The Master and Margarita reading vlog

I delve into the fascinating history of the classic novel, The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. I explore the political and social climate of the time in which it was written, and how the author's personal experiences influenced his writing.
Join me on a journey through the pages of this timeless classic and discover why it has stood the test of time and remains a must-read for anyone interested in literature, history, and human nature.
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#masterandmargarita #bulgakov #themasterandmargarita

[@PaulChapman-my6ps]

Been my favorite for years. There is magic in those pages.

[@jungastein3952]

The book is visually stunning. It reminds me of early cartoons, early Disney. If I had not read the Gospels, and if I had not read Faust, and if I had not read Carl Jung and so much Russian literature, the book would still be enjoyable because it is so well shown. It is a book in which you are truly shown and not told; you are shown everything and still everything seems like magic. Nothing is tidily wrapped-up in the end: everything is still in the nature of a miracle and a mystery.

[@bhattkris]

Well said.

[@thehakiguy7006]

Reading this myself had me longing for an adaptation in the old-school, hand-drawn style of Disney classics. It would be amazing!

[@nubojin]

I’ve just finished the book. Thank you for this video! It provides me with more context. Especially about how Bulgakov didn’t manage to finish editing the second part. I felt that as well, but I agree it is still very well done. The part where Master bids farewell to Ivan the Homeless is very touching for me.

[@WelcometotheMuseum]

I am glad I helped :) The whole farewell scene in general is rather interesting

[@CVUK]

When they came to tell Ivan that the Master had died.. Wow. What an amazing book.

[@Toggitryggva]

This is very interesting. Especially the detail about the possible origin of the use of the word „Master“ for the title character. The Master and Margarita has been one of my favourite novels since I first read it when it came out in an Icelandic translation when I was a teenager. I have reread it several times, in Icelandic and English (not in Russian, sadly). I also love, and reread regularly Black Snow, Bulgakov's roman à clef about his relationship with the Moscow Art Theatre and Stanislavsky. Thank you very much for this video!

[@fern2703]

i read this book for highschool last summer, and it instantly became my favorite. A year later (literally on the day i wrote my literature matura exam lol), i am still obsessed with it, talking about it to everyone i can, making fanart and writing fanfiction. I search high and low for people to share info about it with, and your video was perfect to enlighten me about some of the soviet history that inspired this book, and things in Bulgakovs life that contributed to it's making. I am so so glad you liked it too, and i'm truly greatful to you for the info i got out of this video, and for inspiring others to read it too. Supposedly this month (or the end of this year) a movie about it will release (titled the same as the book) and i'm really curious to how it will turn out and how accurate it will be. Regardless, i will re-read this book in the summer to make sure my art about it is as accurate as possible. Thank you again for the video, adnd please, whoever is reading this comment, go listen to an audiobook version, or read it yourself. It was a life changing experience for me and i need more people to talk about it. Also don't forget to watch the film if/when it comes out!!! :D

[@WelcometotheMuseum]

oh wow, I didn't know there is a movie in production. I'll definitely check it out. I am glad you enjoyed the video and found it helpful for your art Do you share your works somewhere? I hope you will have some time to check other Bulgakov's works ;)

[@toripollo]

Thank you so much for this, I loved your take on the novel and background history connections you make.

[@WelcometotheMuseum]

You are welcome ☺️

[@romycaverly4087]

Your analysis and little literature lesson is so interesting to listen to as I’m reading this book for the first time! Loved this video and subscribed ❤

[@WelcometotheMuseum]

Glad to be of help! I hope you like the book

[@bhattkris]

Nice.

[@JS-tx9jy]

Thank you so much! I have to read this for university and only after researching background information I´m getting a sense of what the book is actually about. If you haven´t already made one, I´d love to see a video that goes further into detail, explaining the references and the cultural/historical aspects of this book.

[@WelcometotheMuseum]

You are welcome, I am glad you enjoyed. It's a great idea, I'll see what I can do =)

[@brankaveselinovic8621]

Thank you, Julia. This essay of yours was really refreshing, and yet full of valuable insight.

[@vplusah]

Thanks a lot for your review! I really love this book. I read it many times and saw something new every time. And I really, really like the character Koroviev! This is wonderful.

