Corazón de perro

Por Mijail Bulgakov

Mijail Bulgakov, con una capacidad narrativa notable, nos transporta a la primera etapa de las convulsionadas transformaciones de la sociedad rusa post revolución. Logra crear un mundo donde el desarrollo de los acontecimientos, con grados crecientes de suspenso y sorpresa, muestra satírica y críticamente las contra-dicciones que diariamente se viven. El sorprendente final de la obra acentúa la visión algo desesperanzada, pero con inmenso humor, de la condición humana.

• Idioma: Español
• Editorial: LOM Ediciones
• Fecha de lanzamiento: 5 may 2004
• ISBN: 9789562826976

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Comentarios para Corazón de perro

[ericcostello-1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

It's 1925 Moscow, and a world-famous surgeon has adopted a stray dog. The first part of the story is told from the dog's point of view, as he gets used to his new, and luxurious, surroundings. Gradually, the dog comes to realize that the surgeon has an agenda. The second part of the story is a series of case notes, which describe what the doctor has done; implant glands from a human into the dog. The third part of the story describes the utter chaos that erupts when the dog lives, and turns into the nogoodnik that was his donor. There are a number of very sharp comments in the book that got the novel suppressed in 1925, and would have made it impossible to publish at all scant few years later. But the sheer love of the Russian language and expressions utilized here make this totally hilarious. Poligraph Poligraphovich (the dog-turned-human) is a wonderful and exasperating character, and one that bears comparison to Bulgakov's immortal Behemoth (the more so since Behemoth is depicted as being human in one part of The Master and Margarita). It is worth noting that Bulgakov was a doctor by training, and there's strong evidence it influenced this story. Definitely recommended.

[jonfaith · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

There is a photograph of me sitting in a gutter in Paris reading this novel. I am rather skinny in the photo. What isn't conveyed is that I was losing my mind. I was abroad and it was a mistake. There was considerable business requiring my immediate attention back home.

There I was. All was resolved upon my return. I think about the novel periodically, especially given the currency of Bulgakov in certain circles.

It would be pithy to suppose that this portal concerning transformation was crucial in my own adjustment of status. It wasn't, but that's life.

[stef7sa-1 · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

Some parts are really nice, such as the beginning when the thoughts of the dog are presented and the diary of the assistant doctor. But a lot of the story seems directionless. The events are absurd rather than satirical. For a real satire the connections with the real world should have been elaborated more in detail.

[miro_4 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Heart of a Dog was recommended to me by a Russian and is an off the wall story of a stray dog metamorphosed into a dog-man that falls in with the sleazy local communists. They redistribute other peoples property to themselves which is O.K. until they try to redistribute the dog-man owner's flat which is going too far.

