Heart of a Dog
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First English edition
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| Author | Mikhail Bulgakov |
|---|---|
| Original title | Собачье сердце |
| Country | U.S.S.R. |
| Language | Russian |
| Publisher | Harcourt Brace (English) |
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Publication date
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1925 |
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Published in English
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1968 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback and Paperback) |
| OCLC | 17676889 |
| 812/.54 19 | |
| LC Class | PS3556.E42 E4 1990 |
Heart of a Dog (Russian: Собачье сердце, Sobach'e serdtse) is a novel by Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov. A biting satire of the New Soviet man, it was written in 1925 at the height of the NEP period, when communism appeared to be weakening in the Soviet Union. It's generally interpreted as an allegory of the Communist revolution and "the revolution's misguided attempt to radically transform mankind." Its publication was initially prohibited in the Soviet Union but circulated in samizdat until it was officially released in the country in 1987. It is "one of novelist Mikhail Bulgakov's most beloved stories" featuring a stray dog "named Sharik who takes human form" as a slovenly and narcissistic incarnation of the New Soviet Man. The novel has become a cultural phenomenon in Russia, known and discussed by people "from schoolchildren to politicians." It has become a subject of critical argument, was filmed in both Russian and Italian-language versions, and adapted in English as a play and an opera.
The book was rejected for publication in 1925, due in part to the influence of Lev Kamenev, then a leading Party official. Bulgakov subsequently wrote a play based on the story in 1926 for the Moscow Art Theater. However, the play was cancelled after the manuscript and copies were confiscated by the secret police, or OGPU. Eventually, Maxim Gorky intervened to get the manuscript returned.
The story has similarities with Dr. Faustus, Frankenstein, and The Island of Dr. Moreau. It was published in the Soviet Union only in 1987, more than 60 years after its completion, but was made known to Russian readers via samizdat. In 1968, it was published in English by Harvill Press, translated by Michael Glenny.
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