Bulgakov is beloved for his novel "Master and Margarita", a surreal working of the Faust legend set in Stalinist Russia. These two plays "Flight" and "Bliss" show Bulgakov's real forte--drama. He authored plays (not published in his lifetime) and worked as a stage director (an assistant director, all he was allowed by the Soviet government, who knew him for an independent thinker.)

Both plays are very readable, despite the workaday translations. Bulgakov's flights of fancy and sarcasm (a future world without crime, for example) are comic yet scary. If you want to really get to know Bulgakov's work, these plays, plus "Heart of a Dog". "White Guard" and "Master and Margarita" make a good starting collection of his best works.

Mikhail Bulgakov's book The Life of Monsieur de Moliere is a very biased book that is uncritical of the great French writer Moliere. Despite the author's unabashed love of Moliere, the book is a treat from beginning to end. Bulgakov feels an affinity with Moliere because he wrote under a totalitarian regime headed by Stalin in Russia and Moliere wrote during the reign of Louis XIV. Although Moliere certainly had much more freedom than Bulgakov did, he still felt the sting of censorship from religious zealots and was often persecuted by those whom he made fun of in his plays, ( nobles, doctors, the affected ladies of French society). Bulgakov praises Moliere as the greatest French writer and as one of the greatest comediens ever. Indeed history has proven him correct. Three centuries later Moliere's works are performed in almost every nation in the world. The great joy that Bulgakov feels towards Moliere infuses the entire book (sometimes to the point of unintentional farce.) But he paints a vivid and energenic portrait of the playwright, actor and director that captures the essence of his work. Many of the details of Moliere's life are unknown and Bulgakov does take Moliere's side wherever there is ambiguity. ( For example, many of his enemies have said that Moliere married his own daughter and knew that in fact she was his daughter.) Bulgakov refutes this charge as ridiculous and indeed, without proof, it should be discounted. Bulgakov takes us from Moliere's birth (a very funny telling of how the midwife who delivered him couldn't realize he was more important to history than any royal baby she may have delivered) to his tragically ironic death right after a performance of his play The Imaginary Invalid. Bulgakov wheres his love of Moliere on his sleeve and it works to perfection in this book. Moliere's plays have an energy that imbues every verse. This book is the same way. Most other biographies are staid in comparison. They rarely capture the true genius of the great writer and almost never convey the great fun embodied in his works. Mikhail Bulgakov's biography is the best book, even though it is biased, ever written about the great French playwright.

Since I can't read Russian, I have to read Bulgakov's marvelous plays and novels ("Heart of a Dog", "The Master and Margarita", "Bliss") in translation. Nor did I experience, first-hand, the horrors of the Stalin purges.

I love the work of Bulgakov--he's a master of satire and imagination. This biography in letters and notes is really essential for the non-Russian reader to get a sense of his history, life and work in a way that can't be conveyed in translation. It put all that I had read by Bulgakov into a far more comprehensible light.

The Master and Magarita is one hillarious book. The devil decides to show up in this world and decides to throw parties and look for a muse! Turn up the circus as all hell broke lose! Truly funny, witty and absolutely charming. Had to reread it over and over again.

As an actor, I fell completely in love with Zoyka's Apartment. Bulgakov has an amazing capacity for imagery. The characters are vivid and enthralling. His sense of comedy remains unsurpassed by the writers of today. I highly recommend this hysterically ludicrous play to any fan of Bulgakov. You may also enjoy reading anything by Kurt Vonnegut, his work runs along the same lines as Bulgakov's.

This is a tight and powerful novel. It is more or less unique in Russian literature in that it is the story of a "typical" (i.e. non-socialist) family affected by the Revolution and Civil War. Bulgakov grew up in Kiev and his love for the city comes through very strongly. When I read this book I knew very little about the historical events it describes but this didn't prove much of a problem in the long run.

