Companions to Russian Literature A Reader's Companion Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita

Readers are often left uncertain how to understand the rich meanings of Mikhail Bulgakov’s comic and beautiful novel The Master and Margarita. To what extent is it political? Or religious? And how should we interpret the Satanic Woland? This Companion guides the readers through the work’s thematic, structural and linguistic complexities. Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel The Master and Margarita, set in Stalin’s Moscow, is an intriguing work with a complex structure, wonderful comic episodes and moments of great beauty. Readers are often left tantalized but uncertain how to understand its rich meanings. To what extent is it political? Or religious? And how should we interpret the Satanic Woland? This reader’s companion offers readers a biographical introduction, and analyses of the structure and the main themes of the novel. More curious readers will also enjoy the accounts of the novel’s writing and publication history, alongside analyses of the work’s astonishing linguistic complexity and a review of available English translations.