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Life Got You Down? Time to Read The Master and Margarita

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Re: Life Got You Down? Time to Read The Master and Margarita

#21

Post by madaxe_again »

mynegation wrote: post #10
siberianbear wrote: post #5

When I was living in the United States and studying Russian, I started to read some Russian literature. After reading some short stories by Chekhov, I decided to delve into something harder: Dostoevsky. I couldn't understand the first page of Crime and Punishment even with a dictionary. Dostoevsky has a very eloquent way of writing with very long sentences and complicated grammar, but it's very hard for a non-native…

Dostoyevsky is a hard read even for native speakers of Russian. I would not characterize him as eloquent, more like raw and rough around the edges. I can definitely imagine how hard it is for a non-native speaker to understand his writing, with his archaic words, words for things that do not exist anymore, references to Russian folk tales, or cultural context of the 19th century Russia, on top of all the things that…

But Dostoyevsky is brilliant, his impenetrable style notwithstanding - in Crime and Punishment he paints such vivid scenes that I can still in my mind’s eye see Raskolnikov’s crappy apartment, the widow slumping to the floor, axe in her head, the markets of St Petersburg, the reeking drunks by the stables... it builds into something glittering, always, even when painted only in dun and ochre.

Joyce is an apt comparison - he’s similarly a painter with words - I feel like I’ve visited 19th century Dublin having read his works, although he does make Dostoyevsky look sedate and restrained.

Re: Life Got You Down? Time to Read The Master and Margarita

#22

Post by kemitchell »

mynegation wrote: post #7

For a context: Russian, read several Bulgakov's works as a teenager, as it was part of a school program. To provide an alternative view: I did not like "Master and Margarita", especially compared to "Heart of the Dog" and what I consider Bulgakov's best novel "The White Guard". Part of this has to do that with the fact that author chose religion and mysticism as literary vehicles and I am not a big fan of either. The…

There should be a law in Russia that if a novel is considered great enough, it should never be assigned involuntarily to schoolchildren ever again. Making 15-year-olds read a novel is a wonderful way to ensure they will not really appreciate anything in it or related to it until at least age 35, if indeed they still read by then.

On a related-unlrelated note, it has been too many years since I was in country. Which is all for the best. If I hear another ekskursovod quote two more out-of-context lines from Velikiy Pushkin, it's SIZO and Siberia for me. Out of offense for poor, dead A.S., more than anything...

Re: Life Got You Down? Time to Read The Master and Margarita

#23

Post by murrayb »

politelemon wrote: post #20
murrayb wrote: post #12

Disappointed to find out that there is no Kindle version. I actually find that uncommon lately so it is a surprise when there isn't one.

I was able to find multiple Kindle editions on Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BKA4H6W https://www.amazon.co.uk/Master-Margarita-Vintage-Classic-Ru... and Amazon US https://www.amazon.com/Master-Margarita-Vintage-Classic-Russ... https://www.amazon.com/Master-Margarita-Mikhail-Bulgakov-ebo... However I can't tell which is the 'best' version - some classics have appeared on Kindle full of typos or can…

Apparently I was searching wrong- no clue how, possibly as a result of following a Google link into Amazon. Thank-you for the links.

Re: Life Got You Down? Time to Read The Master and Margarita

#24

Post by smsm42 »

I love this novel, but I wonder if it's possible to really appreciate it without knowing the realities of the time it was written about (the 1930th is Russia, the time of the Big Terror) and the personal situation of Bulgakov himself (he was intending for Stalin to read the novel and expected it would make him change Bulgakov's very problematic stance with literary and theatrical establishment). And of course I am not sure how it is possible to translate Bulgakov's rich and masterful language. But do try it anyway, still worth it.

Re: Life Got You Down? Time to Read The Master and Margarita

#25

Post by vl »

aleyan wrote: post #6

Life got you down? Take a piece of advice from another of Bulgakov's (author of Master and Margarita) novels and stop reading the news. There is nothing actionable in the news; next to no utility. News is simply a time sink that depress your spirit. So take the good doctor's words from Heart of a Dog: "If you care about your digestion, my advice is [sic] never read soviet newspapers before dinner" and generalize it t…

Full quote is a bit better:

(Location/time: early days of Soviet Russia, old and young doctor talking at dinner)

"If you care about your digestion, my advice - do not discuss bolshevism and medicine at dinner. And, god be with you, never read soviet newspapers before dinner."