I am also astounded that only three people reviewed this book. The novel centers on the Turbin family living in Kiev, Ukraine during the Civil War (1918 - 1921) that followed World War I and the Russian Revolution. After the Russian empire fell apart in 1917, the Ukraine declared an independent state in early 1918 led by a parliamentary leader called a Hetman. The Hetman Skoropadsky in The White Guard is the second such leader. Skoropadsky assumed power with German support and intervention. Having just lost World War I and being not all that interested in the Ukraine anyway, the Germans could not support Skoropadsky enough to quell the inevitable power struggle. In the Ukraine, there arose armies of Tsarists (led by Deniken, mentioned briefly in the book), Bolsheviks (who, of course, ultimately win but are not major players in the book), and Socialist nationalists led by Simon Petlyura. The Turbins enlist in a local guard unit supporting the Hetman against Petlyura's much larger army. It soon becomes clear that their loyalty to the Hetman is misplaced, but the Turbins' loyalty to each other, their city, their friends and neighbors, and their commanding officers is heart-warming. Besides "heart-warming" there are also running gun battles, sabre decapitations, machine gun ambushes, and enough action to please all but the most hard core testosterone addicts. Petlyura is regarded by many Ukrainians as a great general (no opinion from me), but many readers will enjoy despising Petlyura for the pogroms he instituted that killed 100,000 Ukrainian Jews. Petlyura is called a "dirty Yid" at a point in the book that might give insight into Bulgakov's view on these pogroms. This book is both a taut thriller and a beautiful story of loyalty and love. Brian says "Check it out" (Sorry, Joe Bob).

While we are, as Americans, familiar with the story of the Stalinist purges and know something of post-Revolutionary Russian history, the Russian Civil War between the White and the Red is not as well-known.

But this is the crux of the struggle that subsequently determined Russian history. Many authors tried to give a view of that turbulent period; Pasternak in "Doctor Zhivago", Solzhenitzen marginally in "Ivan Denisovitch" (Denisovitch was in a gulag because he was a returnee from the German front and thus viewed as a political traitor) and Ayn Rand "We the Living." Bulgakov's novel is one of the richest, most touching and well-written I have read on this historical time.

He takes the story from the personal standpoint of a single family affected by the German betrayal of Russia to the incomprehensible brutality of the Civil War. The use of "white" and "red" as symbols in describing everyday objects and landscape is novelistic, the action is pure stage drama as you'd find in a play or film.

This is a far better novel than "Doctor Zhivago", which dealt with essentially the same subject (families torn apart by the Civil War and their way of life forever altered.) If you are at all interested in Russian history, I can't recommend "The White Guard" enough to you. I just loved it.

Bulgakov established himself as one of the most talented comic writers from Russia - if not one of the most talented, period. This, one of his early works, showcases his love of satirical farce, focusing this time on the attempt to reform that which needs no reformation.

The story is simple enough on the outside: A doctor takes in a wounded stray dog, gives it a prissy name, and treats it to a life of luxury. Then, when the dog least expects it, the doctor turns around and implants a human pituitary gland and pair of testicles in him. Gradually, the dog develops into a monstrous... human?! Exactly.

This is not a book to be taken at face value. It's vaguely funny if you know nothing about Russian (esp. Soviet) history, and *hilarious* if you've done your homework. Bulgakov's rousing, snide commentary on the controlling government he despised was extremely controversial when it was first written, but nonetheless an invaluable addition to the world's literature.

As an aside, get the Mirra Ginsburg English translation, which is arguably the best one available--the Michael Glenny translation reads like a translation, and sacrifices some of the comedic affect of the story.

Mikhail Bulgakov, best known for his brilliant novel "The Master and Margarita" was steeped in the theatrical craft. When his books were censored, he wrote a wild, heartfelt letter to authorities in Soviet Russia, asking that, if they were not to be allowed to publish his work, would they then assign him to work in theater, even as a lowly stagehand. In one of Stalin's capricious moves, Bulgakov was, indeed, assigned to work as an assistant director at a Moscow theater.

Meanwhile, Bulgakov continued to amass what must be one of the world's great hordes of literary work unpublished in the lifetime of an author. "Heart of a Dog" is probably his most viciously anti-Soviet, anti-Proletariat work, and it reads like a cross between Orwell's "Animal Farm" and Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" but with Bulgakov's intense sarcasm and humor thrown in. The book is so dramatic, it's almost impossible to read it without seeing it run like a film or play behind your eyes as you read it.

A professor (whose Russian name is a play on the scientist Pavlov) adopts a mongrel dog. The dog Sharik (Fido, Rover...) is grateful! His life on the street has been hard, he's been kicked, scalded with hot water and he is starving. The professor feeds him well. Ah, he's gaining weight and healing up. What a nice man! A god, even, well, to a dog. But wait a minute! The professor, noted surgeon that he is, is preparing to operate. He seizes the dog....

