A review by bookreviewswithkb
Devil Is Fine by John Vercher

emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

thank you SO much to @celadonbooks for sending me an early copy of this one - out on June 18th! 

i’m having trouble articulating how i feel about this book; i don’t know if i have the right words to describe it. our main character is a flawed father, who identifies as a biracial Black man, trying to raise his Black son through all of the struggles of his own identity, that make him resent his son and drive a wedge between them. this wedge comes fully to life with the inheritance of a plantation where human remains are uncovered, and our main character starts on a journey to search for his soul 

this book is BRILLIANT - it is witty and moving and absolutely heartbreaking. the prose is breathtaking. i don’t know y’all, you just really need to read it 

“there are so many means for me to stitch the wound we suffer together, but i have convinced myself that the edges are too old, the skin necrotic, too fragile to knit, no matter how much thread i use.”

i now want to immediately read Vercher’s other fiction novels, Three-Fifths and After the Lights Go Out. i didn’t know i was sleeping on such an incredible author 
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