Bulgakov’s novel is full of mysticism, fantasy, and religion. The plot is mostly set in pre-Great Patriotic War communist Moscow. There is much mystery and more than a little devilish magic. Ten ruble notes turn into worthless scraps of paper and back into money again. A large black cat walks on his hind legs and pours himself glasses of vodka, while playing chess. Pigs fly and buildings burst into flames. The Devil plays a proponent role in the story, as he befuddles a bevy of Muscovites and causes mischief and worse all around the city. And, somewhat even more enchanting, Bulgakov has written a novel within his novel, which depicts the details around the last days of Jesus, after his condemnation by Pontus Pilate. Bulgakov’s story skips around from character to character, but is linked by the mayhem caused by the Devil and his crew of wicked subordinates. The mysterious Master is introduced to the reader as an inmate in an insane asylum, who has abandoned his lover Margarita. There is dark humor throughout the book. The scene shifts to a mysterious underworld where a monkey band plays jazz, skeletons turn to men dressed in tuxedos, and polar bears mingle with naked ladies swimming in pools of brandy, before the story returns to biblical Judea and Moscow. As Margarita says, “it’s not everyday you meet up with an evil power!”
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