Get notified of Words&Dirt updates

Tag: metafiction

SNQ: Mikhail Bulgakov’s “The Master and Margarita”

Summary: The Master and Margarita is a work of magical realism by Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov. The story takes place in Moscow during a brief but tumultuous visit from Satan and a retinue of his followers, who kick off all kinds of macabre mischief upon their arrival. Caught up in the chaos are the eponymous Master […]

Review: Haruki Murakami’s “1Q84”

1Q84 made a big splash in the literary world when the English translation was released in 2011, but only recently did I get around to reading it. Haruki Murakami is among my favorite living writers, and I always relish the opportunity to return to his weird psychological landscapes. This nearly-thousand-page novel is comprised of three […]

Book Review: Julio Cortázar’s “Hopscotch”

In this novel’s table of instructions, Julio Cortázar states that Hopscotch “consists of many books, but two books above all.”  The reader is given a choice: read the book in normal fashion and stop at the end of Chapter 56 (in which case a large portion of the book will remain unread), or jump between […]