[Mentalist]

Here is the belated intro to the fantastic book.

It was written by Mikhail Afanas'yevich Bulgakov (1891-1940). The novel was originally written between 1928 and 1940, but it was only published in 1966-1967 in the USSR (heavily censored), and reprinted by Soviet emigres in the West. The novel became famous abroad before it was really known in the USSR. I'm going to include a short author bio to keep in mind what he was going through when he was writing M&M:

Bulgakov commenced his literary career in post-Civil War Moscow, writing mostly satirical pieces for various magazines. In 1924 he finished his first large novel "The White Guard" that dealt with the collapse of the White movement in Ukraine in 1919 and the human tragedy of the Russian people who found themselves on the "wrong side" of the revolution. It was partially printed in 1925, but the magazine folded before it the publication was finished. In 1925 he finished the satirical "science fiction" novel "Heart of the Dog", but it was banned from publication as "anti-Soviet".

In 1927, Bulgakov turned "the White Guard" into a play, "The Days of Turbins", which brought him fame beyond literary circles. but in 1929, theatrical establishment essentially banned Bulgakov, and he became blacklisted by the censors.

Bulgakov wrote to Stalin personally in 1930, and eventually he was given a role of theatrical director in one of Moscow's theatres. During this time, he was allowed t publish his biographical novel "The life of Mr. Moliere".
From 1932-1941, due to an "executive order", Bulgakov's play "Days of Turbins" was allowed to be shown (exclusively in one Moscow theatre).

Following Bulgakov's death in 1940, he was immediately "forgotten" by the Soviet literary establishment until roughly the 1950s. All publications of his works were based on his manuscripts.

"Master and Margarita" takes place in Moscow, sometime in the 1920s-1930s. The Devil ("that force that always wills evil and does good") comes to Moscow. and encounters a host of characters reflective of Bulgakov's reality- Including the Master, a writer whose book novel concerning the story of Jesus and Ponteus Pilate was banned from publication, and he himself made an outcast.

Enjoy and let us know what you think!

[JPK]

Week 2 covers chapters 7-12, and will run from Monday June 12th through Sunday June 18th.

Week 1 covered chapters 1-6 and ran Monday June 6th through Sunday June 11th.

As usual, please continue to use spoiler blocks to discuss events in these chapters until Monday June 19th in case anyone falls behind schedule.

This post has been edited by JPK: 17 June 2017 - 04:58 PM

[Andorion]

Seems deliciously random so far.

About 7 chapters in

[Mentalist]

finished Part 1 in one sitting. I do so love this book.

[JPK]

I'm through chapter 12 now.

Spoiler

I'm trying to decide rather or not Homeless is actually Schizophrenic or not. This rally could go either way.

So far the highlights of the book are the first Pilate chapter and the first Performance involving the Salon and Behemoth ripping off the guys head for irritating Woland.

[Khetienn]

I need to burn through the rest of this week's chapters, but so far I'm getting a heavy magical realism vibe. It's always frustrating reading a translated book, just like it is watching a foreign film, because I always get the sense that there are tiny cultural references and details (watch any Chinese martial arts film on Netflix, the body language is half unreadable or alien) that I just don't pick up on.

[Mentalist]

There's a few cultural references, but they have to do with a very specific historic period. The 1920s were the time of NEP (New Economic Policy), where Lenin allowed some degree of private enterprise in order to generate capital in the country devastated by civil war.

As a result, especially in the capital, you've had these classes of nouveau-riche , who continued to spout Communist creed (while making insane money, and living like the decadent Western bourgeoisie they were condemning), because the police state was watching.

A large part of what Bulgakov and his Voland are doing is really exposing this hippocrisy.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 18 June 2017 - 05:35 AM

[Khetienn]

I'm not even really talking about that, it's just the subtle details that his audience would understand immediately but I have to infer from context. It's not a big deal, just like I said, a small bit frustrating when I'm used to not having to work so hard. It's something I'm always hyper-aware of and it's really fascinating to see where the differences are.

