A soaring dazzling novel (The New York Times) Mirra Ginsburg s critically-acclaimed translation of one of the most important and best-loved modern classics in world literature The Master and Margarita has been captivating readers around the world ever since its first publication in 1967. Written during Stalin s time in power but suppressed in the Soviet Union for decades Bulgakov s masterpiece is an ironic parable on power and its corruption on good and evil and on human frailty and the strength of love. In The Master and Margarita the Devil himself pays a visit to Soviet Moscow. Accompanied by a retinue that includes the fast-talking vodka-drinking giant tomcat Behemoth he sets about creating a whirlwind of chaos that soon involves the beautiful Margarita and her beloved a distraught writer known only as the Master and even Jesus Christ and Pontius Pilate. The Master and Margarita combines fable fantasy political satire and slapstick comedy to create a wildly entertaining and unforgettable tale that is commonly considered the greatest novel to come out of the Soviet Union. It appears in this edition in a translation by Mirra Ginsburg that was judged brilliant by Publishers Weekly.