The five, irreverant, satirical and imaginative stories contained in Diaboliad caused an uproar upon the book's first publication in 1925. Full of invention, they display Bulgakov's breathtaking stylistic range, moving at dizzying speed from grotesque satire to science fiction, from the plainest realism to the most madcap fantasy. Diaboliad is a wonderful introduction to literature's most uncategorisable and subversive genius.
Diaboliad (Vintage Classics)
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"One of the greatest modern Russian writers, perhaps the greatest" (Independent )
"A writer of fantastic genius" (Sunday Times )
"Bulgakov is a wild, mobile, crafty devotee of ideas" (Guardian )
"A writer of fantastic genius" (Sunday Times )
"Bulgakov is a wild, mobile, crafty devotee of ideas" (Guardian )
Book Description
An explosive collection of short stories which display all of Bulgakov's surreal inventiveness and biting satirical humour
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By M. G. Brooks
Format:Paperback
Diaboliad is a collection of five short satirical tales penned by the celebrated Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov. At once dazzling and catastrophic these stories, published in 1925, poke fun at the failings of Soviet society.
Firstly there is the tale `Diaboliad', in which a bewildered clerk, comrade Korotkov, flounders in a mesh of idiotic bureaucracy. Next Professor Persikov, a Lenin look-a-like and hero of `The Fatal Eggs', falls foul of a bungling Kremlin, who misuse his discovery of a life-enhancing `red-ray' to tragicomic effect.
In `No.13 The Elpit - Rabkommun Building', Bulgakov teases the proletariat, whose stupidity threatens to bring a once glorious apartment block to its knees. `A Chinese Tale' about a stranded coolie who joins the Red Army is likewise flavoured with disillusionment. As is the final yarn `The Adventures of Chichikov' whose wheeler-dealing protagonist Bulgakov resurrected from Gogol's classic `Dead Souls.'
The laugh was definitely on the Soviet state, but was sadly on the author too, as much of Bulgakov's future work was brutally censored. For today's reader Diaboliad presents an inspired showcase of the breadth of Bulgakov's creative talent. At once mischievous and inventive these tales skilfully plunge the reader into a kaleidoscopic world flitting between nightmare and stark reality. In essence though Diaboliad is a comic work. The characters are light and fluffy, and their hapless antics are bound to raise a smile.
Bulgakov fans will no doubt enjoy such motifs as a morphing black cat and an underworld portal, which predate the author's classic `The Master and Margarita.' On the other hand Bulgakov virgins may find Diaboliad a little too frantic and cryptic. The more sedately paced `A Country Doctor's Notebook' published in 1926, would be a fine place to start.
Firstly there is the tale `Diaboliad', in which a bewildered clerk, comrade Korotkov, flounders in a mesh of idiotic bureaucracy. Next Professor Persikov, a Lenin look-a-like and hero of `The Fatal Eggs', falls foul of a bungling Kremlin, who misuse his discovery of a life-enhancing `red-ray' to tragicomic effect.
In `No.13 The Elpit - Rabkommun Building', Bulgakov teases the proletariat, whose stupidity threatens to bring a once glorious apartment block to its knees. `A Chinese Tale' about a stranded coolie who joins the Red Army is likewise flavoured with disillusionment. As is the final yarn `The Adventures of Chichikov' whose wheeler-dealing protagonist Bulgakov resurrected from Gogol's classic `Dead Souls.'
The laugh was definitely on the Soviet state, but was sadly on the author too, as much of Bulgakov's future work was brutally censored. For today's reader Diaboliad presents an inspired showcase of the breadth of Bulgakov's creative talent. At once mischievous and inventive these tales skilfully plunge the reader into a kaleidoscopic world flitting between nightmare and stark reality. In essence though Diaboliad is a comic work. The characters are light and fluffy, and their hapless antics are bound to raise a smile.
Bulgakov fans will no doubt enjoy such motifs as a morphing black cat and an underworld portal, which predate the author's classic `The Master and Margarita.' On the other hand Bulgakov virgins may find Diaboliad a little too frantic and cryptic. The more sedately paced `A Country Doctor's Notebook' published in 1926, would be a fine place to start.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.5 out of 5 stars
2 reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bulgakov's short stories
19 Oct 1999
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Though Bulgakov is perhaps best known in the West for his Master i Margarita, the tale of Satan's vist to the capital of world communism, these tales well exhibit his literary genius and his satirical bite. One of the stories in this collection, Fatal Eggs, is in my mind one of the master's finest works.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heart of a Dog
24 Jan 2001
By fmeursault@yahoo.com
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
"My goodness, what are you saying," Korotkov exclaimed in distress, sensing that here, too something strange was starting, just as it had everywhere else. He looked back as if he were being hunted, afraid that the shaven face and the bald shell would emerge from somewhere, and then he added in a clumsy way, "I'm very glad, yes, very . . ." A motley flush passed lightly over the marble man; raising Korotkov's hand delicately, he drew him toward a little table, reiterating, "I'm very glad, too. But here's the rub, imagine it - I don't even have a place where you can sit down. We're being kept in a pen in spite of our significance." (Mikhail Bulgakov, Diaboliad p30)
A brilliant blend of magical and realistic elements, grotesque situations, and major ethical issues. Its story lies between parable and reality; its tone varies from satire to unguarded vulnerability. Its publication represents the triumph of imagination over politics...
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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