Speaking of frustrating, does anyone else hate it when the "narrator" speaks directly to the reader? Pulls me right out of the story.

(I promise that not all my thoughts are critical, lol. It's an interesting read so far and chapter 2 was great, as was the inevitable resolution of the Professor's prediction...)

[Khetienn]

Clarification now that I'm not feeling quite so miserable (either severe allergies or a summer cold, hard to tell, stupid cottonwood trees...)

Specific example: dacha. I inferred from context that this was a kind of vacation retreat (and a quick Google search proved me correct), but had I been Russian, I probably wouldn't have had to guess. You could argue that it's a translation issue (after all it could have just /said/ "vacation home") but this is apparently still a very common thing in that culture that as an American just doesn't click with me intuitively. Or the thing about the policeman being "properly attired" in white gloves. Clearly police officers in Russia wear (or wore) white gloves as part of their uniform, but as an American reader used to not-quite-so-formal police officers, it stands out as an odd detail. (Again this one could be read as ambiguous, on whether it's cultural or just historical or both. I didn't research Russian police uniforms in the 1920s vs modern ones, lol.)

Very non-obscure American example: "It was the night of July the 4th, and of course there were fireworks everywhere." As a non-American reader, if you don't know about Fourth of July because it's not a thing that comes up in your culture, you might infer that some kind of celebration is going on, but you'd have to look up July 4th and the traditions of Independence Day in America to fully get the context.

This post has been edited by Khetienn: 18 June 2017 - 11:51 PM

[Mentalist]

So, I finished it (as expected... once I start this one, it's incredibly hard to put down)

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.

[Andorion]

So read uptil chapter 18.

I have to say I am a bit confused.

Spoiler

The devil and his minions continue to wreak havoc. The consequences of the magic night start coming in and its hilarious. I am getting the social satire of the Soviet era pretty well.

However I have no idea how the crucifiction chapter fits into the book.

Also the Master enters in the chapter The Hero, but so far he hasn't really done anything and the book is halfway done.

[Mentalist]

Andorion, on 26 June 2017 - 03:48 PM, said:

So read uptil chapter 18.

I have to say I am a bit confused.

Spoiler

The devil and his minions continue to wreak havoc. The consequences of the magic night start coming in and its hilarious. I am getting the social satire of the Soviet era pretty well.

However I have no idea how the crucifiction chapter fits into the book.

Also the Master enters in the chapter The Hero, but so far he hasn't really done anything and the book is halfway done.

Things start to escalate once Margarita is brought in in pt II. And they escalate very quickly.

[Andorion]

So I am 26 chapters in and really enjoying the ride.

I still don't have a lot of idea what is going on, there was a rough cinderella analogue scene, overall I really like Margarita.

[JPK]

Aaaand done. I'm still processing my thoughts a bit, but for now I'll simply say that Behemoth made this book for me. From his first scene until his last, that damn cat was pure gold.

[Itwæs Nom]

I'd really like to read this book but I don't read that much and I'm currently rereading BH, which I love, so I can't bring myself to read anything else. Plus with this pace I have no chance to read my books for school (2/20 done - 1984 & Animal Farm) but I have to finish BH first

I also can't wait to get to reading B&B and Assail (that you mentioned in the other thread)

And I need to finally read TBC and probably some more other series too

Sigh

How long did you say was M&M again?

This post has been edited by Itwæs Nom: 04 July 2017 - 05:49 PM

[Andorion]

JPK, on 04 July 2017 - 04:58 PM, said:

Aaaand done. I'm still processing my thoughts a bit, but for now I'll simply say that Behemoth made this book for me. From his first scene until his last, that damn cat was pure gold.

Behemoth and his entire group always enlivened any page they were on. In fact this book was extremely entertaining if a bit surreal.