[@tomdempsey4394]

Thank you for presenting this. Wonderfully informative.

[@tishtashinka]

Great analysis of one of my favourite books, thank you. ❤ I've read a couple of different translations into English and a little bit of it in Russian - I always recommend the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation.

[@bhattkris]

Nice review. The context in which the novel was written explained what was not clear on reading it in English. Thanks a lot.

[@miamihoser]

I would love to learn Russian just so that I could read these classics in their original language because I’m sure just like when I read G. Garcia Marquez, 100 years of solitude in native Spanish. It has so much more color.

[@NRWTx]

Such a crazy beautiful book. Thanks for your review :)

[@itsjustossema3078]

I lost my copy of the book in the beach and I couldn’t stop crying cause i loved it so much

[@MM-nx8fw]

Hi Julia! Very interesting video, you made me discover some interesting facts about this great book! Is the Chudakova lecture by any chance available online? I study Russian and it might be a good exercise to practice and learn more about Bulgakov...Thanks!

[@WelcometotheMuseum]

Yes, they are! There is this educational platform called Arzamas. They have a lot of lectures on history, art, literature and philosophy. The majority of them are however behind the paywall, including the one about the Master and Margarita 😬 the subscription is 5€/month but again, they have some free materials and also fun videos on KZbin 😃

[@MM-nx8fw]

@@WelcometotheMuseum wow this is a gold mine! I think I have found my new obsession :-) Thanks for the tip!

[@WelcometotheMuseum]

@@MM-nx8fw You are welcome!

[@ashleyupshall7641]

The White Guard is also worth reading a brilliant novel.😊

[@elikilledit]

I just finished reading the Master and Margaritra and loved it! Thank you so much for your video, it really helped me interpretringthe novel since i didn0y know much about the historical context, i also have a question, in the end Levi Matteo asks Woland to take the Master and Margarita with him, saying that they didn't deserve the light, but did deserve peace, why? i haven't really understood this. Thank you so much!

[@WelcometotheMuseum]

You are welcome, I am glad you loved it! About the light and peace. I think we can agree that by the light Bulgakov most probably meant paradise, or in more general terms, the side of virtue, God's side. In terms of the book, it also meant Yeshua's side since Levi was Yeshua's follower. It's safe to assume that peace, in this case, is the antithesis of virtue and paradise. I find this kind of duality quite unusual, because, for me personally, hell would never be associated with peace in any shape or form. My stereotypical uneducated perception automatically links hell with perpetual torture and diabolical agony. I instantly imagine flames and horned devil's assistance or something like that boiling and broiling poor souls in gigantic cauldrons, certainly not peace. Perhaps Bulgakov had something different in mind. Maybe he wanted to grant Master peace, but he wanted to emphasize that this peace has nothing to do with the Christian understanding of ethics. The real confusion comes when we accept this concept of light and peace as the synonym for virtue and vice. Some critics raised the question of why is that the Master doesn't deserve the light. And here I think everyone should answer this question for themselves. From the Christian perspective, Master has committed several deadly sins, so he shouldn't be allowed to join the light side. Some critics include the burning of the manuscript as one of his sins, comparing it to suicide. But it unavoidably brings us to the philosophical discussion of justice. It is the second episode when the author raises the question of fair punishment and retaliation: first during Yeshua's trial and now here between Levi and Voland discussing the destiny of Master and Margarita. So we are puzzled again and again in this novel by the conundrum of what is fair and what is not. Can we consider what happened to the Master fair? And to Margarita? And of course, there is always a historical perspective. The fact that in the novel Voland and Levi decide the destiny of Master without his presence and witness brings us back to Stalin and what he did to people, how he decided their destinies without the trial. For me, that conversation tells more about Voland as Stalin rather than Master and what he does or doesn't deserve.

[@elikilledit]

@@WelcometotheMuseum thank you so much! This makes finally sense

[@sigmaroll9802]

What have you been writing lately? I’m learning Russian for primarily reading

[@WelcometotheMuseum]

I am not writing anything in particular, apart from the sketches for my videos :) Wow, that is impressive. How is the learning going? I can imagine how difficult it is😮

[@sigmaroll9802]

Я хочу знать

[@paulthomassen5007]

The book and the tv adaptions of the book is very very good. The part about pilates, jesus, the crucifixion and that whole sequence is very well written. The different translations are not very good. Thankfully I know a little russian, so I can see some quirky parts are there from the different language structures.

