The Fatal Eggs

Mikhail Bulgakov · 1891–1940 · Ukraine / Russia

Originally Rokovye Yaitsa (Russian)

Why it matters

A Moscow zoologist's growth ray, meant to save Soviet farming, is mixed up with the wrong eggs and hatches monstrous reptiles that overrun the countryside. Bulgakov's earliest major satire turns scientific utopianism into slapstick catastrophe.

At a glance

A short, fast-moving satirical novella with a clear science-gone-wrong plot.