Diaboliad (Digital Original)

By: Mikhail Bulgakov

Sign Up Now! Already a Member? Log In
You must be logged into Bookshare to access this title. Learn about membership options, or view our freely available titles.

Synopsis: &“Bulgakov&’s strong point was his ability to amplify the roots of man&’s dementia, the howls of political pandemonium . . . a lively collection.&” —The Washington Post Book World Mikhail Bulgakov&’s Diaboliad and Other Stories, comprised of Diaboliad, No. 13–The Elpit Workers&’ Commune, A Chinese Tale, and The Adventures of Chichikov, serves as an excellent introduction to this renowned Russian satirist and playwright&’s work. Black comedy, biting social and political commentary, and Bulgakov&’s unique narrative exuberance combine to tell the tales of labyrinthine post-Revolution bureaucracy; clashes between science, the intellectual class, and the state; and the high price to be paid for the promised utopian world of Communism in early Soviet Russia. Bulgakov&’s signature eloquent skewering of the various shortcomings of the world around and within him can be found on every page, and horror and magic interweave in a constant dance of the absurd—a dance that would reach its highest point both stylistically and thematically in Bulgakov&’s tour de force novel The Master and Margarita. &“One of the most original voices of the twentieth century.&” —The Guardian, UK