Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita

This novel, unfortunately, is not as popular in the American canon as it should be. Bulgakov chronicles the difficulties of living and expression for artists under the restricted condition of the socialist regime, while facing these same problems in publishing his own work. This is a beautifully written book, and to increase the appeal of it, I will say that it begins with the devil coming to live among the rest of us with 2 of his minions. This is a wonderful novel, I highly recommend it.