And then we see the results of the professor's cruel experiment. A dog gets a human brain portion and begins to develop as a human. But he isn't a nice friendly, tail-wagging human. Oh, no. He's low, a cur, yes, a dog of a man who chases cats uncontrollably, pinches women's bottoms and drinks like a fish (oops mixed metaphor there.) He demands to be registered and get papers like a human being in Soviet society. And the authorities are anxious, even rabid to assist him. Sharikov takes a first name and patronymic that is so inappropriate, so hysterically funny that you have to laugh out loud. Then he gets a prominent job as a purge director, eliminating those counter-revolutionary cats from Moscow's pure Communist society. That is, until the professor cooks up a plot.

This is a gem of a book. Bulgakov shares Orwell's deep hatred of totalitarianism, but unlike the delicate satire of Orwell, Bulgakov writes with massive belly laughs of deeply sarcastic humor and over-the-top jokes. He's a dramatist at heart, and this book shows his theatrical thinking, where exaggerated movement and stage props play as much a role in exposition as dialog.

This is a true small masterpiece and should appeal to just about anyone. It would be a very good book for a high school or college literature study. It is really wonderful, and prepares the reader for Bulgakov's wildly out of control masterpiece "Master and Margarita." Don't miss this book for anything!

Bulgakov was a true Russian genius, but one who lacked the "politically correct" postures of other less talented soviet hacks. As a result, his works were nearly unknown in his lifetime. But gradually, his books have been published and translated and with each book his stature grows. Bulgakov may stand with Myakovsky, Mandelstam, Akmatova, Shostakovitch and Malevich as the greatest artistic minds to come from the Soviet Union.
The Heart of a Dog is a great book, perhaps not as multifaceted as Bulgakov's masterpiece, Master and Margarita, but brilliant nonetheless. The book seems perhaps a combination of Gogol's The Nose, and Kafka's Metamorphosis. Sharik - a perfectly normal stray dog is adopted by a famous scientist who transplants the testes and pituitary gland of criminal. Sharik gradually develops into a lewd, drunken cur of a man who is fabulously successful in the new Soviet society.
As Joanna Daneman says in a previous review, Bulgakov's theatrical background is highly visible in this work. Each chapter is crafted like a distinct scene...the comedy is often extremely broad. Sharik is as pointed and broad a caricature of The New Soviet Man...as seen from it's dark underbelly. Many of the scenes are almost broad slapstick. And yet, the humor, while broad, is also quite bitter. It is obvious that Bulgakov saw the deterioration of his society and was deeply disturbed by it.
Bulgakov's disdain of the Proletariat is a bit disturbing to an American. After all, we are the country of the common man. And there is a hidden "snobbery" in the work, which can be a bit hard to take. But so much of the book is dead on...and it is extremely funny. Heart of a Dog is an enjoyable and important addition to the growing Bulgakov oeuvre.

Let me share something:
An oaktree greening by the ocean
A golden chain about it wound
Whereon a learned cat in motion
Both day and night will walk around
On walking right he sings a ditty
On walking left he tells a lay...
(Alexander Pushkin, intro for "Ruslan and Ludmila" translated by Walter Arndt)

You can tell good poetry when you see one. If you happen to know some Russian you'll also notice that this is almost a word-for-word translation and if you know Pushkin's heritage you'll be amazed at how well the translator preserved Pushkin's manner, spirit of the fairy tale and the very "Russian" colorit of the poem.
Now, this one (Volokhonsky/Pevear's translation of "Master and Margarita") ain't the case. While "Citizenness" Volokhonsky seems to know the Russian original, M'seur Pevear doesn't have a very good command of English language. He failed miserably not only to preserve the easily flowing bubbling like champagne Bulgakov's speech, but even to correctly interpret some very simple words. E.g., how would you, non-Russian speaking readers translate the Russian word "regent" (the former imperial title of Koroviev - one of Satan's most colorful servants)? I'll give you a hint - it is not "choirmaster" (an obscure use of the word in Russian church, for some reason chosen by the translators). The book is filled with Pevear's(Volokhonsky's?) own "neologisms" that are hard to understand at first and they require that the reader makes a mental list of their translations into common English after which they become simply annoying.
In general it's a good book, I give it four stars and suggest that the translators come visit the US sometime, get a sense of modern American English and maybe see some of our places of interest (like Universal Studios).
:-)

Take these as essential ingredients: Satan, Jesus, Stalin, Pontius Pilate and Caesar's Empire, assorted literary critics, a great Artist and the woman who loves him, life in 1930s Moscow, a poet on the bitter road to truth, and various demonic henchmen including a big black cat. They add up to one of the greatest novels of the 20th Century, and one of the handful of most moving books I've ever encountered.

