Reviews with content warning for Suicide - The Devil All the Time

El hilo conductor de esta historia es una promesa incumplida, esa promesa es el origen de todas las ~~tragedias~~ que ocurren a lo largo de la historia. Me parece curioso cómo desde el inicio el narrador nos deja en claro lo que está por venir en los siguientes capítulos: "Emma thought about the promise she’d been unable to keep. She’d been dreading a violent accident, or some horrible disease, but this was good news." (p. 34).

Ahora, hay un par de cosas que me resultaron incómodas.

La mirada racista. Me inclino a pensar que se debe a la época en la que se desarrolla la obra, aún así es difícil digerir esas ideas.
Misoginia y machismo. Hay dos tipos de mujeres en esta historia: las madres de familia y las putas. Las madres de familia son respetables y, en rara ocasión, se hace algún comentario despectivo o malicioso hacia ellas. En cambio, las otras mujeres, las putas, las zorras, las prostitutas, las que engañan a sus maridos (tal como la mujer del abogado Dunlap) no reciben más que descripciones obscenas y desagradables, son vistas como meros objetos para satisfacer y servir al género masculino y no puedo, simplemente, pasarlo por alto.
Las escenas de violación y pedofilia. En especial, una escena donde Carl vende a su esposa, Sandy, con unos hombres para filmar una película pornográfica. También las partes donde se describe cómo piensa el reverendo Preston Teagardin y cómo se aprovecha de la inocencia de jovencitas para conseguir quitarles la virginidad y acostarse con ellas hasta aburrirse o encontrar a otra chica “más apetecible”.

Los personajes están constituidos y desarrollados para que causen desagrado, asco e incomodidad, en especial los masculinos; el único que puede salvarse es Arvin Russell. La manera en que el autor consigue hilar las historias de todos los personajes, de tal manera que sus vidas terminan entrecruzándose, de una forma u otra, está muy bien llevado. No se siente forzado, ni sobra ningún elemento. Todo está conectado y bien ejecutado.

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catsy2022's review

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dark emotional tense slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Rating: A

"Are you alright?" asked Mary.
"Sure," he said. "Why you ask that?"
"Were you praying?"
"I was," he said, nodding his head. "Praying for the right time."

The Devil all the Time is a southern gothic novel following a group of people across 20ish years around southern America, mostly Ohio. The characters are just trying to make their way and survive. You can feel the book steeped in the tense atmosphere of the time, hot and dreary, everyone knows everyone. I loved the atmosphere. The feeling of life being blown out like a match, gone in a heartbeat. The scenes were tense, some were poignant, some were wise.

The movie follows a different narrative structure than the novel, but it's still decent.

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mjeestrella's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Great. Just another phenomenal book that I won't be able to recommend to anyone. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Everything about this book is dark and I LOVED IT. It has violence and death and sex and some of the most disturbing scenes I've ever read, but it's also very deep and reflective, and I JUST UGH. I CANNOT. I'm dying to discuss this with someone.

Donald Ray Pollock's writing is exceptional. He wrote the setting and the characters and their interactions SO well, that I couldn't put this book down despite it not being plot-driven. Hell, I didn't even care about the plot. I just wanted to know people's backstories, even the most terrible ones. I had to take a breather, every time there's a tiny revelation of people's humanness. I can't count how many times I cursed while reading this. I will read anything this author writes. Anything.

This book is like a book that Emily St. John Mandel wrote, except it's filled with the dark things that are often not present in literary fiction (which is why I love reading horror). I can't wait to watch the Netflix adaptation!

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cheechisapie's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Read this book on a whim after hearing about the Netflix movie and was looking for something spooky to read for the month of October. This book took me by surprise. It was dark, gruesome, yet surprisingly human. I found it challenging getting through some scenes and there were times I had to put the book down to take a break because reading this book genuinely horrified me. Then again, I don't really go around looking for something gory to read. However, if that's your cup of tea then this book will definitely be for you. Despite my weakheartedness, I could not put this book down. I was captivated by Pollock's strong and beautifully written prose. It also helped that the chapters were short and fast-paced so even if I wanted to stop at times, I would tell myself just one more chapter and found myself zooming through this book. He is also able to humanize these vile characters and gets you invested in each of their plots. I think it is a true skill to be able to let his readers feel for these characters even after all their horrific and monstrous deeds. If you are able to get through this deeply disturbing book, you will not be disappointed.

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