Books by Mikhail Bulgakov
“I just love the way it recreates this world of Kyiv where there’s chaos, essentially. There are various contenders for power: the Germans have set up a puppet government, Petlyura and his nationalists are trying to topple it; the Bolsheviks are attacking Kyiv from the east. In the middle of all of this turmoil, there’s a family, the Turbins, who have fled south, as so many did after the October Revolution. They’re trying to eke out an existence in Kyiv, to make sense of what’s happening and where they should put their efforts—whether they should join the White Guards who are assembling in the South, in the Don and Kuban, at that time. It’s a novel that perfectly evokes a short period of time, only a few weeks, in 1918. What I love about it is it does in a novel what you would want to do in a history book but can’t because you have to write history. It’s released from all the anchors of history writing, footnotes and archives and all the rest of it. In brilliant prose, it manages to conjure up that atmosphere better than anything you could do as a historian.” Read more...
Orlando Figes, Historian
“I defy anyone to read those opening pages…and not have it slightly get under their skin and haunt them…I believe that there’s been a lot of dispute about whether Mikhail Bulgakov was writing against Soviet atheism or in favour of it, against religion or in favour of it. Like all great art, it’s shot through with ambivalence. But I don’t think he could ever have written this other than through the collision of the creative impulse and the soulless worldview of Soviet communism. I just don’t think it would have been created other than through that rather disfiguring collision between creativity and conformity. And, for that reason alone, I just think it’s an astonishing book.” Read more...
Nick Clegg on his Favourite Books
Nick Clegg, Politician
Interviews where books by Mikhail Bulgakov were recommended
Magical Realism Books, recommended by Five Books interviewees
If you enjoy some fantastical elements in your literature—but you aren’t quite ready for full-on swords and sorcery—then perhaps magical realism books are for you. As a genre, magical realism is often associated with South America, thanks in large part to the ‘father of magical realism’ Gabriel García Márquez and mega-bestselling books by Isabel Allende, but examples can be found from all over the world. We’ve put a list of must-read titles.
Nick Clegg on his Favourite Books
Much as some Brexiteers like to pretend it isn’t, England is not only in Europe, but has been, in various centuries and in various ways, at the very heart of it. The former Deputy Prime Minister of the UK, Nick Clegg, discusses his favourite European novels and the founding text of his own political ideology, liberalism.
The best books on Surrealism and the Brain, recommended by Bradley Voytek
Neurological disorders lead to far more surreal stories than those we find in science fiction, argues University of California neuroscientist Bradley Voytek.
The best books on The Miracle of Autism, recommended by Rupert Isaacson
The respected author in an intimate discussion about his personal views on autism, prompted by his relationship with his own autistic son. Discusses books that reflect the values of empathy and authenticity
The best books on Azerbaijan, recommended by Nigar Hasan-Zadeh
Rated by the British Library as among the top ten foreign poets based in London, Nigar Hasan-Zadeh discusses a range of books—from love stories, to poetry, to oil field reporting—to boost our insight into Azerbaijan.
The Best Russian Novels, recommended by Orlando Figes
They’re among the finest novels ever written, often vast in their scope and ambitious in their subject matter. Some are long, others can be read in an afternoon. They’re also one of the best ways of understanding Russian history. Historian Orlando Figes, author of The Story of Russia and Natasha’s Dance, recommends his favourite Russian novels, from the 19th century to today.