[varwenea · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

I always find satires the most enjoyable when it’s simply fun to read, rather or not I know what the underlying subject is. The novella, “The Heart of a Dog”, is humorous, a bit outrageous, made me look up what a pituitary gland is (don’t ask me to explain it), and of course, gave a glance into the complexities of then Russian life. Completed in 1925, it was not published in the Soviet Union until 1987, due to censorship. ‘Heart’ is an easy, fast read, if not for the educational pauses of my choosing, as I picked up bits of nuances of the Russian life then. Here are some samples: - That horsemeat in sausages is acceptable, sold by the Moscow State Food Store. - That ‘Dustmen’ is the lowest form of proletarian life. - A lover keeps a typist in silk stockings but “he won’t just want to make the usual sort of love to her, he’ll make her do it the French way”. (Hmm, what is that exactly?) - That Co-op is a ‘filthy store’, unfit for the gentleman that the Professor is. - That the Professor is despised for using 7 rooms for himself (not entirely true since the cook and the housekeeper also lives there, and his business is operated from there as well), during a time when Moscow did not have sufficient housing. - ‘Comrades’ has entered into daily salutation, which is rejected by the Professor, who prefers ‘Mister’, which in return, is rejected by the ‘Comrades’, which Sharikov barked, “I’m not mister – all the ‘misters’ are in Paris!”- Communism means the equal division of property where Sharikov has an ‘entitlement of thirty-seven square feet’ in the apartment. With communism, males and females are touted as equals, even though they never really are (and one can easily argue they still aren’t). Mr. Bulgakov blended in touches of this:- From the Dog, Sharik, “You’ve a good lunch under your belt, haven’t you, you’re a world-famous figure thanks to male sex glands.” - In a conversation between the Professor and the 4 members of the House Committee: “’Firstly, we’re not gentlemen, ‘ the youngest of them, with a face like a peach, said finally. ‘Secondly,’ Philip Philipovich interrupted him, ‘are you a man or a woman?’ The four were silent again and their mouths dropped open. This time the shock-haired young man pulled himself together. ‘What difference does it make, comrade?’ he asked proudly. ‘I’m a woman,’ confessed the peach-like youth, who was wearing a leather jerkin, and blushed heavily.”Lastly, with the transplants of the human testes (and the pituitary gland) into Sharik, I’ll forever have a new image in my mind, the next time I hear the derogatory “Grow a pair” or “ball-busting” type of slams.P.S. Note Mr. Bulgakov’s explicit use of ‘dog’ vs. ‘man’ and ‘Sharik’ vs. ‘Sharikov’ when he wants the reader to think of the character in the form of a dog vs. a man in the book.Some quotes:I simply laughed at this ‘you’re such an idiot’ speech from the Professor to Sharikov:“But she slapped me across the mouth,’ whined Sharikov, ‘She can’t go doing that to me!”“She slapped you because you pinched her on the bosom, ’shouted Bormenthal, knocking over a glass. ‘You stand there and…”“You belong to the lowest possible stage of development,’ Philip Philipovich shouted him down. ‘You are still in the formative stage. You are intellectually weak, all your actions are purely bestial. Yet you allow yourself in the presence of two university-educated men to offer advice, with quite intolerable familiarity, on a cosmic scale and of quite cosmic stupidity, on the redistribution of wealth… and at the same time you eat toothpaste…” This resonated with me, as it mirrors the concept of ‘problem solving’ that an engineers do. What problem are we trying to solve? In this case, it’s simply wrong to mess with nature.“I quite agree with you. This, doctor, is what happens, when a researcher, instead of keeping in step with nature, tries to force the pace and lift the veil. Result – Sharikov……..”“I would perform the most difficult feat of my whole career by transplanting Spinoza’s, or anyone else’s pituitary and turning a dog into a highly intelligent being. But what in heaven’s name for? That’s the point. Will you kindly tell me why one has to manufacture artificial Spinozas when some pleasant woman may produce a real one any day of the week?”“Theoretically the experiment was interesting…… But what is its practical value?”

[lobotomy42 · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

It's hard to appreciate now how controversial and prescient this book must have been in 1920s Russia. I say this because this novel is apparently well-regarded and I sure as heck don't appreciate it.The prose, at least in Mirra Ginsburg's 1960s translation, is stilted and unfunny. The plot and themes are obvious and (in 2012) dated and decidedly stale. Communism - what a lark! It's true that, unlike so much classic Russian literature, this novel has the virtue of ending in less than 200 pages. It is an easy read. It manages to mimic the inner monologue of a dog in a not-unreadable way. And like much golden age sci-fi, the characters function well if you treat them as stand-ins for particular ideologies rather than as fully developed human-beings. The doctor-protagonist manages to articulate a coherent argument against remaking man. I suppose that it's possible that no one in 1920s Russia had developed or articulated these thoughts before Bulgakov. (But it seems unlikely.)Fundamentally its arguments against communism are largely the same ones any 20-year-old neo-con could articulate: "Sharing? Equality? Bah - it'll never work because people are louts!"

[hadriantheblind · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

This is really funny. Not quite on the level of Master and Margarita, but still pretty good.

A Soviet-era doctor, a cross between Pavlov, Lysenko, and Frankenstein, takes in a stray dog and transplants some 'vital human organs' into him. Much to his surprise, the dog begins to transform into a human being. The dog turns out to be a perfect scoundrel, tears up the furniture, swears a lot, hates manners, and promptly joins the animal control section of the local Communist Party, where he kills cats.

There is some deeper satire here about the whole Soviet apparatus, and their attempts to transform humanity, and all that. But this is really funny. I can imagine the original Russian is even better.

Master and Margarita is still my favorite Bulgakov, but this is fine, too.

