Book Review The Master and Margarita

The Harry Potter star, Daniel Radcliffe, and I have something in common. We’re both fascinated by magic, although he’s more adept at it than I and we both share a love for the same book. In fact, Harry loves this book so much that he holds a copy of it in his hand in the movie. Is it because of the “magician” that is one of the main characters of the book?

The name of this book is The Master and Margarita and it’s written by one of Russia’s finest post revolutionary writers, Mikhail Bulgakov.

Bulgakov graduated with a medical degree, but abandoned it to pursue his passion, literature. During the 1930’s and 40’s writing in Russia was a difficult proposition because of the governmental mandates that all writers adhere to accepted “rules and regulations.” Imagine what a hamper to creativity that must have been! It is precisely this background that plays heavily in Bulgakov’s works and he frequently alludes to the fact that freedom, especially that of speech, was nonexistent.

Bulgakov’s work, including the popular novel, The Master and Margarita, was initially censored by Stalin’s regime, but was eventually published.

In the novel, Bulgakov borrows from Goethe’s Faust. The age old struggles of good versus evil and truth versus falsehood predominate throughout the book in the two venues of Moscow and Jerusalem.

I discovered that the cast of main characters were surreal: the Master -- a writer, Margarita -- the Master’s girlfriend, Yeshua -- Jesus, the Devil, Pontius Pilate, and Behemoth -- a black cat that drinks not milk but vodka.

The tone for the entire book is set in the opening scene in 1930’s Moscow. Berlioz, the editor of a literary magazine is sitting on a bench chatting with the poet Bezdomny, which means homeless in Russian. They’re approached by a stranger, the Professor, that joins the conversation about the existence of a Divine Power.

The Professor -- Woland -- is an interesting creature: a polyglot and specialist in magic, black mostly, and he’s traveling incognito. He eventually issues a prediction which comes true. Guess who he really is!

In the meantime, the Master, the embodiment of an artist, is languishing in an insane asylum as a result of the suppression of his book and his girlfriend Margarita is pining for him. The Master is the only one that can make her happy so when the supernatural appears and bargains with Margarita, she seals his fate.

The book is a work of fiction, but there is truth to it. I discovered that it’s a little bit of everything rolled into one: a comedy, a satire and a mythical tale set in two places, the world of reality and the world of fantasy. As such, at times, the reader needs to use their imagination.

The Master and Margarita is a twentieth century classic. I found it to be a marvelous and thought provoking book, addressing the same questions that have been plaguing mankind forever. Harry and I concur that it’s superb.

I recommend it highly and it was worth the money I spent on it.

There exist many translations of the novel, and I believe Mirra Ginsburg’s version to be superior.


The Master and Margarita is available for purchase on Amazon.com