“‘Forgive me, but I don’t believe you,’ Woland replied, ‘that cannot be: manuscripts don’t burn.’”
Written over some dozen years and published more than a quarter-century after the author's death by his widow, "The Master and Margarita" documents a dizzying series of supernatural events taking place in Moscow and Jerusalem in linked timelines.
“And at midnight there came an apparition in hell. A handsome dark-eyed man with a dagger-like beard, in a tailcoat, stepped on to the veranda and cast a regal glance over his domain.”
Mikhail Bulgakov manages to mesh irony, satire, and humor while subtly criticizing Soviet society and its atheistic stance. He manages to cushion the blows of torture, disappearances, and corruption through fantastical analogies, underscoring the intersections of courage and cowardice along the way.
"The Master and Margarita" can be difficult to follow and challenging to read, as the devil and his retinue interact with and impact a seemingly endless number of "citizens." However, the effort is worth it, as Bulgakov has created a satirical masterpiece that still resonates today.
“Gods, my gods! How sad the evening earth! How mysterious the mists over the swamps! He who has wandered in these mists, he who has suffered much before death, who has flown over this earth bearing on himself too heavy a burden, knows it. The weary man knows it. And without regret he leaves the mists of the earth, its swamps and rivers, with a light heart he gives himself into the hands of death, knowing that she alone can bring him peace.”
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