The Master and Margarita
Mikhail Bulgakov's satire of the devil's visit to Soviet Russia, in Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky's Penguin Classics translation.
Mikhail Bulgakov wrote The Master and Margarita in the Soviet Union between 1928 and 1940, and a censored version first ran in a Moscow magazine in 1966 and 1967. The devil, as Professor Woland, arrives with his entourage and challenges Soviet citizens’ beliefs about religion. Nino Haratischwili is an evangelist for it. She calls it a testimony to the absurdity of the Soviet system and remembers going from tears to laughter page by page.
Recommended by 1 Person
Nino Haratischwili
For me, it's a masterpiece on so many levels! A testimony to the absurdity of the Soviet system, a philosophical treatise and at the same time one of the most beautiful, saddest and at the same time funniest books I have ever read.
Interview · September 2025
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