Which English version of [The Master and Margarita] is the best?

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Which English version of [The Master and Margarita] is the best?

1garrettofBabel
Jun 7, 2014, 12:08 pm

I live in Taiwan, and it’s not easy getting English novels (or novels translated into English) in this country.
If I couldn't find the book I wanted in the library, my next step would be to go to 2nd-hand bookstores.
Buying a new copy from a normal bookstore tended to be the last resort, as the shipping fee makes the book very expensive.

Now, I've always wanted to read The Master and Margarita, however I couldn't find any English version of the novel in any of the libraries.
Quite a few days ago, I stumbled upon a copy of the 1996 version translated by Burgin & Tiernan O’Connor in a 2nd-hand bookstore.
Before I bought the book, I did a quick search on the novel in the wikipedia -- just to make sure the one I was holding was closest to the original text -- and discovered that 3 more versions had been released after 1996: the 1997 version by the famous translator couple Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, the 2006 version by Michael Karpelson, and the 2008 version published by One World Classics.

There doesn't seem to be any consensus on which version can provide the most complete reading experience.

The 1996 version received a lot of praises, including a biographer of Bulgakov. However, these assessments were made before the release of the other 3 versions.

The 1997 version was done by Pevear and Volokhonsky, and we all know how famous they are, and that they won translation awards. Plus, judging from a sentence quoted from their version, their diction seems simpler and plainer, more generalized – if this was the right description – and thus the work feels closer to the original. Then again, I can’t speak Russian, and their awards and reputation might have affect my judgment.

Then there is the 2006 version which is endorsed by Professor Jeffrey Grossman of the University of Virginia.

So, which version should I choose?
If I choose the 1996 version, I can have the book in a few days time. Furthermore, it has annotations.
Or should I wait for the 1997 version to grace the 2nd-hand bookstores, which would be God-know when. Or ordering a copy through a bookstore, which will be quite expensive, considering the shipping fee.
Or should I order a copy of the 2006 version from Karpelson, which would probably be even more expensive.
And do I need the annotations to have an in-depth understanding of the story?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

2Cecrow
Jun 9, 2014, 1:53 pm

I may as well second this request. I've been waffling over buying a copy, almost did this weekend and noted a difference in price between editions but perhaps other factors should concern me as well.

3ELiz_M
Jun 10, 2014, 8:50 am

Through google, I found a decent discussion of M&M translations, with excerpted examples. There didn't seem to be a conclusive "best", but some are more recommended than others:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/618738-mikhail-bulgakov-s-the-master-and-ma...

4sparemethecensor
Jun 10, 2014, 9:21 am

I read the Diana Burgin translation from the mid-90s, and while it was just fine, I imagine a more recent translation might be better -- since the rise of Pevear & Volokhonsky, there has been much more attention paid to capturing the Russian-ness and unique writing style of Russian authors.

That said, I imagine you can't go wrong with any translation from the last 30 years or so, as Bulgakov has been widely studied and discussed in the West for at least that long.

5JohnnyOstentatious
Abr 6, 2018, 4:51 am

I enjoyed the Burgin/O'Connor translation when I read it back in '14. I'm now reading the Pevear/Volokhonsky translation, and it's a bit of a slog. Next time I reread it, I'll go back to the Burgin/O'Connor version.

6Sandydog1
Abr 20, 2018, 9:00 pm

Whatever translation, it is a wonderful work. I'm going to sound like Captain-obvious here: It's one of those novels where you need to understand the Stalinist history, context, etc.

7geek.monkey
Jun 27, 2019, 2:09 am

I'd love to know if anyone's read the Aplin translation and their thoughts!

8vkhanin
Jul 31, 2020, 1:43 pm

I'm Russian and before I took English translations I had read "The Master and Margarita" for many times starting from the age of 12 in Russian. To improve my English and have practice in it I found the audio-book translated by Burgin/O'Connor and read by George Guidall. I think it is great. First time I listened to it was about 4 years ago and now I am re-listening to it. Before listening for the first time I tried to compare Burgin/O'Connor's with Glenny's translation and I had an impression that they are of the same quality from the point of view of the translation, however, it is difficult for me to evaluate the quality of the English text as I am not a native speaker. Now I've found the audio-book translated by Karpelson and read by Julian Rhind-Tutt. I have not started it yet, but I hope to do it very soon. If anybody is interested in these audio-books, let me know (vkhanin@mail.ru).