So I was in Waterstones a week or two ago, looking through the cult fiction section for something new to read. I’ve been reading a little bit of Russian literature recently, and thus my eyes were drawn to “The Master and Margarita” by Mikhail Bulgakov. There was a little blurb written by a Waterstones employee below the book saying “the Devil goes to Moscow, with his cat…” I was sold.
I have to admit, I didn’t know that this book is actually a modern classic. When I mentioned I was reading it to a Russian friend, she told me she’d read it five times as a kid, and that I’d love it. Alas for Mr Bulgakov, it only became a classic after his death, and he never got to bask in the glory of writing something that is as well-loved in Russian circles.
In some ways, it’s a strange book. It reminded me a little of Catch-22 to begin with, in that it was difficult to make sense of what was happening because the premise was so nonsensical. It also has the classical Russian thing of being very flowery, very descriptive but not having much of a plot line at all. I’m used to that, I actually like the Russian intensity but it might put off someone who is more accustomed to a more Western literary tradition.
I don’t want to give away what little plot there is. It’s about what you’d expect if Beezelbub rolled up into town; lots of people made to look stupid and finding themselves in situations they didn’t plan on, a bit of the occult and a tomcat that walks, talks and tries (and fails) to utilise the Moscow tram system.
It’s a funny book though. It made me smile in places, and the detail is so involved it’s easy to visualise a scene which is pretty fantastical, even if it wasn’t Stalin era Moscow … or Jerusalem at the time of the crucifixion. It’s clever too, and I have to admit I went and flicked through Wikipedia to read about stuff that features in the book which to me is a good sign. It’s got the whole story-within-a-story thing going on, which does make it hard going sometimes but the fact is it’s a book about a book really, so it couldn’t be avoided.
My only criticism is mainly in the translation; they kept the street names from Moscow but altered the descriptor to English, thus Leningradsky Prospekt would become Leningradsky Street and so on. That example doesn’t sound so bad, but when you hear of a street name being called “some-long-Russian-name lane”, it doesn’t sound right. I’d have kept the originals, personally. If people are going to have to deal with character’s names being properly Russian, then it’s not going to be much of a bother to keep with that either.
So, in conclusion; if you like the idea of a slightly silly book set in 1940′s Moscow, starring Satan, his cat, and a cast of slightly bewildered Russians, read this book. You’ll enjoy it. I did.
