“The Master and Margarita (M. Bulgakov) and the characteristics of the legendary novel of the 20th century”

The monograph "The Artisan and Margarita(M. Bulgakov) and the characteristics of 20th century legendary novels”by Dr. Nguyen Thi Nhu Trang, right in its title, contains the ability to touch on important issues of current literary criticism and history research. First of all, it is the issue of myth and modern novels, with a very wide scope: from the understanding of the term "myth", the characteristics of mythical thinking to the poetic features of modern novels and its variations. Second, the issue of genre ofThe Artisan and Margarita– the “final” novel by the non-Soviet writer M. Bulgakov, one of the most mysterious phenomena of world literature of the 20th century, has always caused controversy: the author himself calls it a fantasy novel, while researchers define it as either a satirical novel, a philosophical novel, or a mystical adventure novel, etc. Because of the mysterious, polysemous nature of the novel, it always invites any scientific hypothesis.The Artisan and Margaritaas a mythical novel – that is the scientific hypothesis of the author of this monograph.

The starting point of the interpretation in this monograph is the correlation between the structure of the novelThe Artisan and Margaritaand mythological structure. NovelThe Artisan and Margaritabelongs to a trend of twentieth-century novels that is to partially assimilate the mythological structure. Referencing the basic characteristics of the mythological structure (cyclical time, the game on the interface between reality and illusion, the plot organized in a “cumulative” way with apocalyptic motifs, doubles, deceivers, prophets, elements of the language that unites subject and object, object and symbol), in the main part of the monograph, the author has successively examined 1) the intertextual acculturation in the novel to find cultural-historical codes, 2) the principle of the carnival game in a chaotic world, a complex blend of binary oppositions aiming at a state of harmony and unity, and 3) the structure of the narrative subject with the characteristics of both uniformity and diversification through point of view and tone. The survey results allow the author to come to the conclusion:The Artisan and Margaritais the product of the interaction between mythological thinking and novel thinking, concretely and vividly expressing the tendency of direct parallel projection with ancient myths in the process of 20th century mythological novels.

With all the richness and logic of the arguments in the monograph, the author has convincingly explained his scientific hypothesis. Accordingly, there is a complete basis for giving the book another title, for example, “The Artisan and Margarita” (M.Bulgakov) –legendary novel"This monograph is a direct result of the doctoral thesis, which was evaluated as excellent by the doctoral thesis evaluation board of Hanoi National University, as well as the author's research articles published in specialized journals.

Of course, considerThe Artisan and Margaritaas a legendary novel is just one of many ways to “read” this great and unique novel. In turn, this “reading” option by Nguyen Thi Nhu Trang invites discussion and exchange among the book’s readers.

I would like to respectfully introduce to our readers the in-depth research work of a young Russian scholar, which is valuable both in terms of theory and literary history.