"But... there are no any other."

"So, don't read any. You know, I performed 30 experiments at my clinic. And you know? Patients, that don't read newspapers, feel great. I forced others to read "Pravda" on purpose, they lost weight."

Re: Life Got You Down? Time to Read The Master and Margarita

#26

Post by vl »

madaxe_again wrote: post #18
mynegation wrote: post #7

For a context: Russian, read several Bulgakov's works as a teenager, as it was part of a school program. To provide an alternative view: I did not like "Master and Margarita", especially compared to "Heart of the Dog" and what I consider Bulgakov's best novel "The White Guard". Part of this has to do that with the fact that author chose religion and mysticism as literary vehicles and I am not a big fan of either. The…

Likewise loved The White Guard - and unlike a sibling reply I agree with you that it reflects helplessness - I certainly didn’t see any of the protagonists “controlling their destiny” - I saw them being washed up on and dashed against the shores of time like so much flotsam and jetsam, making ultimately meaningless decisions against a backdrop of inevitability. Another Bulgakov book I loved was “A Country Doctor’s No…

British mini-TV series is pretty decent as well:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Young_Doctor%27s_Notebook_(T...

Re: Life Got You Down? Time to Read The Master and Margarita

#27

Post by smsm42 »

siberianbear wrote: post #5

When I was living in the United States and studying Russian, I started to read some Russian literature. After reading some short stories by Chekhov, I decided to delve into something harder: Dostoevsky. I couldn't understand the first page of Crime and Punishment even with a dictionary. Dostoevsky has a very eloquent way of writing with very long sentences and complicated grammar, but it's very hard for a non-native…

> but the plot made no sense.

I would think it's hard to appreciate it completely, but I don't see why the plot makes no sense - I think even if you ignore all the references and the background, it has pretty good basic plot. Which part didn't work for you specifically?

> She said that every element in the story is a jab at some aspect of life or politics from that era.

This is a common thing for many literary works. Swift surely meant a lot of contemporary references in his Gulliver's Travels, most of which are lost on modern reader without special background, and Shakespeare was no stranger to contemporary matters either. And so on, and so forth. But we can choose to enjoy their works both with and without the background. If the literary work is good enough - and I think most of Bulgakov work is - it can be enjoyed even on the surface layer, without going in too deep.

But if you don't like Dostoyevsky (I do not and feel no shame about it - it's just not my cup of tea) or Bulgakov - by all means Chekhov and Gogol have enough good stuff for anybody.

Re: Life Got You Down? Time to Read The Master and Margarita

#28

Post by sveme »

aleyan wrote: post #6

Life got you down? Take a piece of advice from another of Bulgakov's (author of Master and Margarita) novels and stop reading the news. There is nothing actionable in the news; next to no utility. News is simply a time sink that depress your spirit. So take the good doctor's words from Heart of a Dog: "If you care about your digestion, my advice is [sic] never read soviet newspapers before dinner" and generalize it t…

In today's world, we should change it to "... never read reddit/youtube/twitter/newspaper comments before dinner". Most of it is just digestion-disturbing outrage and a repetition of the same narratives over and over and over and over.

Newspapers with a certain quality, a long-term perspective and in printed form is fine though if limited to weekends.

Re: Life Got You Down? Time to Read The Master and Margarita

#29

Post by rimliu »

vl wrote: post #25
aleyan wrote: post #6

Life got you down? Take a piece of advice from another of Bulgakov's (author of Master and Margarita) novels and stop reading the news. There is nothing actionable in the news; next to no utility. News is simply a time sink that depress your spirit. So take the good doctor's words from Heart of a Dog: "If you care about your digestion, my advice is [sic] never read soviet newspapers before dinner" and generalize it t…

Full quote is a bit better: (Location/time: early days of Soviet Russia, old and young doctor talking at dinner) "If you care about your digestion, my advice - do not discuss bolshevism and medicine at dinner. And, god be with you, never read soviet newspapers before dinner." "But... there are no any other." "So, don't read any. You know, I performed 30 experiments at my clinic. And you know? Patients, that don't rea…

This is from the amazing book A Dog's Heart (Собачье сердце). There is an equally amazing movie (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whHySar4EoY), but I am not sure if there is a version with English subtitles. For me it's one of the best Soviet movies. To be fair it was created near the end of the USSR—in 1988. The novel itself was officially published for the first time only in 1987.
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