Experimental Blog #89

Comments on "Deviltry - How Two Twins Destroyed a 'Middle Manager'" and "Dog's Heart - A Monstrous History" by Mikhail Afanasevich Bulgakov

This absurd short story of about 35 pages seems to be Mikhail Bulgakov's first attempt at social-political satire. "Deviltry", or"Dyavoliada", was published several times in 1924, '25 and '26, and, at first, it was little noticed. The main character, Varfolomay Petrovich Korotkov, apparently, disastrously "collides" with the circumstances and people of the new Soviet Union. In a few days he evidently becomes violently insane and ends his life, and this story, by jumping off an 11 story building.

"Deviltry" was eventually, and soon, severely criticized and condemned by most communist literary writers; along with Bulgakov's later, even more absurd and fantastical stories.


Although numerous attempts were made to publish this "novella" of about 89 pages, which was written in 1925, and the Moscow Art Theater had made a contract to produce a play; "Dog's Heart", or "The Heart of a Dog", was not allowed to be published in the Soviet Union until 1987.

In the introductory pages the story is told by the "thoughts" of the dog, Shareek; then the story is mixed with ordinary narrative, followed by the introduction of people. After Shareek's grotesque operation; which replace his gonads and a small part of his brain, Shareek undergoes a completely unexpected physical and mental transformation. In about one month he becomes a young man; who eventually names himself Polygraph Polygraphovich Shareekov.

However, in another month or so, Polygraph Polygraphovich is, apparently, forcibly operated on again, and within 10 days he is on his way back to being the dog Shareek. The story soon ends with his complete retransformation.

Mikhail Bulgakov's fantastical satire in this story is "deeper" and, some people might say, even shocking and cruel, sometimes, than in any other of his literary works. Some people might feel that Mikhail Bulgakov was not completely free of the prejudices of his times, and that these prejudices sometimes showed through in this not entirely funny, but still surprisingly impressive and provocative story.