This collection of Mikhail Bulgakov’s early short stories, written between 1922 and 1923, highlights the pathos and comic surrealism of life in post-revolutionary Moscow.The title story, “The Diaboliad”, concerns the hapless Korotkov, the chief clerk at the Main Central Depot of Match Materials (or MatchMat) who is paid in the “produce of production” — in other words, matches. The innocent reader may assume that this is an example of Russian absurdism, but according to Lesley Milne’s excellent b...

This book contains five different stories by Bulgakov: DiaboliadThe Fatal EggsNo. 13, the Elpit-Workers' CommuneA Chinese TaleThe Adventures of ChichikovI did not read the final story, as I will wait until I've read Gogol's Dead Souls before I do that. The only story I didn't like very much was No. 13, the Elpit-Workers' Commune, which I failed to appreciate: it was chaotic and not particularly interesting. The other stories, however, are great. Diaboliad is an absolutely hilarious story, a funn...

One of the things against which Bulgakov railed at the time he was writing these five stories—Diaboliad, The Fatal Eggs (really more of a novella), No. 13, the Elpit-Workers' Commune, A Chinese Tale, and The Adventures of Chichikov—was a campaign, begun around 1921, which proudly claimed that satire no longer had a role to play in Soviet literature. The idea was that satire had fulfilled a vital function in the 19th century in furthering progressive, anti-authoritarian thinking—but now, in Sovie...

Considering dozens and dozens of reviews are posted for The Master and Margarita and my review of this little collection of Bulgakov tales published some twenty years ago is one of the first on Goodreads, it is fair to say many readers have committed an oversight. Unfortunate since these short works are masterpieces in their own right. If you love The Master and Margarita you will also love reading this book. Eleven tales included here, two of which - Diaboliad and The Fatal Eggs - are long enou...

Diaboliad or Life at the cooperative. ….sorry, we have run out of pay-checks but you will have your salary in matchsticks, or cheap wine, or even left-hand shoes – depending on what kind of cooperative you work in.The Devil take it! And that is not just an expression. Going into a frenzy, starting to test strike the very poor-quality matchsticks our protagonist-with-soon-no-name is covered in a cloud of Sulphur, not to mention the immediate harm done by flying sparks. There is a distinct odor in...

Mikhail Bulgakov (1891 - 1940) and the composer Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975) had met and briefly toyed with the idea of working together on a dramatic work. It was not to be, but their collaboration is a tantalizing "might have been". Indeed, the more I read of Bulgakov, the more he reminds me of Shostakovich. Not the composer of the symphonies perhaps, but the Shostakovich of the circus music, of the manic and dissonant galops, of the acerbic music theatre pieces. This is particularly true...

Four stories. ‘Diaboliad’ is a farcical satire on bureaucratic absurdity, a surreal reworking of Dostoevsky’s The Double that clouds the narrative’s clarity with too many oddities. ‘No. 13—The Elpit Workers’ Commune’ is even more strange, an over-the-top blackly comic story about a collapsing building and the ensuing casualties. The tone is extremely uneven and lacking in a narrative viewpoint or point of focus. ‘A Chinese Tale’ is a little too time-specific to have any contemporary value. ‘The

The most bizarre thing I have ever read. Not that good from the literary pov, but truly, what it is, it is bizarre. 3.6 stars.

The DiaboliadBulgakov's characters are an exaggeration of their real lives counterparts. I am sure a government in some deeply nested bureaucratic system has gotten fired for an insane reason. Bulgakov's recurring themes like ignorance, bureaucratic bullshit, nonsensical paradigms issued by government and heard mentality, make an appearance. And also there is a cat. Bulgakov's satire is a social commentary. In its over the top expression, his frustration towards his country's social climate chan...

What did I just read?That was.....bizzare

“why am I weeping when l have wine?"I have read The Master and Margarita many times, it´s a high position on my ´favourites´ list. I´ve never read anything else by this author though and was a bit concerned about high expectations, but no, Bulgakov doesn´t dissapoint!

This collection comprises several stories by Bulgakov. The title story, Diaboliad, is a typical surrealist nightmare set in the bureaucracies of Moscow. I found this and some of the stories that followed enjoyable, but the real star in this collection is The Fatal Eggs, probably one of my favourite sci-fi stories of all time, a brilliant satire of communist bureaucracy. It has all the mad intensity that Bulgakov's writing is famed for.

Introduction & Notes, by Julie Curtis--Diaboliad--The Fatal Eggs--No. 13, the Elpit-Workers' Commune--A Chinese Tale--The Adventures of Chichikov

The Diaboliad - ★★★Surreal and crazy but has moments of humor that I can appreciate.The Elpit Workers' Commune Building - ★Something just felt wrong with this story. I have a suspicion it maybe the translation. Or maybe it needed another edit. Rough and gritty but didn’t grab my attention much.A Chinese Tale - ★No.The Adventures of Chichikov - ★★★★Most enjoyable for this Gogol reader of Dead Souls. It’s like literary fanfiction from another one of your favorite Russians. Loved the ending in part...

There are times when I loathe the star system here. I know some people choose to ignore it entirely, but my OCD tells me that I have to fill it in, so I always do. But I have no idea what rating to give a book that is as inconsistent as this one is.On the high end, The Fatal Eggs is fantastic. Both a deeply funny satire and a weird science fiction novella/short story (at a 100 pages it doesn't feel like short story in appropriate), it should be essential reading if you like Bulgakov. Maybe pick

This I picked when at a friend's home, out of the sheer need to read something, because I had forgotten mine at home. I finished the book the same evening, as well as The Fatal Egg , a story by the same author. This was humorous, especially because trying to imagine all the mess made me laugh at times. It's very short but also very energetic, at all times something is happening and if you miss on it, you don't understand a thing! I get the feeling I'll be reading some more from Bulgakov, becaus...

A clerk is at his wit's end when things start to tumble out of control right after he gets the sack.This shit is insane but the best part is you will love it awfully much. That Bulgakov drives one crazy with his humour and sublime satire is only the beginning of the artistic journey and you are yet to discover much.After M & M, I am on an orgy of sorts chasing Bulgakov stories, with seemingly no end, and just how bizarre yet perfectly orgasmic all of his works are.

I don't think this short collection contains Bulgakov's best works, but they're still enjoyable. The through-line for most of Diaboliad is cutting criticism of the Soviet state, with some stories being more successful than others in that regard. However, while the Soviet Union was well deserving of lambasting, my favorite Bulgakov works aren't focused on this subject. This meant that, to me, not much of this collection was of the quality that I know Bulgakov is capable of reaching. Below are my

My edition of Diaboliad by Mikhail Bulgakov was published in 1972. However, I believe the stories contained were written around the 1920s. Most of the stories are satires. The author has been compared to Nikolai Gogol and Fyodor Dostoevsky. Personally, am not keen with comparisons but I have read quite a number of Russian authors including Tolstoy, Turgenev, Chekhov et cetra. I know chekhov was a Doctor by profession who later abandoned the practice to be a full time writer. Our writer also foll...

Those 4 devilish short stories read through with a devilish speed put a devilish smile on my face. At first sight I'm Not really sure what I've grasped out of them (two of the stories put my mind on wires and couldn't get them straight yet...) but I've put more attention into the first 'Diaboliad' and the last story 'The adventures of Chichikov'. I followed in a frenzy mindset the hero of the tale 'Diaboliad', especially that it echoed the concept of the 'double', which I enjoyed very much also