The Master and Margarita Audiobook By Mikhail Bulgakov cover art

The Master and Margarita

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The Master and Margarita

By: Mikhail Bulgakov
Narrated by: Julian Rhind-Tutt
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The Devil comes to Moscow, but he isn't all bad; Pontius Pilate sentences a charismatic leader to his death, but yearns for redemption; and a writer tries to destroy his greatest tale, but discovers that manuscripts don't burn. Multi-layered and entrancing, blending sharp satire with glorious fantasy, The Master and Margarita is ceaselessly inventive and profoundly moving. In its imaginative freedom and raising of eternal human concerns, it is one of the world's great novels.

Download the accompanying reference guide.Public Domain (P)2009 Naxos Audiobooks Classics Witty Funny Inspiring

Featured Article: Essential Russian Authors to Know in Audio


Don’t be daunted by the towering reputations of Russia’s literary giants. Listening is the perfect way to appreciate the masters. Russia is a sprawling country with a rich and complex history, which is reflected in its literature. Whether you’re keen on brushing up on classic Russian literature or you want to find a new author to explore, we’ve rounded up 13 of the best Russian authors, classic and contemporary, whose work you should know.

Featured Article Essential Russian Authors to Know in Audio

Editor's Pick

From Russia with love
I recently deep-dived on Russian classics for our editors’ podcast, Audicted, focusing on Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. But guess what? Those heavy-hitters aren’t nearly as beloved back home as Bulgakov, and this book is widely considered the country’s favorite novel. I didn’t know anything could make me love Russian literature more, but that did it. This hallucinatory satire of 1930s Stalinist Moscow, in which the devil and his entourage come to town to raise hell, includes a gun-toting cat, a fascinating imagining of Pontius Pilate, and exquisite narration by Julian Rhind-Tutt. If you’re looking for what one reviewer calls 'a complete acid trip of a novel', your search ends here. —Kat J., Audible Editor

Fantastical Elements • Satirical Humor • Brilliant Character Voices • Imaginative Storytelling • Multilayered Plot
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The Master and Margarita lurches violently between different tones farcical, romantic, surreal, tragic, and back again). I enjoyed parts of it more than others. The chapters that actually deal with the eponymous Master and Margarita and their pact with the devil and his minions are wonderful: poetic, intellectual and comic, often all at the same time. Unfortunately, it takes a long time to get to these sections, as much of the novel consists of farcical satire on various comical minor characters who are probably funny if you are familiar with life in 1930s Moscow, but merely feel like a lot of irritating wittering if you're not. I found myself frequently wanting to hit the chapter skip button.

Still, this may be just a matter of personal taste, and if anyone can get you through the more irksome chapters, it's Julian Rhind-Tutt, whose performance is quite brilliant, capturing the mixture of tones extremely well, injecting a scabrous nastiness into the farcical scenes, and giving the Devil a wonderfully lugubrious smugness.

The ending is spellbinding and I'm glad I persisted with this audiobook. It's a slog sometimes, but it's worth the journey.

Worth the effort

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What a superb novel, and what a truly outstanding performance. Never a dull moment. Post romanticism at its best. The whole thing a kind of creepy Chagall window.

The Master and Margarita

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The paperback version (translated by Diana Burgin and Katherine Tiernan O'Conner) was a delightful challenge to read; this Audible version filled in what was missing. I've attained the proper experience with this masterpiece.

Only if you're serious about experiencing this book!

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I'll be returning to this in the future. Crazy. Mystical. Totally amazing.

A New Favorite

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I'd heard this referred to as a must-read somewhere, and I'd never even heard of it. It's been at least a year since I listened to this, and one of the big things I remember is just how fresh everything seemed when I started listening. I'm moderately well-read, but there were so many characters, environments, and concepts that seemed so refreshingly 'new', that I was pulled in immediately. A major part of the plot involves a subject that I've never had much interest in. Nevertheless, the story was so rich and compelling that I was engrossed from beginning to end; the author _made_ it interesting.

Definitely recommend this -- even if it turns out not to be your 'cup of tea', you won't forget this book.

Quite a ride. I can see why this is such a classic

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An underrated work of art. Definitely better the second time around. Fun. Fascinating. A beautiful work of Russian literature.

A Profound Piece of Literature

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One of the richest pieces of literature from the 20th century, perhaps ever. If only he lived at a time and place where his work was encouraged we may have so much more from this one of a kind writer

An absolute masterpiece

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Mikhail Bulgakov defied Stalin (and lived). His “sunset work” The Master and Margarita is a brilliant classic of modern Russian literature; defiant of further classification. Philosophical, theological, satirical, historical, political, comedic and romantic; all apply. Worthy of any list, a treasure for any library. Julian Rhind-Tutt out does himself in this performance; switching voices and accents seamlessly. Amazing.

Essential read for free thinkers.

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this is probably my new favorite book! it was witty, dark, ironic, and i loved how it made fun of the general public for how dishonest and greedy we really are. I didnt want it to end!

loved this book!

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Julian Rhind-Tutt's performance in narrating this novel is simply brilliant, probably the best of any Audible performances I've heard (which is over 150). His characterization of Behemoth the cat was my favorite. I found the novel itself uneven. There are many great parts to it: e.g. the dialogue between Pilate and Jesus; the performance of black magic in the theatre. But at times I found the surrealist or supernaturalism a bit exhausting. You have no idea what might happen next because, since virtually omnipotent satanic forces are in control, anything can happen. I also found the Moscow part of the story became increasingly confusing in Part II. I know the novel is often categorized as satirizing soviet society. But I didn't see that it was particularly more satirical than any novel that depicts human beings as often weak, cowardly, and self-interested.

Bizzarre novel, fantastic narration

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