The Master and Margarita

Weird from start to finish, both subtle political satire and imaginative escapade, Bulgakov's masterpiece is certainly something that will stay with the reader for a long time. I can't think of any other book that manages to combine modern-day Moscow (at least modern for the author) with Jerusalem in the time of Christ, or the pranks of the literal Devil and his gang with a deep narrative about an artist's struggle to express himself in a society where this is forbidden and a woman's eternal devotion to this same man and his work. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll simply quote a phrase that I think perfectly summarizes this novel:
“Kindly consider the question: what would your good do if evil did not exist, and what would the earth look like if shadows disappeared from it?”
And of course the eternal:
“Manuscripts don't burn.”