The Master and Margarita: 50th-Anniversary Edition (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) Paperback – Deckle Edge, May 3, 2016

My friend recommended this book to me, and what actually made me to buy it was because he considered it his favorite book of all time. I agree with him about that. It is an amazing book. Not only that, I developed an interest in the author’s other works. Nevertheless, this is the best book written by Mikhail Bulgakov. It is an absolute masterpiece, a classic accepted in Russia and the rest of the world."MASTER AND MARGARITA" is about purges Stalin ordered in the Soviet Union. The curious thing about this book is that the purges are depicted not to have been carried out Stalin’s men, but rather by Satan himself, and in the manner of Baron Munchaussen, we get to know of a huge talking cat. Like animal farm, the greater meaning of the book is revealed through the intelligent though bizarre, compelling and humorous story. One is constantly left anticipating what the next page holds. There are so many layers and so many little details that one wonders how the author managed to put them together.Bulgakov is the Soviet version of Imperial Russia’s Dostoevsky, but unlike Dostoyevsky who had a mastery of the mind/soul Bulgakov mastery is in the literature of oppression. I have recommended this book to many friends and family and recommend it to any reader interested in the enigma that is Russia, especially Stalinist Russia. Other interesting stories set in Russia are THE UNION MOUJIK,TARAS BULBA, PUTIN’S RUSSIA, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF LENIN, WAR AND PEACE. Also note that you are sure to find the widest selection of odd and creepy characters in this book .

stained

『ロシアだから（そういう友人が多いので）どうせバーのマスターがマルガリータ飲みまくってる話だろう』と思ったら、大間違いでした。Pilateとキリスト対面の白昼夢から始まり、謎のサタン率いる珍メンバーに踊らされる純朴な翻訳者。題名の人物はかなり後半になってからやっとの登場で、そこからテンポが軽快になり、最後には悲しげに切なく、それぞれの謎が解けてゆく．．．奇想天外な物語の中に２０世紀前半のソビエトの生活が窺えます。 ソビエトでコミカルファンタジー文学が存在したとは！しかしBulkakov含め、概ね文学者はスターリン下でかなりの政治的圧抑を虐げられた様で、この本も事実３０年近く出版されなかった。マスターとBulkakovが重なります。ロシア人なら知らぬ人はいないので、会話のきっかけに使える。トルストイより読み易いよ。