On the run Book

Flight by Mikhail Bulgakov
I liked the Whites, for all their faults…they were fighting the Reds and that absolves many of their sins
At times, the play was…seraphic

Yesterday I was learning about the exploits of a colonel in Latin America, who had been a leader of a revolutionary unit.
Today, I have been following in the footsteps of fugitives that are running away from the Reds and their ordeal.

- The two share a concept of "revolutionary, fight for a good cause"
- If you want my view, the colonel and the Reds are fighting for the Evil

Having lived under a communist regime, I loathe, resent, despise and have even developed an allergy for the commies.
The rejection extends to left wing parties and candidates that are alas so dominant in my part of the world.
Even I prefer a smaller state, lower taxes and lower state spending, I would still vote for Clinton against Trump…
Given the choice.

Serafima is the heroine of this play and, in spite of her seraphic name, she is a complex character that is taken down by fate.
There may be redemption and I will not speculate, since there was no spoiler alert.

Sergei Golubkov is the other main personage, a positive character, in his case, a man without a fault… almost.
He is in love with Serafima and follows her and tries to help his loved one even when that involves walking for thousands of miles.
In the role of the evil, bad guy we have Korzukhin, who reneges his wife, not just once, but throughout different countries and circumstances.
What is very good about this work, among other aspects, is the complexity of the characters and their actions.
I have established that I am lock, stock and barrel in the White camp, but there are atrocities committed there as well as on the opposite side.
The humor is somewhat intertwined with the tragic, for instance in the case where a White officer has to escape:

- There was no way out, I had to take these papers, but it turned out they were for…a woman!!
- And what was more outrageous, she was pregnant…so I went about saying I am about to give birth

The story is told in eight "dreams" that work like chapters, and at one moment the reader/listener is told:
- "Actually, this is not a dream, it happened in Russia"
And indeed, it was a nightmare that involved mass killings, emigration and suffering, hunger and prostitution for food, deceit and blackmail.

But I prefer to see this as an extraordinary tale of

- Valor, grit, bravery, respect for human rights, strength and justice
- Fighting against the communists has always been a worthy cause
- If you ask me, even in Vietnam…