#8 Book Suggestion

The Master and Margarita, by Bulgakov. My colleague in Russian literature calls this the most important Russian novel of the first half of the twentieth century, and while that may be arguable, that this is a sensational work is not. Three distinct narratives weave in and out, highlighted by the farcical and satirical Russia of the 1920s and 1930 (Stalin's terror) and a serious story of Pilate and Yeshua (=Jesus, stripped of all messianic attributes) with an amazing crucifixion scene. Note especially the clever ways the narrator/author connects these two stories set 1,900 years apart (e.g. weather, architecture, time frame).