The fundamental purpose of Bulgakov's magnum opus is to hold up the harsh light of truth to the sins and hypocrisies of Stalinist Russia. There are three storylines here: one of them concerns the misadventures of Satan's retinue as they wreak havoc on Muscovite literary society, and presents some of the most penetrating satirical writing you'll ever come across; the second storyline centers around the fifth procurator of Judea, the equestrian Pontius Pilate, and his fateful encounter with Jesus leading to the latter's crucifixion; the final story presents the fates of a great writer (the master), and his lover (Margarita). Bulgakov brings the three stories together in a demonstration of narrative genius, to bury the oppressive fallacy of Soviet society and ideals beneath the combined forces of good and evil, of love, of freedom, and of magic and mysticism.

One brief note about available translations: after sampling most of the available English translations, I am firmly convinced that the Pevear/Volkhonsky version is far and away the best. The notes are excellent, and the introduction by Richard Pevear gives invaluable insight into the history of the novel and its ideas. But most of all, they give the narrative much greater vividness and depth, especially in the wonderfully lyrical Pilate chapters. This translation of Bulgakov's most remarkable novel is enthusiastically recommended!

So much wonderful literature from the 1920s and 1930s is not given the attention it deserves. "The Master and Margarita" is one such book. Bulgakov, who finished the book in 1938, died in 1940 (I think) and so never knew how the world finally came to love his masterpiece. Like other Russian authors of his time, he was plagued with censorship and none of his works was published in Russia during his lifetime.

"The Master and Margarita," a satire of Stalinist Russia, remains as fresh and funny and ultimately, as sad, today as it no doubt did when Bulgakov wrote it. To say that this novel is multi-layered is putting it mildly. This book is a madcap tour de force; something akin to a Grand Prix auto race with absolutely no pit stops allowed. In my opinion, only "Lolita" can match it for its scathing hilarity.

As the book opens, magazine editor, Belioz and poet, Bezdomny sit on a park bench near Patriarch Ponds discussing the nonexistence of God (this is Stalinist Russia, so they certainly wouldn't be discussing His existence). During the course of their discussion, they encounter an ominous third person, someone who is definitely not from Moscow, who begins to question them regarding their nonbelief. He assures them that God is very much alive and, as if to prove his assertion, he predicts the very manner of Berlioz' death...a prediction that comes true all too quickly.

Is this well-dressed stranger who knows too much God, Himself? Hardly. I don't want to give away the plot of this rollercoaster of a book, so I will just say that the stranger is going by the name of Woland and claims to be a practitioner of black magic. "The" practitioner of black magic. He is not alone in his visit to Moscow; he has, in fact, a retinue (one of the best of these characters is Azazello) and he and his followers propose to put on a public show. (This show, incidentally, is one of the highlights of the book and there are many, many highlights.)

Entertwined with this narrative is a second narrative, seemingly quite different, but really a parallel. This second narrative is the story of a certain Roman Procurator and his reluctance to crucify a man called Yeshua. The second narrative is written in a completely different style than the one that takes place in Russia, which is just one more proof (if anymore are needed) of the genius of Bulgakov. We soon learn, however, that the narrative of Yeshua is being written by a psychiatric hospital inmate known only as "The Master." Driven insane (or almost insane) by the inequities of the times and the resulting despair, "The Master" has burned his manuscript and deserted his mistress, the charming Margarita.

Woland proves to be very good at drumming up business for a madhouse. The asylum, run by a Dr. Stravinsky, no less, begins to welcome new arrivals on an almost daily basis, new arrivals who all had the misfortune to cross paths with Woland.

While Moscow goes insane, however, Woland proceeds with his plans to give a Grand Ball and he begins his search for a hostess...a hostess who must be named, "Margarita." As anyone who has ever read Faust will know, Margarita is a Faustian reference and, in this book, she is a reference in more than name only. The beautiful Margarita has never forgotten her beloved Master and as she attempts to locate him, her path crosses with Woland's.

I won't give away the story, but I will tell you that Woland's Grand Ball does take place and a grand ball it is. The denouement of this book is a display of skill and wit that I have yet to encounter in any other book so far. So many books are guilty of hyperbole when they say the ending will "leave the reader breathless." This books comes as close to that as any I know.

