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Title: I, Lucifer: Finally, the Other Side of the Story by Glen Duncan ISBN: 0-8021-4014-9 Publisher: Grove Press Pub. Date: 01 May, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.11 (9 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Yes, Fallen Angels *Do* Have More Fun
Comment: Glen Duncan's "I, Lucifer," is an entertaining, hip-hop-be-bop riff on the existence of Satan and his role in the universe. Told in a witty, pell-mell screed that tears off down seemingly random tangents at a moment's notice and replete with parenthetical asides, "I, Lucifer" has moments of sheer brilliance.
The plot is straightforward. Lucifer, whose very existence is a daily nightmare of pain, is offered the opportunity to get back into Heaven - all he has to do is occupy the body of a lowly writer (Declan Gunn -- one of the book's less successful attempts at wit) for a month without committing any major sin that would anger God. Lucifer, with no intention of returning to Heavan, thinks it would be a larf and accepts. Soon he has used his minions to create a flush bank account, obtained residency at a swanky hotel, and engages in a full-blooded orgy of wine, women, drugs, and an apparent assault on Hollywood in the guise of writing the next great screenplay.
"I, Lucifer" is at its best when Lucifer drops some bombshells about the world as he sees it -- original sin, the concept of time, the truth about the Fall, etc. Duncan has actually done his homework, and the text is solidly grounded in its subject, and he makes some sense out of the various paradoxes in the popular conception of Lucifer. (Why, for example, would Lucifer want Jesus to sacrifice himself for our sins, thereby confirming and validating the Christian faith? Wouldn't the archetype of evil have better strategies than that?)
"I, Lucifer" is also a lot of fun when it savages our modern world. Elton John's attorneys probably considered a lawsuit after the savaging he receives from Lucifer's savage typewriter. Here, Duncan's writing is at its most crisp and entertaining.
Lucifer also goes to great, entertaining lengths to describe the wonders that are the human senses. The image of Satan "letting it all hang out" just to feel the breeze, thereby shocking the neighbors, is delightful. However, it is a bit inconsistent. Satan is repeatedly agog at the wonders of the senses, and regales us with tales of sniffing such wondrous items as dog manure, but yet Satan does not have much to say about the wonders of cocaine (does he really, really need the stuff?) or the details of his repeated appointments with London's high-end escorts? Considering the amount of snorting and wenching going on, Lucifer's reticence is a bit surprising.
There is a sub-plot about Lucifer writing the next great screenplay, a true perspective on the Fall from Grace, but this doesn't really make sense, since there is no way that Lucifer is going to pull this off in the 30-day time period he has, and after Lucifer has left Gunn's body, there is no way that Gunn is going to know the story in order to sell it. This angle does allow for some good jokes at Hollywood's expense and we get to see the comeuppance of a rival of Gunn's, but it doesn't quite jibe.
Also, the book kind of goes off-kilter when Lucifer, unable to keep Gunn's tics from affecting his behavior, exchanges a tender moment with Penelope, Gunn's ex-girlfriend. Even though it's interesting to see Lucifer experiencing a bit of a bout of conscience, the Lucifer of these scenes does not match the Lucifer of the rest of the story.
A bit of a stilted ending, with the arrival of Rafael, sends this tale out with a whimper more than a bang, but a clever and chilling postscript nearly saves the day.
If you are not familiar with first-person, stream-of-conscience writing, you may want to skim a few pages before buying the book. Apparently not everyone likes this writing style. Duncan pulls it off very well, and it's appropriate for the piece - is Lucifer the kind of guy who would allow anyone else to speak for him?
Rating: 4
Summary: The Devil is in the Details
Comment: It was the concept of the book that caught me. After being overwhelmed with information about The Passion of the Christ, last month I began to counter program myself to the onslaught of Christian propaganda. I began to watch anything and everything that refused to take Religion(tm) seriously.
I started with Lamb by Christopher Moore. I watched Life of Brian thirty times. Then, by the grace of God (or the other guy) I found this book. How perfect could a tell-all memoir by the Prince of Darkness be? The answer is, "just about".
God makes Lucifer a deal. Spend a month in human form without commiting a mortal sin and receive the one thing that would tempt the devil - a free pass back into heaven with an entry level position in the angelic ranks. The book is a great big testament to the human experience and how we take everything we can for granted.
The writing style gets a little over-the-top at parts, but if you remind yourself that the narrator IS the Devil, you should be able to forgive it. It's a fun read and an intriguing look at the ways of God, the meaning of Evil and the concept of salvation in general.
Some people have suggested that Christians should stay away from this. While that's probably a given, I would like them to keep one thing in mind. THE NARRATOR IS THE DEVIL. If you feel that the book glorifies Satan, is full of lies and evil thoughts, you are probably right. What else do you expect from the Devil?
Rating: 1
Summary: Good Concept, Convoluded writing
Comment: A good concept. Walking through the book store I saw the same old story. This book grabbed my eye as possibly something different.
Unfortunately, the concept was undermined by writing that resembled a deposition. Perhaps the book is written well for a drugged out, middle aged Satan, but I found it difficult to follow. The narative was more of an inside joke for the writer than an explanation or good storytelling.
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Title: The Devil's Apocrypha: There Are Two Sides to Every Story by John A. De Vito ISBN: 059525070X Publisher: Writers Club Press Pub. Date: 01 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Satan Burger by Carlton Mellick III ISBN: 0971357234 Publisher: Eraserhead Press Pub. Date: 01 December, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title:I Lucifer ASIN: B0001HOX1E Publisher: Six Degrees Pub. Date: 11 May, 2004 List Price(USD): $16.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $13.99 |
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Title: Fallen Angels and the Origins of Evil: Why Church Fathers Suppressed the Book of Enoch and Its Startling Revelations by Elizabeth Clare Prophet ISBN: 0922729433 Publisher: Summit University Press Pub. Date: 01 March, 2000 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title:Where Psyche Meets Cupid ASIN: B00005NWOF Publisher: Kindercore Records Pub. Date: 11 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $11.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $10.99 |
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