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_kayrae's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
gadicohen93's review against another edition
5.0
Donald Ray Pollock, you and your Arvin Russel knocked me stiff. This is like a darker, funnier Coen Bros film. It's sick on so many levels. Sick with little black sores oozing out a thick, literary juice. I drank it all up.
I love Pollock's style: He writes characters by getting into their heads--even the psychopaths, revealing to us all their sick little thoughts as they diddle about their lives, trying to get by in hicksville, Ohio/West VA. He sets up situations that got me all riled up and built up tension that felt exploitative and profound at the same time. I loved how real all the characters seemed. They were so removed from my life, but I still sympathized with them, or at least understood them as human beings.
The Devil All the Time is just dripping with an overpowering cynicism. These characters live in a world where no one really cares about them, every man for himself – except God is there for them all. God is there for these people. Laughing my ass off. I laughed so many times. It’s kind of horrific, the kinds of things I laughed at, and that made this book such a revelation to me – it ridiculed death and poverty and ignorance so skillfully, but it still kept a strong moral backbone, if that makes sense. It was hilariously nihilistic, but also realistic to the point of horror.
I had tiny qualms. I didn’t like the Roy/Theodore storyline as much as the others. And looking back, the book’s title feels too trivial, unimposingly unrelated to the plot– though in a way, I feel like that’s exactly fitting for this book. The small, irrelevant details about these characters’ lives sneak up on you and keep you fabulously entertained all the way to the last part, when all the loose ends come crashing into each other, and you realize you’ve been chuckling with the Devil the entire time.
I love Pollock's style: He writes characters by getting into their heads--even the psychopaths, revealing to us all their sick little thoughts as they diddle about their lives, trying to get by in hicksville, Ohio/West VA. He sets up situations that got me all riled up and built up tension that felt exploitative and profound at the same time. I loved how real all the characters seemed. They were so removed from my life, but I still sympathized with them, or at least understood them as human beings.
The Devil All the Time is just dripping with an overpowering cynicism. These characters live in a world where no one really cares about them, every man for himself – except God is there for them all. God is there for these people. Laughing my ass off. I laughed so many times. It’s kind of horrific, the kinds of things I laughed at, and that made this book such a revelation to me – it ridiculed death and poverty and ignorance so skillfully, but it still kept a strong moral backbone, if that makes sense. It was hilariously nihilistic, but also realistic to the point of horror.
I had tiny qualms. I didn’t like the Roy/Theodore storyline as much as the others. And looking back, the book’s title feels too trivial, unimposingly unrelated to the plot– though in a way, I feel like that’s exactly fitting for this book. The small, irrelevant details about these characters’ lives sneak up on you and keep you fabulously entertained all the way to the last part, when all the loose ends come crashing into each other, and you realize you’ve been chuckling with the Devil the entire time.
jjwalkerwrites's review against another edition
‘Arvin didn’t know which was worse, the drinking or the praying. As far back as he could remember, it seemed that his father had fought the Devil all the time.’
The Devil All The Time is Southern Gothic at its best in that it highlights people at their worst.
Set in rural Ohio and West Virginia, it jumps between different characters and storylines, offering an unflinching and haunting look at humanity’s underbelly. The way those storylines overlap, the way they’re written, and the hopelessness of it all creates a feeling that the Devil truly is at work all the time, and there’s nothing you can do but watch.
While it’s gripping and one that I highly recommend, be aware that this book doesn’t hold back. It’s violent, it’s ugly, and it’s disturbing. Not one for the faint of heart.
The Devil All The Time is Southern Gothic at its best in that it highlights people at their worst.
Set in rural Ohio and West Virginia, it jumps between different characters and storylines, offering an unflinching and haunting look at humanity’s underbelly. The way those storylines overlap, the way they’re written, and the hopelessness of it all creates a feeling that the Devil truly is at work all the time, and there’s nothing you can do but watch.
While it’s gripping and one that I highly recommend, be aware that this book doesn’t hold back. It’s violent, it’s ugly, and it’s disturbing. Not one for the faint of heart.
alieneleni's review against another edition
4.0
dark and gruesome as hell. was pretty slow for a while, but the end was great.
thwipys's review
2.0
favorite line:
“As far back as he could remember, it seemed that his father had fought the Devil all the time.”
“As far back as he could remember, it seemed that his father had fought the Devil all the time.”
dhschultz29's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
sheisnovel's review against another edition
5.0
I didn't know what to expect from this book. I had the movie on my list of to watch for over a year and finally added it to my TBR.
What a rollercoaster of a book.
1. The writing is seamless and fluid. Pollock has the ability to bring you into a space with people without having to be overly descriptive; simply by choosing his words carefully.
2. The character development is amazing! There is the back and forth of past/present, but it's done extremely well and only where it makes sense.
3. The plot is disturbing to say the least.
4. Loved the way it all came together in the end.
Definately recommend for anyone into thriller and suspense.
What a rollercoaster of a book.
1. The writing is seamless and fluid. Pollock has the ability to bring you into a space with people without having to be overly descriptive; simply by choosing his words carefully.
2. The character development is amazing! There is the back and forth of past/present, but it's done extremely well and only where it makes sense.
3. The plot is disturbing to say the least.
4. Loved the way it all came together in the end.
Definately recommend for anyone into thriller and suspense.
laurendeen's review against another edition
3.0
This was technically a good book, just not for me. Cw for pretty extreme violence, including rape and animal sacrifice