I’m going to have to give this book another try, I simply could not get into it at all. It is one of the very very few books that I just could not finish.

Allconsuming informs me that I began reading this book a whopping 37 weeks ago. I know nobody puts much stock in the words of a girl who takes 37 weeks to read a mere 335 pages of a trade paperback, but this is indeed an excellent book.

I read this book while visiting Moscow, which made a great book even better. I stood outside Sadovaya 302-b and beside Patriarch’s Pond. The Master and Margarita was highly entertaining and imaginative. I enjoyed the political satire and its religious twist.

Find the reference in the Stones song and get great insight into Soviet life.

A modern fable. Everyone should read this book. Life will never be the same again.

One of the best books ever.

A very interesting and humorous novel. I read the Glenny translation, which is apparently comparatively poor, so perhaps I will read some other version in the future. (12/12/2004)

I heard about this from Magda when I was in Poland. Then I came across this translation and couldn’t put it down. It’s fantastic. The book, the imagery, the story itself—a book to savor. I need to re-read it sometime.

The devil and his retinue take up residence in 30s Moscow, spreading a dark mix of chaos and justice. Breakneck kickabout malice, interspersed with a stark retelling of the last hours of Christ.

Don’t read the Ginsburg translation – it was based on a censored text, and has an unreadably weird and jocular style to it. I switched to the Glenny after Chapter Three; it’s much better.

His characters are startling and original, like no other characters I have imagined, and his plot is well paced and tightly organized. Like all good devil characters I was charmed and creeped out all at once by Woland, and irritated to no end by self-indulgent Master.

The Master and Margarita is the sort of book for which I wish I could audit a university class, as I feel like I am missing loads just reading it on my own.

This is a fantastic, brilliant piece of work.

I can’t even remember where I heard about this, but the premise sounds interesting, so I’m giving it a try…

The devil and a talking cat. In Russia. Delightful.

The devil and a talking cat. In Russia. Delightful.