In the Ukrainian capital Kiev (‘the City’), life has become frightening and fragile. Bulgakov’s first full-length novel is set in the harsh and chaotic winter of 1918–19, as power struggles start to play out with brutal consequences. Echoing Tolstoy’s approach in War and Peace, Bulgakov contrasts the concerns of domestic life with the wide-ranging and destructive historical events; but where Tolstoy’s structure is clear, Bulgakov interweaves narrative, details of military action, snatches of songs, dreams, dialogue and fragments of thought to capture this swirl of confusion on every level, as those caught in the middle of circumstances beyond their control try to ground themselves. Suffering, tragedy and savagery are set out unflinchingly, but the bleakness is offset by a recognition of the resilience of the human spirit, and of the qualities of loyalty and principle – all embodied by the Turbin family. The novel begins and ends with a view of the night sky: beyond the chaos, beauty is still there to see.
