The Master and Margarita — Mikhail Bulgakov
The Master and Margarita — Mikhail Bulgakov
A surreal novel that mixes satire, religion, love, and political absurdity in Soviet Moscow.
Essay
I like books that refuse to behave, and this one does exactly that. It is strange, theatrical, satirical, and serious in a way that never flattens itself to become easy. Some books earn their place by staying slightly wild.
It also sharpened something I already value: the ability to expose pretension through imagination rather than through argument alone. That is why it feels connected to Substance Over Noise and Judgment for me. A surreal book can still tell the truth about people very directly.