[fieldnotes_1 · Calificación: 2 de 5 estrellas]

"Heart of a Dog" is a much less ambitious book than "The Master and Margarita." It satirizes a smaller swathe of Russian society and seems a prisoner of its own circular plot structure. It also has a less multi-dimensional cast and a more single-themed, malicious humor.When Dr. Phillipovich defends himself against the housing committee that seeks to distribute his seven room apartment to various working class citizens, the book is at its comical best. Shvonder and his earnest and uneducated comrades make an excellent target for Bulgakov's wit; but, the balance of the novella (after the rather slow fifty page warm up) pits the Dog/Man against the refined doctors and their easily scandalized domestic help, which is repetitive and unrewarding. The humor value of the Dr. turning different colors in fits of apopleptic rage diminishes almost page by page. It would be worth reading this book if you intend to compare it to other stories of animal-human metamorphosis or promothean/homunculus narratives. I can't recommend it for a stand alone reading. Bulgakov's "Margarita" is more worth a reader's time.

[rbaech · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Very disturbing, but extremely well-written. Bulgakov makes the reader question animal and human natures, and which is more brutal.

[shawnd_72 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Has Bulgakov's patented sense of humor. A little heavy on the sci fi for me but like many great Russian novels, weaves a subtle critique of government and society. And like Bulgakov, a critique of man and his needs and behavior. A must read for Bulgakov fans or science fiction.

[stillbeing · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Read this some time ago, and thought it was great. Although I think I perhaps missed some of the apparently biting social commentary on the times (my knowledge of Soviet history is nothing to boast about, really), it still made for a nice little fable, and would make for a great short film, I think.

[terrapinjetta_1 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Reminded me of Candide with the lively writing style. Wonderful book, as funny and animated as any more modern fiction.

[ttaisi5editor · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Sharp, engaging, somewhat surrealistic satire, but definitely not the same as Bulgakov's masterwork, "The Master and Margarita."

[eglinton_1 · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

The heavy tones of Frankenstein or Faust are revisited here with the earthy irreverence that Russian raconteurs, with their repertoire of dirty jokes and subversiveness, make such good use of. Bulgakov's vigorous style (and the superb translation from Michael Glenny) keeps us engaged, as the characters do their best to play it straight amidst the absurdities of post-tsarist upended Russia. The story and its treatment have shades of Kafka and Joyce, also from that era. As with them, the meaning, the what and why of it all, is hard to pin down, but that may be the point in such an unsettled world. Tempting to read on to Bulgakov’s purported masterpiece, as proclaimed in the blurb here and elsewhere, “The Master and Margarita”...

[greeniezona · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

It is not even reasonable to expect me to pass this book on the library shelves. First of all, it's by the author of The Master and Margarita, which I loved. Second, it's published by my darling Melville House Press. I very nearly purchased it during my last spree on their website. (Actually, I can't be certain that I didn't, as that last purchase is still sitting, unwrapped, on my kitchen table. Don't ask. I have issues.)

Heart of a Dog is a Frankenstein-type story set in early post-Soviet revolution Russia, in a doctor's home office that seems to be the last island of aristocratic life surrounded by a rising sea of comrade proletariat. In this story, the doctor's monster is a stray dog, rescued from the street to the lap of luxury before being implanted with human glands in an experimental surgery -- resulting in his shocking transformation to a vulgar, impulsive, vodka-swilling man.

I couldn't help feeling for every one of the characters in this book (at least at times), even when some of them were behaving very badly. Delightful, clever, and fun. Highly recommended.

[drfp_1 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

As much a piece of early 20th century science fiction as it is a critique of the early Soviet system. Bulgakov's novella has wonderfully light prose, in comparison to so many Russian authors of this era, and his writing shines. Yet whilst it's all very nice and easy to read the story did disappoint me by not being more forceful in its criticisms. Similarly, it's always a positive when a story doesn't outstay its welcome and drag on and on; however A Dog's Heart felt a little too short for its own good. I'm sure much more could have been made of the story had Bulgakov wished. For instance, the characters could have been further developed and the setting mined for greater satire (perhaps this would have happened if the story hadn't been seized before publication?).The result is the novella feels a tiny bit insubstantial. It's very enjoyable and quite an amusing read, but it's one which lacks that little something extra required to really dazzle.

[kukulaj · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

It'd be fun to compare this to Kafka's Metamorphosis! Prague vs. Moscow. Bulgakov's book is riotous satire. Probably most of it went flying right by me. But for a picture of Soviet urban life in 1925, this book is fresh and vivid. Perhaps the fact that the antagonist was a transformed dog gave Bulgakov license to express bold criticism that otherwise would have been too dangerous. Grand fun and great political satire, whatever the logic behind it!

