The Master and Margarita

“How can I describe the fantastical ride that is The Master and Margarita? Well, I probably can't do it as well as the blurb from 50 Watts Books: "Written in secret during the darkest days of Stalin's reign, The Master and Margarita became an overnight literary phenomenon when it was finally published it, signalling artistic freedom for Russians everywhere. Bulgakov's carnivalesque satire of Soviet life describes how the Devil, trailing fire and chaos in his wake, weaves himself out of the shadows and into Moscow one Spring afternoon. Brimming with magic and incident, it is full of imaginary, historical, terrifying and wonderful characters, from witches, poets and Biblical tyrants to the beautiful, courageous Margarita, who will do anything to save the imprisoned writer she loves." A line that haunts me, that I'm totally quoting out of context and probably not verbatim: "No, leave from my memory then I'll be free" -Margarita”

“Perhaps my favorite novel… a beautiful meditation on good and evil as explored through the devil visiting 1930’s Moscow, inciting a variety of psychedelically hilarious results. Also worth looking into is the story of the novel’s publishing, which could be a novel itself.”

“Underground Russian lit with a divine twist is the new beach read.”

“Specifically the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation”

“It’s a classic, but it’s the opposite of dusty. On rereading it this summer I found myself laughing out loud, squinting with amazement and deeply touched by the human elements. It’s also a fascinating look into the context of Russian history and the necessity for deeply surrealistic allegory.”

“my favorite book of all time. a great book if you're ever at a crossroads in your life, or if everything in your life has just collapsed and nothing seems to make sense.”

“My favorite novel of all time.”