Oops, there's a twist ending? I might just skip this thread and come back in a few days, then...
I'm afraid I haven't read much other Russian literature, as I prefer scifi, so the closest I got to the Eastern bloc is Lem...
I think my main problem with Master and Margarita is that I don't know much about the context of the era, and it feels like most of the book is subtle jabs at the society and political climate of the time.
Second that, but I'd probably stay away from early books by Strugatskys - they are kind of naive and would only work for a real hardcore fan. Later ones are much deeper.
I'm not sure it would work in translation though - as the plot goes, it would be kind of simple, especially for our 21th century eyes, but the inimitable Bulgakov style adds a lot.
I'm afraid I haven't read much other Russian literature, as I prefer scifi, so the closest I got to the Eastern bloc is Lem...
I think my main problem with Master and Margarita is that I don't know much about the context of the era, and it feels like most of the book is subtle jabs at the society and political climate of the time.