[conniejo_1 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Great novella! It was a great comedy, until it got sad. Loved the comment on human nature towards the end, and especially loved how they solved the problem of Sharikov. I didn't think any of that would end well.I had been putting off reading Heart of a Dog for years, as I loved Master and Margarita so much that I knew anything else by Bulgakov would be disappointing. This is just a novella, and isn't nearly as ambitious, but it's still a pretty funny story that reflects the time period in which it was written very well.I read the Grove Press edition, which... I think was translated and typeset in 1968. It would have benefited from the same type of treatment as the annotated Master and Margarita, or even a few footnotes that pointed out historical or cultural references. Having just read a little bit about early 20th century Russian history, I picked up on some of it, but exactly how Bulgakov was lampooning the times would have been great.

[bayardus-1 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

One of my least favorite clichés in science fiction is man going "too far" with scientific advancement, with some new technology or process causing unintended horrors. Oryx & Crake, Jurassic Park, Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang, and of course The Island of Dr. Moreau (as well as many others) tell stories of artificial biological manipulation going terribly wrong, and the foolish message each of the works contains always rubbed me the wrong way. Despite having the same tired "scientist doing something because he can without thinking of whether he should" idea, Heart of a Dog isn't dragged down by it, as Bulgakov puts meaning into the story beyond just an author railing against new things.

In this Frankenstein story the subject of the experiment is a dog whose experience living on the streets of Moscow was probably my favorite piece of writing in the book- you feel the poverty and corruption, and general terribleness of life in Soviet Russia at that time. Taken in by the famous scientist Philip Philipovich to be a subject of an experiment and named Sharikov, the dog gets to see how the wealthy live, in stark contrast to his life before. It's not all easy for the good doctor, though, as a housing committee is pressuring him to give up some of his spacious apartments. To maintain his luxuries Philipovich acts as a mad-scientist for hire, performing rejuvenation procedures on high officials, willing to do whatever it takes to enable his client’s vices and thereby maintain his own comfort in a Moscow where comfort is getting harder and harder to afford. There is no spirit of communism in this Russia- those who are well-off take action to keep what they have, and those who aren’t well-off try to exert pressure to take from those who have a disproportionate amount. One is more equitable, neither is pure hearted.

Philipovich attempts a daring operation that has the unintended result of turning the stray dog into a man by implanting testicles and the pituitary gland- man being nothing but a lusting beast. The resulting "man" is a brute, though he couldn't very well be a saint in the Moscow of this era- everything is poverty and the struggle to survive for the poor, and corruption for the rich. Still, he's even more reprehensible than most, developing some of the absolutely worst features of a human, to the extent that eventually Philipovich and his assistant reverse the procedure.

Everything in this short book reveals the doomed nature of the soviet state, from the living conditions of the populace to the corrupted bureaucracy. The transformation of Sharikov seems to be more than a tale of the follies of eugenics, he seems symbolic of the creation of the soviet state: educated men create it without thinking through all the consequences, and then are surprised by its failure due to the base instincts of man. Even the small things are an indictment of communism, such as the scene where Philipovich laments that the revolution has brought changes like the loss of minor comforts- carpeting on the stairs, flowers in the hall, the courtesy to take your dirty shoes off when you go into someone’s apartment- the absence of which doesn’t hurt anyone. I'm not suggesting that Philipovich is supposed to be purely sympathetic, here, but Bulgakov puts a lot of anti-communist ideas in his mouth and doesn't have anyone refute them. The resolution suggests that the only way for the educated men to become healthy again is to do away with their creation, and, while the end is a disturbing scene, it seems the best out of a lot of bad possibilities.

Bulgakov gives the story of a scientist trying "to force the pace and lift the veil" of nature much more depth than a screed against scientific advancement, he makes it symbolic of the entirety of the Russian Revolution and the resulting state. Science fiction fans (of which I am one) oftentimes like to think that the genre uses its trappings to say something about society and the world- unfortunately, works of science fiction rarely do something so interesting. Heart of a Dog, however, does. It's amazing that Bulgakov got away with such a satire, but I'm glad he did.

[zuoaide · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

very interesting book. Easy to read and deep meanings, so you can choice how to read it.

