Product Description

Glen Duncan has been hailed by the Times Literary Supplement (London) as one of Britain's twenty best young novelists, alongside such writers as Hari Kunzru and Zadie Smith. His new novel, I, Lucifer -- shortlisted for the Geoffrey Faber Award -- is a satirical tour de force fueled by a scorching, hyper-intelligent wit that burns up the pages. The End is nigh, and the Prince of Darkness has been given one last shot at redemption, if he can manage to live out a reasonably blameless life on earth. As a trial run, he negotiates a month of "trying without buying" in the body of struggling writer Declan Gunn. ("Incarnation, the angelic drug of choice. Unlike cocaine, not to be sniffed at.") Luce seizes the opportunity to binge on earthly delights, to straighten the biblical record (Adam, it's hinted, was a misguided variation on the Eve design), to celebrate his favorite achievements (Elton John, for one), and to try to get his screenplay sold, but the experience of walking among us isn't what His Majesty expected: instead of teaching us what it's like to be him, Lucifer finds himself understanding what it's like to be human.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #134452 in Books
• Published on: 2003-04-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780802140142
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
In Paradise Lost, Milton set out to "justifie the wayes of God to men." In this novel, British author Duncan (Hope; Love Remains) attempts to justify the ways of Satan to the hip. God gives his evil subaltern a month in a human body, with an option to own, thus permanently casting off his pain-racked cosmological being. The grim alternative for Lucifer is to subsist in eternal nothingness. The vacant body belongs to Declan Gunn, a writer on the brink of suicide. Lucifer narrates his romps through escort service dates, cocaine-laced nights and, mostly, the thrills of the wondrous human sensorium. Lucifer options his life story-from his starring role with Adam and Eve to his struggles with an autocratic God-to a film producer and torments Declan's lover, Viola, with the promise of a juicy part in the upcoming movie. But for all his jauntiness, Lucifer must unexpectedly wrestle with Gunn's conscience, including Gunn's memories of Penelope, his alternately loathed and longed-for ex. When Lucifer makes the disastrous decision to see Penelope and forgive her for dumping him, he confronts the goodness of mercy, a battle that leaves him sick with nausea and cognitive disorientation. Lucifer tosses wisecracks around as if they were hand grenades. On the wickedness of a rival of Gunn's, he quips, "There's no murder in him, and only a very predictable dribble of lust. His soul, and billions like it, provide the cosmos with its muzak." Alas, Lucifer's wit doesn't often rise to this sharply satiric level: it's more like a series of outtakes from Bedazzled. This is the archetypal promising novel-the author's talent with words eclipses the substance of his story.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Duncan's last novel, Hope (1998), was about pornography addiction. Since then, he's apparently found God, or rather, the Devil. His latest novel features the Prince of Darkness incarnate in the body of down-and-out writer Declan Gunn (anagram, anyone?), just about to slit his wrists. The apocalypse looms, and God has offered fallen angel Lucifer a second chance at redemption by enticing him with a month of earthly embodiment--an offer he can't refuse, given his taste for cocaine, sexual mischief, and other evil earthly pleasures. In between acts of debauchery, however, Lucifer/Gunn resurrects his literary career and revels childlike in the Earth's simple offerings: tastes, smells, sunsets, London. He muses theological, contemplating free will and the Fall and thinks about--just maybe--getting back on God's good side. Seduced by our diabolical narrator's wicked humor and Duncan's clever conceit, the novel's Christian redemption moral may catch some readers off guard (wasn't this book supposed to be about evil pleasures?), but they likely won't want to put it down. Duncan's witty and perverse, yet somehow life-affirming, Lucifer is powerful indeed. Brendan Driscoll
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"A wicked, impish conceit, all ably orchestrated with Duncan’s playful intelligence and sizzling wit." -- Arena

"Captivating and truly clever…Successful in its attempt to humanize Lucifer...If you like witty, raunchy British humor, you'll love this." -- Rachel Collins, Library Journal

"Clever, stylish…Fiendishly funny, wickedly eloquent…Conveys Lucifer’s musings on the nature of evil and his sensory adventures, in hilarious pyrotechnic prose." -- Big Issue

"Duncan packs more wit and energy into one page of I, Lucifer than most writers fit into an entire novel." -- Neal Pollack

Customer Reviews

Not For The Faint Of Heart
Telling the basic plot of this story won't give anything away: God offers the Devil a deal: come to earth and take over the body of a poor soul who has just committed suicide, stay out of trouble for one month in this body, and gain re-entry into Heaven. The story is told as a confession by Lucifer himself.

