Il Maestro e Margherita

One sentence synopsis... Completely bonkers political satire that weaves together two tales - in one the Devil and his entourage visit Soviet Moscow and in the other Pontius Pilate is tormented by his choice to sentence Jesus to death. .

Read it if you like... ‘Faust', Gabriel Gracía Márquez, The Rolling Stones song ‘Sympathy for the Devil' (Jagger referenced the book as an inspiration for the song in 1968). This is not your typical Russian novel with painful chapters of peasants doing farm work (looking at you Tolstoy), it's really funny and layered - and features a giant, murderous cat. Woland is a better fictional imagining of the devil than even the legendary classic ‘Meet Joe Black'. .

Dream casting... Baz Luhrmann just bought the rights to make it into a movie. I couldn't think of a better director to take this challenging novel on than him.