[gbill_7 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

In “Heart of a Dog” Bulgakov displays both fantastic imagination and biting political satire, and as this book was also written in post-revolutionary Russia but suppressed and not published until decades later, it reminds me of his masterpiece “The Master and the Margarita”, albeit much shorter.The novella grabs you at the outset by being narrated from a stray dog’s perspective. He’s taken in and given shelter by a nice doctor, only to discover that the doctor has ulterior motives. The dog sees a collection of patients being brought in for very odd treatments, such as monkey ovary transplants. The doctor is tampering with nature, and soon begins an experiment on the dog which forms the basis for the rest of the story.There is a lyricism and playfulness in Bulgakov’s writing which is a joy to read, as in this passage: “Ducking her head, the young lady threw herself into attack, broke through the gates, and out into the street; the blizzard began to spin and spin her around, push her this way and that, till she became a column of swirling snow and disappeared.” Examples abound. While doing the operation on the dog, the doctor is described as a “satiated vampire”; later the dog is described to be swearing “tenderly and melodiously, his tongue twisting over the obscenities”. Aside from the humor, what is the message of this story? Bulgakov is reacting to two elements of the modern world (c. 1925) that he was aghast over. The first is communism, or “divide everything” as he puts it in the book, the taking of socialism to such an extreme that people like doctors who truly are of more value to society are levelized with the rest of humanity, and in that way devalued. This was certainly seen in Russia, as well as decades later in China during the Cultural Revolution with disastrous results. He also pokes fun at communism as removing the distinction between the sexes; on a couple of tongue-in-cheek occasions he has women mistaken for men.The other movement he reacts to is eugenics, the belief that a better human race could be created by controlling the breeding of “undesirables”. Sound insane? Lest we forget, this was a worldwide movement at this time, including a strong base in America. It was taken to an extreme by the Nazis in the middle of the century and went from controlling breeding to outright extermination of “lesser” peoples.If you think about it, these movements are diametric opposites: the first, communism, espousing that every person’s contribution to society is equal, and that all possessions should be divided up; the second, eugenics, that the race is so varied that “undesirables” should be weeded out of the gene pool, and that a better human race could be created scientifically. In “Heart of a Dog” Bulgakov illustrates that both sides are wrong: the first robs those who would advance humanity and creates a mob; the second tampers with nature. He mocks both, saying to just leave well enough alone. How right he was.Quotes:On not tampering with nature:“Certainly it might be possible to graft the hypophysis of Spinoza or some such devil, and turn a dog into a highly advanced human. But what in hell for? Tell me, please, why is it necessary to manufacture Spinozas artificially when any peasant woman can produce them at any time? … Doctor the human race takes care of this by itself, and every year, in the course of its evolution, it creates dozens of outstanding geniuses who adorn the earth, stubbornly selecting them out of the mass of scum.”On communism, capturing the argument ‘for’:“One man spreads himself out in seven rooms and has forty pairs of pants, and another hangs around garbage dumps, looking for something to eat.”And ‘against’:“You are a creature just in the process of formation, with a feeble intellect. All your actions are the actions of an animal. Yet you permit yourself to speak with utterly insufferable impudence in the presence of two people with a university education – to offer advice on a cosmic scale and of equally cosmic stupidity on how to divide everything…”

[banoo_2 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

It is said that a dog is man's best friend. But what if that dog was given a human pituitary gland and suddenly turned human, the pituitary gland of a miscreant and a human of coarse behavior, a slightly grotesque human?I'm still not sure why the doctor even bothered giving the dog the testicles of a man unless the doctor already figured out that most thinking stems from the lower regions. The dog did try to use his new testicles but Bulgakov left out the details.I did like the narrative of the dog in the early chapter. Whoo-hoo-oo-hoo-oo-oo! The later shift to third-person narrative was subtle and well handled. And at the end we are brought back to the dog's point-of-view.Bulgakov created a funny tale that was a metaphor, an analogy, a trope tale of Russia in the 1920's. Written in 1925 the book was immediately banned and only published in 1987. And in 1987 the book was still relevant because little had changed in Russia.A fun little read. Now I'm off to lick myself.

