Russian novelist and dramatist Mikhail Bulgakov (1891--1940) is one of the foremost satirists of the twentieth century and most famous for The Master and Margarita.
This is a very good place to start on Bulgakov if you haven’t read any of his work before. All his manic energy is here; and so, largely, is his talent. (...) In Notes on a Cuff you can see one of the most original voices of the 20th century starting to find itself. Congratulations to the publisher for making it available to us. * The Guardian * Loyal fans will enjoy spotting the great writer's early seeds of talent. * The Times * Roger Cockrell's unstrained and highly readable translations capture with admirable versatility the whole gamut of situations, characters and voices encompassed in this absorbing collection of stories. * East-West Review * Vigorous, unevenly brilliant and deeply felt, (these stories) amply justify Bulgakov's attraction to the darker aspects of his times... they sparkle with herlter-skelter Gogolian verve. * TLS *