Book · 1967
The Master and Margarita
by Mikhail Bulgakov
The devil arrives in 1930s Moscow with a talking cat and a magic show, and the story keeps detouring into Pontius Pilate's Jerusalem.
What does Reddit think of The Master and Margarita?
The clearest plot description in the sample doubles as the funniest one. One ↑221 comment runs through 'the devil's here, hope you know your Soviet history,' then 'now it's ancient Jerusalem, hope you know your biblical history,' landing on the detail that everyone in the book is named Ivan. Plenty of r/suggestmeabook mentions are just the title by itself (↑242, ↑425), recognition more than argument. When people explain the appeal they reach sideways for company: Camus's The Stranger in one ↑219 comment, Donna Tartt's The Secret History in another ↑157 comment. A separate ↑155 comment files it under 'surreal Russian literature,' the answer to the same request that gets Perdido Street Station under 'weird sci-fi.' r/Fantasy's angle is more pointed: a ↑170 comment cites it by name to complain that a Times best-of list skipped non-English work almost entirely. The nearest thing to a dissent is a different ↑157 comment joking that everyone reading it is doing it to look cool, and even that's fond.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · The devil's arrival in Stalin-era Moscow, narrated with a straight face
- · A recurring answer to 'something surreal and Russian,' filed next to Perdido Street Station
- · The fix cited when a best-of list turns out suspiciously English-only
- · A reputation for making readers look literary, joked about as much as praised
Common praise
- + One ↑219 comment reaches for it in the same breath as Camus's The Stranger when someone asks for something specifically strange.
- + A ↑155 comment files it under 'surreal Russian literature,' pairing it with Perdido Street Station under 'weird sci-fi' as the two answers to the same ask.
- + The ↑170 r/Fantasy comment cites it as the fix for a Times list that had 'very little non-English content.'
Common criticism
- − Much of what's displayed here is just the title, dropped with no argument attached (↑242, ↑425) — recognition, not review.
- − One ↑221 comment plays the setup for laughs, but the laughs are about how much prior knowledge — Soviet history, biblical history, an unmanageable number of Ivans — that setup demands.
- − A separate ↑157 comment's 'everyone looks cool reading it' line cuts both ways, as much a joke about performative reading as a recommendation.
Who it's for
Know your Soviet history and your biblical history going in, because one ↑221 comment jokes that both are prerequisites, not just background reading. Ask Reddit for something surreal and Russian and this is the answer nearly every time, filed next to Perdido Street Station rather than more Tolstoy. If a best-of list looks suspiciously English-only, this is what r/Fantasy hands back as the correction.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for The Master and Margarita?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
“Master and Margarita says f*** you buddy, the devil’s here! It’s 1930’s Moscow. Hope you know your Soviet history. No wait actually now it’s ancient Jerusalem. Hope you know your biblical history. Actually it’s both plus a walk down memory lane from the guy at the asylum. Also everybody’s named Ivan…
“I’m not OP, but The Stranger by Albert Camus, or The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
“Lots of Russian literature. Tolstoj (Anna Karenina, war and peace, Resurrection), Dostoevskij (Demons and Brothers Karamazov), Cechov' short stories, Bulgakov's Master and Margarita. Ancient Greek theater, Sophocles and Euripides in particular. Love Antigone. Love Borges, Aleph in particular. No…
“One complaint a friend of mine had (re: the Times list) was that the list contained very little non-English content. Happy to see One Hundred Years of Solitude on this list, but I'd have considered The Little Prince (French) and Master and Margarita (Russian) as well. Maybe something from Italo Calv…
“Everyone looks cool reading {{The Master and Margarita}}.
“The Secret History by Donna Tartt and The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov:) Edit: Thank you SO much to everyone for taking the time to suggest some books to me. And thank you OP for starting such a fantastic thread!
“Weird sci-fi novel: Perdido Street Station by China Mieville Surreal Russian literature: The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
“Kafka on the shore by Murakami (one of my all time favorites!) The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov
“I have two for very different reasons: First one is The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, this was an absolute bizarre and wild ride of a book that I will always recommend. Second is Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, a really haunting, beautiful…sometimes creepy read.
“This. Pratchett masterfully details the error that both this interviewer and society at large make when they discount fantasy as "childish" or non-serious literature. What is The Master and Margarita if not fantasy? In my opinion it's one of the greatest books ever written.
“- The Master and Margarita: fav book all time, perfect - Pride and prejudice: '800 at his best - The catcher in the rye: youth - 1984: scifi - The lord of the rings: fantasy
““The Master and Margarita” by Mikhail Bulgakov. It is difficult to describe it in a few sentences, but it’s the craziest book I’ve ever read. It also features a badass cat, and we know cats are awesome! 😀
“If you like sci fi, I recommend We by Zamyatin. It’s the first sci fi dystopia as we know them today. While not my personal favorites, Master and Margarita and Dead Souls are usually very well loved.
“I support Master and Margarita
Convinced? Pick up The Master and Margarita
Readers also mention
Books that share discussion threads with The Master and Margarita — counted from the comments, not curated.
The Master and Margarita — frequently asked
Do you need to know Soviet history to read The Master and Margarita?+
Helps a lot, per one ↑221 comment, which plays the plot for laughs specifically because it demands 'your Soviet history' and then 'your biblical history' in the same book. Nothing displayed here disputes that the setup is dense; the question is whether that's a selling point or a warning.
What books does Reddit compare The Master and Margarita to?+
Camus's The Stranger, per one ↑219 comment, and Donna Tartt's The Secret History, per a separate ↑157 comment. Another comment files it under 'surreal Russian literature' as the answer to the same request that gets China Miéville's Perdido Street Station for 'weird sci-fi.'
Is The Master and Margarita just a pretentious pick?+
That's the joke in one of the most upvoted relevant lines here, a ↑157 comment reading 'everyone looks cool reading The Master and Margarita.' It's said affectionately, not as a takedown, but it's Reddit acknowledging the book has a reputation as much as a readership.
Why does r/Fantasy recommend The Master and Margarita on English-heavy lists?+
Per the ↑170 comment, specifically to fix it: a commenter flags a Times list for having 'very little non-English content' and names this, alongside The Little Prince, as what should have been there instead.