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A review by branch_c
Up Jumps the Devil by Michael Poore
3.0
It’s interesting that I finally got around to reading The Master and Margarita last month, since this book is similar in many ways, being a story of the devil and how he spends some of his time on earth. There are numerous parallels: some humans recognize him; others don’t. His capricious actions cause chaos and absurdity of various kinds, and his motives are not always clear.
Compared to the Bulgakov classic, this book is certainly more elegantly written, although it might not be fair to compare an original English book to a translation. This story takes place largely in America, and the devil interacts with a history that’s much more familiar than Bulgakov’s Russia.
My impression, however, was much the same: There are some mildly humorous parts, and there are several philosophizing passages that are fairly well done. But overall I wasn’t thrilled, although the story is interesting enough, I guess. The characters are mostly unlikeable, including the devil, even though his crude impulsiveness is tempered with a desire to shape America into a better place. Anyway, I can certainly see what Poore was going for with his depiction of flawed humans as well as flawed angels. It was on page 143 that I guessed the twist that would come on page 329.
In the end, the writing is good, and it’s a well constructed story, just not one that held my interest as much as I’d hoped.
Compared to the Bulgakov classic, this book is certainly more elegantly written, although it might not be fair to compare an original English book to a translation. This story takes place largely in America, and the devil interacts with a history that’s much more familiar than Bulgakov’s Russia.
My impression, however, was much the same: There are some mildly humorous parts, and there are several philosophizing passages that are fairly well done. But overall I wasn’t thrilled, although the story is interesting enough, I guess. The characters are mostly unlikeable, including the devil, even though his crude impulsiveness is tempered with a desire to shape America into a better place. Anyway, I can certainly see what Poore was going for with his depiction of flawed humans as well as flawed angels. It was on page 143 that I guessed the twist that would come on page 329.
In the end, the writing is good, and it’s a well constructed story, just not one that held my interest as much as I’d hoped.