Moscow, 1930s: a black-magic show at a theatre turns into a rampage when Woland, a visiting stranger who is the devil in disguise, and his gang start punishing greed and hypocrisy among the city's writers and officials. Bulgakov places beside this a retelling of Pontius Pilate's trial of Yeshua, written by the Master, a writer who has been driven to an asylum. Margarita, the Master's lover, bargains with Woland and flies naked over the rooftops to rescue him.
Fantasy with a satirical edge and a love story at its core makes this a good introduction to Russian twentieth-century fiction. Allow time, because the book rewards slow attention.
Deep, open-ended and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Literary Connoisseur. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2005
- Publisher
- Einaudi
- ISBN
- 9788806173739
- Language
- IT
