through the rest of the book. But I keep hearing how amazing it is that I don’t want to give up on it. And so I’ve just reached a stalemate and I’ve stopped reading altogether. I think I’m just gonna drop it and move on.
I've been waiting for you to do this book review for years. I am pleased to say that it was worth the wait!
Reviewed Dec 13, 2021... 1.7K didn't change after I clicked Like. Real accurate review for 27:43 My name in thee "Mason" jar, huh? 🎉
I thought it was just me. Some chapters seemed like just filler, or ramblings, while others were somewhat entertaining. The scenes from Pontius Pilate were lost on me. It had no impact for me but given my age, background etc. that could play into why this book had no holding over some other authors who have written similar material closer to my homeland. I couldn't relate in some senses.
I don't like idiots reviewing important books
The meaning of the book is that you can not interpet the New Testament like you want, without geting into a sin. The book, which Master writes, distorts the immage of Jesus. That attracts Satan into his life. Satan celebrates the small victory in Moscow. Therefore at the end of the novel, Master died and can not be accepted by heavens. Bulgakov was son of the priest and consealed religiuos philosophy in his book. By the way it is about present times, when people in churches are too far from the original canons.
Don’t argue with the middle/bulk of the book feeling lost BUT the ending, particularly one beautiful perfectly written paragraph makes the journey worth it which you didn’t mention at all. Certainly overly romanticized ending but you left out the whole point of book with its seeming anti-hemmingway, anti-old man and the sea, ultra realistic conclusion these Russian authors have the capacity to give us where the master is fatally flawed with mental illness, no redemptive arc where death is the only welcome peace and margarita’s lot is joined in his fate rather unfairly as the consequence of love. Some very deep probing here if you can get past the whimsical side shows
How do you feel about One Hundred Years Of Solitude? One of my favorite books of all time
I hate to be that guy but the best time to read it is not Christmas, but Easter because the parts that deal with Jesus are his crucifixion, not the events surrounding his birth. Other than that, great video!
I also didnt care for it. Evil being rewarded throughout the book was annoying to me.
Devil take him is a rough translation of the way that the Russians say “fuck him.” Or in the beginning of the book there’s the saying “I threw it all to the devil” which means mostly the same thing, like a “fuck it.” It must be weird to keep reading it every few pages as an English speaker, but in Eastern Europe we use these expressions all the time. Really, all the fuckin’ time. I am from Romania, and our language borrowed a lot from other Slavic languages, and we use these just the same. Same exact words, but in Romanian.
I gave up on this one, didn't hate it but felt zero connection.
Me too. Got a hundred or so pages in and just lost interest; can’t say why. Really wanted to like it.
Fellas? Please give it another go. Keep it in bathroom, if necessary.
I personally think that margarita died, via herself after the master had been hospitalized. It would explain the letter written to her husband as well as the moment when Ivan is told of the Masters death IN room 118
They both die in the end, right? Or do u think she dies after she gets the invitation to visit satan?
You lost me when you started banging on about 'sustainability'.
Can't take anybody who believes that nonsense seriously.
How about Terry Gilliam for the movie? It's satire and messiness might click with him....surprised he hasn't tried!!🎥......he made Fear and Loathing🤓!!!
The 2005 release of the tv series, “The Master and Margarita” is brilliant! There are 10 episodes. I would highly recommend this Russian production!
I used to mis-title it The Master and THE Margarita as well 😂
This just made the top of my list. Thanks for the wonderful review as always man!
Wait… you’ve NOT read this Brandon?!
@@KDbooks No sir, are you upping the endorsement even further?!
@@BrandonsBookshelf It’s a phantasmagoria orgasm
It's a good one. The rich imagery alone makes this one of the most interesting books
@@corycastleman6351 To the very top of my list. Jan read, here we go.
To understand Master and Margaret, you need to understand Bulgakov’s childhood and the "newly adopted Soviet atheistic culture”.
My favourite. ♥
Well the thing you mentioned about Margarita and her husband... Margarita at the end have made an owe to Satan so she wasn't that saint at all 😅
A man called Otto 😂
I think this review finally validates my own opinion. I felt like I was reading a transcript of Yakov Smirnoff's first attempt at improv.
Cliff, I recently watched your review of The Book of Disquiet, and I too practice Transcendental Meditation. I have been doing TM almost every day since June 21, 1975. It is deceptively simple. It's a deep rest, drastically lowering my metabolism. It quiets the noise.
I read The Master and Margarita in university, and I enjoyed it, I recommend it, though it's been decades, I need to reread it.
Just finished the book. Basically had the same take as you.
It actually happened thank you 😭
I like The Master and Margarita, but for me Black Snow is better although it's not finished. And Morphine is my favorite by Bulgakov; it's so dark and gruesome that it made my spine tingle when I read it in the past.
I didn't really get it as I know jackshit about Russia.
Wow, you're the first person whose review resonates with my own experience reading this book a couple of years ago. Everyone reverences it. I found some parts interesting and I can see its value, but in general the book bored me.
I read that book when I was 17 loved it read it in one seating missed school for it. I am tempted to do it again after 30 years has passed...thanks to you I won’t waist my time 😊
Your reaction to this novel reminds me a lot of how I initially reacted to the films of Fellini. I tried reading Bulgakov 10 years ago and couldn't connect with it but I feel like that was because I was reading it in the wrong time and place when I couldn't sufficiently concentrate on it. I will probably give it another try some day.
Please man, pretty please, read the monkey king. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had in any book ever! Love your channel by the way! Have a nice day .
Good review, totally understand how you feel.
I had the pleasure of taking a course on this book taught by an influential Russian translator/professor. It’s hard to fully appreciate this book if you are unfamiliar with the history of the USSR, Stalin, and even Bulgakov himself. Under the guise of my professor, who naturally sought out the history of this book, meeting Bulgakov’s widow in the 80s while doing his studies in the USSR, I have come to love and appreciate Bulgakov’s ideas. Here are some themes that are in the book that my professor brought to my attention: is the devil always evil? What if he’s not? Are there levels to heaven, much like there are levels to hell? (Spoiler: Bulgakov was hugely influenced by Dante) So many mysterious disappearances in the book perpetrated by Woland’s minions mirror Stalin’s use of this same technique…Russians weren’t scared of a talking cat, the devil, but did worry about suddenly being taken up by the NKVD. Just things to think about
never trust a guy whose mustache look like was pencilled by 5 year old