Dog's Heart

Lauded Russian author and playwright Mikhail Bulgakovs A Dogs Heart (also translated as The Heart of a Dog) is a zany, violent, and whimsical satire of the failures inherent in the dream of a Communist utopia, following dog-turned-human Sharik as he tries and fails utterly to live a life of goodness and virtuebut goodness and virtue as defined by whom?

Both a nod to the Frankenstein myth and a vicious critique of the Soviet governments attempts to reshape and redefine personhood during and after the Russian Revolution, the popular tale poses the question, what taints Shariks thoughts and actions? Is it the heart of the dog, the corrupted flesh of the human man he was transformed with, or the attempts by his creators to turn Sharik into a model citizen and human being?

Like many of Bulgakovs novels and plays, A Dogs Heart was rejected for publication by censors in 1925, but was circulated via samizdat (the clandestine production and distribution of literature that had been banned by the state) for years until it was translated into English in 1968it would not be officially published in the Soviet Union until 1987. To this day, the book remains one of Bulgakovs most controversial novels, although it is widely read and highly regarded alongside the famously sharp-witted authors most famous work, The Master and Margarita.

The Alma Classics edition of A Dogs Heart is translated by Antonina W. Bouis with the authorization of the Bulgakov Estate and Andrew Nurnberg Associates. Antonina W. Bouis is an accomplished translator, working with several major publishing houses such as University of Texas Press, Alfred A. Knopf, and OneWorld Classics Ltd. to bring the best of Russian literature to English readers. Her translation reflects the clear, humorous, and profound language of the original with colloquial English idioms and phrasings. Readers without previous experience in Russian literature will find this translation to be accessible and fun, even though the subtext of Bulgakovs works is the murky, mysterious underbelly of Soviet culture.