This is one of the few books I vividly remember reading for the first time. It was in high school, and I was simultaneously fascinated and disturbed by it. Definitely sensed there was more there than I was capable of ‘getting’ at that point in my life. Might have to look into trying it again!
There were definitely some passages where I was swimming. The zaniness saved it from ever descending into incomprehensibility. Dr. Z is supposedly great. I ought to put that on my list.
Wow. Ok. That book has been on my shelf for years, now I have to pick it up. For some biased reason, I always assumed it was in the style of 18-19th c. Russian romance.
It’s the strangest novel I’ve read in years. It took me about three weeks to decide what to even say about it :) Literary critics talk about it as an early example of magical realism. It has some of the challenges of 19th and 20th century Russian literature; I could barely keep track of all the characters. But it’s a brisk read and utterly unpredictable. Every page is a surprise.
I am reading a novel, The Father's Tale (2011, Ignatius Press) by Michael D. O'Brien, presently. It is about a father's search for a rebellious son. The author describes the book as a re-telling of the parables of The Good Shepherd and The Prodigal Son. Much of the story takes place in post-Gorbachev, pre-Putin Russia. The novel includes plenty of references to the struggles of the Russian people, especially the hardships writers faced during the Communist regime. The Master and Margarita might be a good book to read after The Father's Tale - if it isn't a thousand pages long. A single thousand-page book a winter is my limit, I'm afraid.
This is one of the few books I vividly remember reading for the first time. It was in high school, and I was simultaneously fascinated and disturbed by it. Definitely sensed there was more there than I was capable of ‘getting’ at that point in my life. Might have to look into trying it again!
Well, I’m 47 and still found it both fascinating and disturbing. One of the weirdest books I’ve read all year.
It is certainly unlike any other book I can think of
I read this years ago. I dug it but I had to reference to online summaries off and on to know what was happening. I’ve got my eyes on Dr Zhivago soon.
There were definitely some passages where I was swimming. The zaniness saved it from ever descending into incomprehensibility. Dr. Z is supposedly great. I ought to put that on my list.
Wow. Ok. That book has been on my shelf for years, now I have to pick it up. For some biased reason, I always assumed it was in the style of 18-19th c. Russian romance.
It’s the strangest novel I’ve read in years. It took me about three weeks to decide what to even say about it :) Literary critics talk about it as an early example of magical realism. It has some of the challenges of 19th and 20th century Russian literature; I could barely keep track of all the characters. But it’s a brisk read and utterly unpredictable. Every page is a surprise.
I am reading a novel, The Father's Tale (2011, Ignatius Press) by Michael D. O'Brien, presently. It is about a father's search for a rebellious son. The author describes the book as a re-telling of the parables of The Good Shepherd and The Prodigal Son. Much of the story takes place in post-Gorbachev, pre-Putin Russia. The novel includes plenty of references to the struggles of the Russian people, especially the hardships writers faced during the Communist regime. The Master and Margarita might be a good book to read after The Father's Tale - if it isn't a thousand pages long. A single thousand-page book a winter is my limit, I'm afraid.
Great review. Plan to read "The Master and Margarita" in 2024. No, not the P&V translation.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/184749014X/