A review by squidbag
The Devil and Webster by Jean Hanff Korelitz

4.0

I suspect that the Rutherford County One Book Committee would find this book "too literary" for the good people of our richly red environs, which is a shame, since the issues discussed by this book of mystery, family, protest, race, honesty and bias, taking place entirely at the fictional Webster College are things useful for discussion by a wide range of people. I found that the protagonist/antagonist relationships interestingly and entertainingly did not conform to my expectations, with one particularly odious character making a prejudiced leap of logic I myself had made 20 pages previous. One does not want to be affiliated with the right-wingnut ideologue, typically. The characters are flawed and faceted, and the descriptions are vibrant and detailed - the book is joy to read, even when it's a difficult and painful challenge, even when lives are being twisted, and even when things are sad. Korelitz paints pictures that are undeniable and moving, and you will be enmeshed with these people until they complete what Naomi Roth would not like you to refer to as their collective "journey."