[@jenisalwaysreading]

I think this is the faster I've subscribed to someone! 19 seconds in and the sound of your voice is so soothing that I hit that button.

[@sigmaroll9802]

I’m reading borges for the past few months

[@WelcometotheMuseum]

Do you enjoy it?

[@santiagorestrepo2000]

great music, could you tell me what it is?

[@WelcometotheMuseum]

In the very beginning you hear Beethoven IV Quartet No 10 in Eb, Op 74 Allegretto con Variazioni - just a great background music. After the 2nd part of the video where I read the book I put The Damnation of Faust Op. 24 Hungarian March - as we know Bulgakov was inspired by Goethe's Faust and I wanted to include more music from the Berlioz's opera, but this composition was the only one without copyright 😬 When I talk about Margarita I included Danse macabre Op 40, which to me is strongly associated with the paranormal activities such as the ones Margarita was involved in. And then I repeat Beethoven and Danse macabre once again ☺

[@shuttergirlUK]

Can I just ask - what edition were you reading?

[@WelcometotheMuseum]

I was reading Russian edition (publishing house Эксмо) :) And I quoted English translation by Diana Burgin and Katherine O’Connor

[@tomhagfors6451]

Thank you, I have always had this novel in my head, often together with the house on the embankment, I also made a short film from it maybe you would like to see it?

[@WelcometotheMuseum]

sure, where can I see it?

[@liohobo]

YESSSSSS

[@7676d]

Peak of magic realism. But I still like A Dog's Heart more. The only thing I dont like about Bulgakov's writing is the chaos of the names. He can use one of 2 or 3 combinations of a name for the same character. And plus 1 a nickname.

[@Rushingsisters1751]

What about Pontius Pilate?

[@WelcometotheMuseum]

Oh that is also interesting. We may, first of all, read it only as a novel inside the novel. And so if Voland is Stalin for Bulgakov, then Pilate is Stalin as well but for the the master. Some critics indeed believe Bulgakov made a double representation of him. There is indeed this striking similarity: both Voland and Pilate are scheming and acting according to their own sometimes perverted understanding of justice. But their hands are always clean, there is always somebody else who is actually killing, spying, controlling and dealing with the aftermath. Another way to look at Pilate’s story is, again, coming from Bulgakov’s life. His father was a clergyman and he grew up quite religious. During his years as a medical student he reconsidered his beliefs. As I mentioned, his initial idea was to continue the discussion of religious question, so I could imagine Pilate was just one of the characters, through which Bulgakov would open up questions on evil and good in the Orthodox Christianity rather then demonstrate the abuse of power. In the final version of the Master and Margarita we may indeed still see the remnants of this attempt, but I think the shift to the new subject was too great and too noticeable. Thanks for the question, my fault I didn’t include any explanation of Pilate’s character in the video 😔

[@Rushingsisters1751]

I think there is maybe something with the first scene and discussion about atheism and existence of Jesus that maybe he was simply re-imagining it. Other than the ball, I think it interested me the most. I actually just finished book last night and saw your video thank you for posting it. I had read the white guard earlier this year and figured I'd try it. Very different novels, but both left me feeling that Bulgakov was very a very unique and talented writer

[@WelcometotheMuseum]

Oh yeah, I like your interpretation. Maybe he was trying to get into the mind of procurator and find the reasoning of his decisions just like he was trying to understand why Stalin acted this way 🤷🏻‍♀️ Without a doubt, I will be reading the White Guard as soon as I get a possibility! I am convinced Bulgakov is of a great talent in capturing the Zeitgeist

[@vadim64841]

Parallels between Woland Stalin in M&M are completely unjustified. Nothing of what W does suggests that. He challenges spiritless Soviet Union and is paradoxically presented as the force of good.

[@PeterSmirnov-t5f]

да, книжка мощная!

[@aleksandrpotylko]

мне показалась эта книга сатирической беспорядочной смешной, такая манера сумбурная.. ну и мысли вполне нормальные ..

[@dominikaxy]

Anyways?