The Master and Margarita

An ironic parable on power and its corruption, on good and evil, and on human frailty and the strength of love. The Devil appears in Moscow accompanied by a retinue of characters including a large vodka-drinking, pistol toting, black cat named Behemoth, the beautiful Margarita, and a writer known only as "The Master." These characters are joined by Pontius Pilate and Jesus Christ to combine in a wildly entertaining and unforgettable tale. Bulgakov tirelessly reworked the text of this book, going through eight separate versions in twelve years, the final corrections being dictated by Bulgakov to his wife after he had gone blind. Banned for decades in the Soviet Union, it was first published there in a censored version in 1966.