Heart of a Dog

My friend Jane loves Russian literature. She gave me Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov to read years ago and I got about 8 pages into it and lost interest. Russian literature to me is dark, cold and depressing. I've read One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich a couple of times and would rather read almost anything else. But after reading Russian Journal I thought maybe I'd better appreciate it. In fact, having Ms. Lee's descriptions of average Soviet citizens did help me better understand this novella. A bourgeois professor and a doctor colleague work to create a new kind of man-- using the body and heart of a mutt, they transfer glands from a recently deceased man and the dog becomes a new man. Each of the characters is over dramatized-- the professor is batty, yet demanding, the doctor possessive of his work, the female employees timid and demure. Citizen Sharik, the newly created beast, is the opposite of the professor and his staff; he's base, crude and aligns himself with the proletariat citizens who are trying to kick the professor and his associates out of their luxorious apartment.
What struck me most about this novella was that it was hilarious! It was easy to imagine as a play with the banter between the characters and the various situations Sharik especially gets himself into (chasing cats and causing a flood in a bathroom which he accidentally locks himself in).
I found this novella easy to read and likely a good introduction to Bulgakov's satire The Master and Margarita. I give this 4/5 netflix stars.