The Master and Margarita

[Kire]

The devil and his minions wreak havoc in early Soviet era Moscow. It was incredible, I loved it. Ivan Nikolaevich's schizophrenic psychosis was very well written (and I've been in the hospital for schizophrenia). I laughed and gasped out loud many, many other times.

But about two thirds in, it got to be a chore to read. I guess it started during the ball, when Margarita was forced to greet her demonic guests for hours and hours. Her tedium became my tedium. The author needed to start tying things up after that. I guess I was just sad to see the perfect chaotic storm of new lives being ruined come to an end.

[Sufi Marmot]

1. Bugakov died before he could edit M&M properly...

...which is why it's a bit uneven in places. It's still the greatest Russian novel ever written, though... :-)

-SM, still waiting for Hollywood to discover "The Master and Magarita" and irrevocably ruin it...

[Kire]

2. The Wachowski Brothers would probably butcher it.

I can't think of anybody else who would even come close to producing, directing or acting in it. Maybe Julianne Moore as Margarita would be good. If Christopher Walken weren't so Christopher Walken, he could play Woland. Some books are just meant to stay books, though. Bulgakov isn't going to benefit any.

I didn't know that he died like you said. I think I knew it was his last novel. Wasn't it withheld from publication for 30 years or something?