The acclaimed, bestselling translation of Mikhail Bulgakov's
masterwork, an undisputed classic of Russian and world literature
An audacious revision of the stories of Faust and Pontius Pilate, The
Master and Margarita is recognized as one of the essential classics of
modern Russian literature. The novel's vision of Soviet life in the
1930s is so ferociously accurate that it could not be published during
its author's lifetime and appeared only in a censored edition in the
1960s. Its truths are so enduring that its language has become part of
the common Russian speech. Now The Overlook Press is reissuing this
acclaimed translation in an all-new package.
One hot spring, the devil arrives in Moscow, accompanied by a retinue
that includes a beautiful naked witch and an immense talking black cat
with a fondness for chess and vodka. The visitors quickly wreak havoc in
a city that refuses to believe in either God or Satan. But they also
bring peace to two unhappy Muscovites: one is the Master, a writer
pilloried for daring to write a novel about Christ and Pontius Pilate;
the other is Margarita, who loves the Master so deeply that she is
willing to literally go to hell for him. What ensues is a novel of
inexhaustible energy, humor, and philosophical depth, a work whose
nuances splendidly emerge in Diana Burgin's and Katherine Tiernan
O'Connor's superb English translation, with an afterword and extensive
commentary by Ellendea Proffer.
