A Dead Man's Memoir: A Theatrical Novel (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]

Mikhail Bulgakov (Author), Andrew Bromfield (Translator)

Book Description

Age Level: 18 and up | Grade Level: 12 and up | Series: Penguin Classics

A new translation of one of the most popular satires on the Russian Revolution and Soviet society

Best known for The Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov is one of twentieth-century Russia's most prominent novelists. A Dead Man's Memoir is a semi- autobiographical story about a writer who fails to sell his novel, then fails to commit suicide. When the writer's play is taken up for production in a theater, literary success beckons, but he is not prepared to reckon with the grotesquely inflated egos of the actors, directors, and theater managers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The book is gentle in tone if fierce in substance."
-The New York Times Book Review

"Bulgakov is the first magical realist."
-Craig Raine, author of T.S. Eliot

About the Author

Mikhail Bulgakov (1891-1940) was a Russian novelist and playwright best known for the novel The Master and Margarita.
Andrew Bromfield has translated works by Boris Akunin, Vladimir Voinovich, Irina Denezhkina, and Victor Pelevin.
Keith Gessen was born in Russia and is a novelist, critic, translator, and cofounder of the literary magazine n + 1. He lives in New York.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (December 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140455140
• ISBN-13: 978-0140455144
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.5 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #668,305 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bulgakov at his best, July 5, 2008

By 

Matthew R. Gardner (Gainesville FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Dead Man's Memoir: A Theatrical Novel (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

This is such a great book that someone such as myself that had no interest in the theater or plays could not put it down. That is because this book is less about theater and more about people and living under oppression. Here is a biography of sorts on how a great work of writing can be buried under the weight of large egos, jealousy, and the soveit system. Yet this book dose not exclusivly apply to a period of time or place, it is made timeless through its superb use of memorable and realistic characters. This novel gives every reader the abailty to feel the pain of having ones best work destroyed before there very eyes and is highly recommened for people that have read any previous works of Bulgakov.