[richardderus · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Rating: 4*of fiveThe Publisher Says: A new edition of Bulgakov’s fantastical precursor to The Master and Margarita, part of Melville House’s reissue of the Bulgakov backlist in Michael Glenny’s celebrated translations.A key work of early modernism, this is the superbly comic story of a Soviet scientist and a scroungy Moscow mongrel named Sharik. Attempting a medical first, the scientist transplants the glands of a petty criminal into the dog and, with that, turns a distinctly worryingly human animal loose on the city. The new, lecherous, vulgar, Engels-spouting Sharik soon finds his niche in governmental bureaucracy as the official in charge of purging the city of cats. A Frankenstein fable that’s as funny as it is terrifying, The Heart of a Dog has also been read as a fierce parable of the Russian Revolution. It was rejected for publication by the censors in 1925, and circulated in samizdat for years until Michael Glenny translated it into English in 1968—long before it was allowed to be officially published in the Soviet Union. That happened only in 1987, although till this day the book remains one of Mikhail Bulgakov’s most controversial novels in his native country. My Review: Anyone who's ever read The Master and Margarita already knows that Bulgakov is a rebel, an anarchist, and damn good and funny with it. His thoughts were, based on the novels I've read, contrarian in the extreme as well as profoundly sensitive to practical concerns:“The rule apparently is – once a social revolution takes place there’s no need to stoke the boiler. But I ask you: why, when this whole business started, should everybody suddenly start clumping up and down the marble staircase in dirty galoshes and felt boots? Why must we now keep our galoshes under lock and key? And put a soldier on guard over them to prevent them from being stolen? Why has the carpet been removed from the front staircase? Did Marx forbid people to keep their staircases carpeted? Did Karl Marx say anywhere that the front door of No. 2 Kalabukhov House in Prechistenka Street must be boarded up so that people have to go round and come in by the back door? What good does it do anybody? Why can’t the proletarians leave their galoshes downstairs instead of dirtying the staircase?’‘But the proletarians don’t have any galoshes, Philip Philipovich,’ stammered the doctor.” And the simple truth about revolution that probably contributed heavily to the book's suppression in the Soviet era:“People who think you can use terror are quite wrong. No, no, terror is useless, whatever its colour – white, red or even brown! Terror completely paralyses the nervous system.” He saw the terror around him, saw the results, and distilled a response into a short phrase. That's writing that's a joy to read.But we can't leave revolutionary-era Moscow without hearing from the eponymous heart-haver. Early in the book, we're told the sad tale of an unwanted dog whose people-savvy beats that of most of the humans I've ever met:Eyes mean a lot. Like a barometer. They tell you everything-they tell you who has a heart of stone, who would poke the toe of his boot in your ribs as soon as look at you-and who’s afraid of you. The cowards – they’re the ones whose ankles I like to snap at. If they’re scared, I go for them. Serve them right..grrr..bow-wow…” All hail Michael Glenny, of blessed memory since dying in 1990. Without him, Bulgakov's banned and suppressed works might remain out of the English-speaker's reach.

[proustitutes · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Finished this with tears in my eyes at 1:54 in the morning, and anxiously awaiting my lecture on it tomorrow afternoon. It's THAT good.

In this short novel, written in the mid 1920's in Soviet Russia and not published until the 80's, Bulgakov manages a few different levels of awareness. The surface level is a moderately comedic story about a scientist that transplants a human's brain into a dog's body, at which point the dog (Sharikov) begins to become progressively "human". The human-like creature, though, still has dog tendencies (chasing after cats in the small apartment, etc) which create the funny scenes.

On a deeper level, though, Bulgakov pens a scatching critique of Soviet Russian society. He knows that Sharikov is lacking what makes a human being, well, a human: a heart. Not the physical surgeon la-dee-da heart, but the moral heart that tells you when something's right or wrong. Not-so-coincidentally, pulling a few various pieces together reveals that Bulgakov thought that this was what the Soviets were repressing in the population--morals, good choices, individually, all sorts of "heart"-related concepts.

Essentially, it's Sharikov's lack of morals and feelings that make us realize how very important these qualities are in humans to make us who we are.

To pack just that bit of extra punch to the story, we receive the dog's perspective in both the beginning AND the end of the novel. In the beginning we keep in mind the innocent dog's expressions and interpreations of the human world around him. They are undoubtedly endearing passages. After going through the whole novel, once Sharikov the dog/human undergoes his transformation and loses his narrative voice, we again at the end are permitted a short glimpse at the dog's thoughts. THIS is what made me cry. The loss of innocence. Or, perhaps, the regaining of it after all that had been said and done.

I give this my highest marks and fondest love !!

[josephcamilleri-1 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

A biological experiment carried out by an eminent Moscow scientist goes horribly wrong and turns a likeable mongrel into an obnoxious human being and would-be follower of the Communist party. This novella reads like a satirical, darkly comic parody of Frankenstein. Like Shostakovich, Bulgakov kept an ambiguous relationship with the Soviet authorities. If his magnum opus The Master and Margarita were to be compared to one of Shostakovich's symphonies (the bleak 4th, perhaps, or the enigmatic 5th), Heart of a Dog would be one of the jazz or ballet suites - slighter, lighter but no less hard-hitting.