The new Bulgakov novel is quite cryptic but very absorbing. From the introduction of the translator, I learned that this novel was consists of God and devil along with secular humans, so I am assuming the stranger in the first chapter is the devil. The author notes that various official reports regarding the strangers all contradicted one another, possibly meaning the stranger is capable of changing shapes, in other words, not human. He subtly approaches the Berlioz and the poet and shows great interest in their conversation of God. He is greatly delighted at the fact that those two and most of the Moscow population are atheists. Small descriptions such as "like a thief" or "furtive glance" emphasize his wiliness. I laughed at the part where the stranger smiles at the thought of cancer and then immediately offers them cigarettes. He also seems to possess supernatural powers. Perhaps because of my assumption that he is the devil, his encounter with Kant or the prediction of how Berlioz will die sounds quite reliable. However, his opinion of the existence of God is confusing. At first, he appears to be delighted that the men don't believe in his existence, which implies that the stranger also feels the same way. But he goes on to contend that humans need someone to look over them because humans are impotent beings who cannot even predict the future. At the end of the chapter, he even says, "And keep in mind that Jesus existed."
I don't know how this story is going to progress, but I definitely like it a lot so far.
-Spanish Boot
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