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Title details for Devil Is Fine by John Vercher - Available

Devil Is Fine

A Novel

by John Vercher
Dion Graham
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
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2 of 2 copies available

This program is read by award-winning narrator Dion Graham.
"Devil Is Fine is self-deprecatingly tender, often bracingly hilarious, and at its heart is a runaway train through the haunted house of us. And I loved it. Don't miss it." —Dion Graham
"Graham's rich, inviting, sigh-inducing voice magically weaves another irresistible aural web...Graham is wondrous throughout, seamlessly assuming and discarding characterizations with accuracy and aplomb, from dubious allies to empathic strangers and pretentious experts. His impressive range effortlessly melds dark humor, chaotic surrealism, and historic horror into another rewardingly mesmerizing performance." —Booklist (Starred Review)
From acclaimed novelist John Vercher, a profoundly moving novel of what it means to be a father, a son, a writer, and a biracial American fighting to reconcile the past
Reeling from the sudden death of his teenage son, our narrator receives a letter from an attorney: he has just inherited a plot of land from his estranged grandfather. He travels to a beach town several hours south of his home with the intention of immediately selling the land. But upon inspection, what lies beneath the dirt is much more than he can process in the throes of grief. As a biracial Black man struggling with the many facets of his identity, he's now the owner of a former plantation passed down by the men on his white mother's side of the family.
Vercher deftly blurs the lines between real and imagined, past and present, tragedy and humor, and fathers and sons in this story of discovery—and a fight for reclamation—of a painful past. With the wit of Paul Beatty's The Sellout and the nuance of Zadie Smith's On Beauty, Devil Is Fine is a darkly funny and brilliantly crafted dissection of the legacies we leave behind and those we inherit.
A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    June 18, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781250350268
      • File size: 248004 KB
      • Duration: 08:36:40

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 15, 2024
      In the wrenching latest from Vercher (After the Lights Go Out), a struggling biracial writer reckons with his painful family history. The unnamed novelist addresses his narration to his late 17-year-old son, Malcolm (the cause of Malcolm’s unexpected death isn’t revealed until later), as he grapples with his bitterness toward the publishing industry and his white grandfather, who lives in a nursing home and is estranged from the narrator because of “some racial stuff.” After Malcolm’s funeral, the narrator receives a letter from his grandfather’s attorney, explaining that his grandfather had given Malcolm a mid-Atlantic oceanfront estate, and that it would now transfer to him. After human skeletons are discovered on the property, he learns it was once a slave plantation and has been passed down through the generations of his white ancestors. While visiting the property, he has vivid visions of an ancestor brutalizing enslaved people in the name of saving their souls. The boy heretic in his visions refuses to submit, saying, “Better to reign than serve.” In a beautiful and weighty turn, these nightmarish scenes help the narrator to better understand Malcolm’s rejection of the Christian faith his father attempted to instill in him. Readers won’t be able to look away. Agent: David Hale Smith, InkWell Management.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Acclaimed narrator Dion Graham performs this dynamic, artfully crafted novel about a biracial author/academic who becomes the owner of a plantation on the Delmarva Peninsula after the death of his son. This work of literary fiction morphs back and forth from reality to fantasy, from tragedy to dark humor, from past trauma to present emotional upheavals. Graham's voice is well suited to its troubled, talented, and complicated protagonist. The voice we hear is vaguely African American, educated, and passionate. Graham animates many memorable characters, including the biracial bartender, the infuriating college dean, the recalcitrant teenage son. This literary gem is about legacies--not only about what's received but about what each of us leaves behind. D.L.G. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      December 6, 2024

      In this meta novel addressing the complexities of self-actualization, past and present traumas, and grief, Vercher (After the Lights Go Out) scripts one father's journey from overwhelming loss to rebirth. Undone by the death of his 17-year-old son, an unnamed biracial professor and author is smothered by anguish. His distress is compounded when he is informed that he will inherit a mid-Atlantic oceanfront estate previously owned by his white grandfather and originally bequeathed to the man's son. While visiting his new property, the man is distraught to learn that it was once a plantation, where archaeologists have unearthed the remains of enslaved people. Visitations from his son's apparition as well as visions of his embodiment as one of his white ancestors and of his body morphing into a jellyfish further tilt his axis. With aid from two locals who become close friends and his son's ghost, the father battles through personal issues surrounding race, mourning, and religion. Award-winning narrator Dion Graham admirably performs the myriad characters in this stylistically complex literary drama and convincingly communicates the unconventional text images found in the print edition. VERDICT For listeners who enjoy unorthodox tales of personal growth and for fans of Jason Mott's Hell of a Book.--Kym Goering

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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