{"product_id":"black-snow-by-mikhail-bulgakov","title":"'Black Snow' by Mikhail Bulgakov","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\n\u003csection class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none [\u0026amp;:has([data-writing-block])\u0026gt;*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-8 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv dir=\"auto\" class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+\u0026amp;]:mt-1\" tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert wrap-break-word w-full light markdown-new-styling\"\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eWritten in the late 1930s and left unfinished at Bulgakov’s death, \u003cem\u003eBlack Snow\u003c\/em\u003e is one of literature’s most venomous accounts of what happens when a writer hands their work over to an institution. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eBulgakov’s target was barely disguised: the novel draws heavily on his own notoriously difficult relationship with Konstantin Stanislavski and the Moscow Art Theatre.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIts narrator, the hapless Sergei Maksudov, writes a novel, despairs of publishing it, and is then drawn into the orbit of Moscow’s Independent Theatre, where his manuscript is converted into a play and gradually subjected to the egos, rituals, rivalries and a completely deranged internal logic of this imagined theatrical production. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBulgakov is very good on institutions as closed worlds. In his works everyone understands rules that nobody can explain, authority becomes theatre in its own right, and artistic work survives mostly by accident. The comedy has the anxious, bureaucratic unreality familiar from \u003cem\u003eThe Master and Margarita\u003c\/em\u003e, but here trained specifically on authorship, adaptation and cultural gatekeeping. A sharp companion piece to Bulgakov’s better-known fiction, particularly good for anyone interested in the indignities suffered by art once committees get involved.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVintage, 2005. Paperback. Light general shelf wear, with rubbing and some creasing to the covers, particularly around the lower front corner and edges. Binding sound and pages clean overall.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"bower studio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45954797600851,"sku":null,"price":14.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0689\/0268\/2707\/files\/womenintranslation_22.png?v=1786586295","url":"https:\/\/bowerbooks.com\/products\/black-snow-by-mikhail-bulgakov","provider":"bower books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}