Don't think you absolutely must have a knowledge of Russia or of Russian politics to understand and enjoy this book. You don't. You simply have to be an intelligent reader. There is, however, a subtext in this book that only those with some knowledge of Stalinist Russia will "get."

I have only read the Mirra Ginsburg translation of this novel, so cannot comment on translations, but I do know that some of the other translations come with extensive annotations and there is a companion guide for this book that can be purchased separately.

I certainly didn't do this wonderful book justice in this review, but then I didn't expect to. I don't think any review can do it justice. It's just that spectacular.

Though Bulgakov is perhaps best known in the West for his Master i Margarita, the tale of Satan's vist to the capital of world communism, these tales well exhibit his literary genius and his satirical bite. One of the stories in this collection, Fatal Eggs, is in my mind one of the master's finest works.

"My goodness, what are you saying," Korotkov exclaimed in distress, sensing that here, too something strange was starting, just as it had everywhere else. He looked back as if he were being hunted, afraid that the shaven face and the bald shell would emerge from somewhere, and then he added in a clumsy way, "I'm very glad, yes, very . . ." A motley flush passed lightly over the marble man; raising Korotkov's hand delicately, he drew him toward a little table, reiterating, "I'm very glad, too. But here's the rub, imagine it - I don't even have a place where you can sit down. We're being kept in a pen in spite of our significance." (Mikhail Bulgakov, Diaboliad p30)

A brilliant blend of magical and realistic elements, grotesque situations, and major ethical issues. Its story lies between parable and reality; its tone varies from satire to unguarded vulnerability. Its publication represents the triumph of imagination over politics...

Bulgakov is certainly one of the best Russian writers, and 'The Theatre Novel' is certainly among his best works. Unfortunately, it's been translated in English as 'Black Snow', which changes the idea of the book quite a great deal - 'Black Snow' is the title of the novel written by Maxudov (the main character), but in this case Bulgakov doesn't mean that we are reading THAT novel. It is quite misleading; Maxudov's 'Black Snow' is NOT 'The Theatre (or Theatral) Novel'.

The novel itself is quite hard to understand; I believe it could be best understood by those who have a good deal of knowledge about the situation Bulgakov is describing. I cannot say I have that, therefore it is not as easy to read this novel as it is to read other works by Bulgakov. However, the novel is definitely a masterpiece - the descriptions, for example, are overwhelmingly vivid and warm, which stands out even more considering that most modern (and pre-modern) novels do not depict that warmth and depth of feeling. The strikingly accurate descriptions of human emotions seem to be a thing that can most often be found in good Russian literature (Bulgakov, Dostoevsky, Chekhov...), and that's why you need Bulgakov to use almost half-a-page to list different kinds of people, for example...

The plot of the novel is quite hard to follow - which only illustrates how much of a genius Bulgakov is, as he manages to brilliantly reveal the confusion Maxudov experiences and the absurdity of his world. The feeling of uncertainty never leaves Maxudov. Nor does it leave the reader...

I'd have given this book 4 stars if Bulgakov hadn't also written 'The Master And Margarita'. 'The Theatre Novel' is a great book, but it simply caanot be as great as that one...

Translation of the name of the book is chosen badly.
It is 'Teatral'nyi roman' - not 'Black Snow'!
The latter is the name of the novel which gets written by the narrator and plays an auxiliary role in the story (it is of course a paraphrase on the 'White Guard' - the image of a man running on the snow away from the horsemen is from there).
In part, the subject of 'Teatral'nyi roman' is theatre - theatre which enchants the narrator.

It is the most fluent and polished of all Bulgakov novels, though unfinished; judging by the reviews of the english speakers, the translation apparently lost that virtue.

About its being 'critical of Stanislavsky'. This is simply not the point, although I can understand the English reader, who tries to find some known landmarks. Of course Bulgakov ironizing on behalf of the actors, their ethiquette and life in the theatre, but this just serves to depict the theatre charm.
As the description of the golden horse on the empty scene which Maksudov sees when he first enters the building of the Independent Theatre.

In this autobiographical novel, Bulgakov describes his experiences working with the Moscow Art Theatre of Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko in the 1930's. The characters and situations are exaggerated to enhance the satire, and it is obviously not impartial, but it is extremely revealing nonetheless. This book, which is critical of Stanislavsky's method and the Soviet theatre scene of the 1930's, gives a moving portrait of a talented, dedicated author working against incredible odds. As usual in Bulgakov, satire is mixed with a serious message. Anyone interested in Bulgakov, the theatre, or Russian cultural history will enjoy this book.