Have any of you read The Master and the Margerita? What did you think about it?

>Its genre fiction
It is really not genre fiction, the fantastic was a common element in Russian literature since Gogol or even before.
You're probably just a butthurt tankie

Right, just like Hamlet's genre fiction because it has ghosts!

What absolute horseshit. Try reading it instead of making shit up. "Genre fiction." Jesus Christ. A fantastic, hilarious novel that is at once a satire on writers, politics, a worthy sequel to Faust, an incredibly symbolically dense telling of the death of Jesus, and several other things. It's a damn masterpiece.

I bough 11 books last time I went to a bookstore so its not like I could do that, especially since Im not a NEET to have infinite time available

It is pretty good. Not sure how I felt on the transitions between periods to draw parallels, as it seemed a bit too focused on whatever period it sat in while it was there, making me wish we were back to the other.
Obviously the cat is a highlight

I just finished this book. I really liked it, more than I thought I would in the middle of the book. The second part is quite different from the first but they fit together well. I read the Burgin-O'Connor translation, which I chose based on this article: orangeraisin.wordpress.com/2009/02/09/master-and-margarita-best-translation/

shooting deer is a sacred exchange with the forest only those who are blessed of spirit have the right to fell these noble beasts, please remember this if you ever run them over you owe debt to the land

man this picture was taken on the pathway by nara wasnt it

Buying more than like 4 books make you look like try hard pseud

Thanks for the link.
Are there any prerequisites for reading it? Are the Gospels enough to get the biblical allegories?

Caring whether doing X activity 'makes you look' like Y or Z, effectively makes you an immature retard.

i accept that i still need to read a lot of books to not be considered a pseud as im not Veeky Forums enough as i am now but your behavior is childish as fuck

Ideally you should read Goethe's Faust first, or at least the libretto of the Charles Gounod opera of Faust (or Carré's play Faust et Marguerite) those are Bulgakov's main influences for his Faust interpretation. The four "Pilate" chapters are strongly influenced by Dostoyevsky's parable "The Grand Inquisitor" from The Brothers Karamazov. The "luckless visitors chapter" refers to Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, but that's less important. The Gospels of the cruxifiction and some relevant version of Faust are the big ones.

That's hilarious. You've never gone into a book sale with a professor, have you?

I think its an interesting solution to the extremely important solution to the problem of how Faust can be not condemned. The prose went by fast, and I loved every scene with the shitty poet. The metastory was absolutely brilliant. Russian names sound all the same though and the epilogue was way too dense and could have used some room to breathe.

I also think that Gretchen>Margo - women ought to be passive forces in a Faustian tale.

Really good book. All the Pontius Pilate chapters are memorable, especially his talk with Yeshua.

Honestly I wouldn't get too caught up in trying to read all the prerequisites. I find that mindset to be paralyzing and it keeps me from reading the things I'm most interested in because it's so easy to get stuck in a web of references. It's OK to bring your own background to a text. I agree that The Grand Inquisitor might be good to read beforehand, though. You can read it on its own without reading the rest of The Brothers K. The Burgin-O'Connor translation has good end notes, which help.

Why do the women need to be passive? I liked Margarita and the book wouldn't have been as good if she were relegated to a passive role (with the Master likely replacing her for the active parts).

It is great read it, but I feel it really hits with you if you live/lived in what was the Soviet Union.

>Russian women being submissive
m8s

i've tried to read it twice now
i love the first half or so, and especially the scenes with pilate, but as soon as bulgokov introduces the title characters my interest starts to wane
i put the book down at the end of margarita's witchy flight, each time

Yeah, it wasn't as great as everyone says. Pretty reddit-core if'n you ask me.

I feel for you, anglos. You'll never have a great translation.

wow. fascinating input user.

Because they're supposed to be the object of desire driving Faust

Yes I recommend it for all lovers of Margheritas the best drink ever made ¡Ole!

Struggled with the second half but enjoyed the opening. IMO “a dogs heart” is much better.

>closing it just before all the imagery you get from the party
shiggy

I read it many years ago. I remember how awesome I found it after finished, but now my memory seems to have labelled it as a naive ass soviet era fairytale.

Yes and then I got a behemoth tattoo

Tattoos are degenerate

That's not a requirement, there are others that don't have a woman at all (Marlowe, for example). Besides, I still don't see anything wrong with the gender inversion of the agentive character. It would have also totally changed the Master's character, as he's portrayed as being a pretty passive person, so it would have thrown the whole book off.