From this promising premise, Glen Duncan takes the reader on a verbal rocket ride which ends...well, that doesn't matter, the ride is so enjoyable. Duncan is well-versed in literature going well beyond the obvious Blake (whom Lucifer dubs "Blakey") and Milton, and clearly has a deep knowledge of New York as well as London, modern as well as ancient history. At least in its references this book is surprisingly erudite.

The passages describing Lucifer's embodiment into a human being, and his evolving responses to possessing five senses, are realized fully enough to rate this book worth reading just for that vicarious experience. The author's main achievement, however, is his imagining a fully believable, fascinating, and yes, dammit, likeable Lucifer. At once biting, arch, and occasionally oddly touching, Duncan's Lucifer makes P.J. O'Rourke sound like Mister Rogers.

If you are easily offended by criticism of the Almighty, of organized religion, and just about everything else, this is not the book for you. If you like your humor without cream or sugar (as for example in the film "Dogma"), give this book a try.

Five Star Prose Stuck in Purgatory
As much as I admire Glen Duncan's lyrical style and adjective-laden prose, "I, Lucifer" was a major disappointment reader. Duncan tells his devil-of-a-story in a manner that's so holier-than-thou his point gets watered down throughout by less-than-agreeable characters and a confounding points of view, plot elements that detract from some of the most magical prose I've ever read. It's that hyphenated-words-make-some-sort-of-sense-eventually writing that makes "I Lucifer" both a great fountain of literature AND a dumb exercise in futility.

It's hard to follow the author's stream of consciousness, which other writers have perfected through accessible references. Unlike Umberto Eco or John Irving - who can write chapter-long paragraphs that still make a point, with a beginning, a middle and an end - Duncan often fails to connect his dots. This in turn makes each page a somewhat plodding exercise that is not only NOT fun, but damages Duncan's superb use of language and obvious gift for creating nearly miraculous visions out of words.

It's not that I didn't enjoy this book....if I were in a devil-may-care mood (puns are unavoidable after wrapping up this tome)...I'd say that as a whole, "I Lucifer" succeeds by showcasing a literary dynamo with tremendous talent to spare. And yet, despite all its lofty images of heaven, hell, heck and history the novel failed to entertain me. The creeps notwithstanding, Declan Gunn - aka Lucifer the Devil - is so hugely unlikeable and despicable he's a caricature without the satire. He never succeeds as either villain or as hero. He gets under our skin as any good character does, but doesn't close the deal. In the end, he's just a poor slob who spews hate and venom and whose words, actions and deeds remain inhuman and narcissistic.

"I Lucifer" has plenty of superb passages and writing that deserves praise for Glen Duncan...obviously a passionate, literally visionary who, with the right plot and story to tell, will undoubtedly continue to succeed. Yet even a five-star author can write a clinker (think Tom Wolfe or Stephen King) and "I Lucifer" - despite its moments of genius - falls terribly short of greatness.

The joke here is on Duncan the author because at the end of the day, this joke-of-a-tale has no punch line.

An intriguing concept and witty plan ruined by a weak, unimaginative and whining Lucifer
... who rattles on and on about how it's just not fair and he's been terribly misunderstood.

A great (if not unique) story idea: Lucifer offered the opportunity of redemption if he can live one (sort of) sin-less month on earth in human guise; told by L himself. We immediately find out that he plans to take the offer for its fun value only before returning to his eternity of evil-generating Fallen Angeldom. And so the story begins ...

So much potential, well, limitless potential obviously; but all we end up with is a verbose and wildly rambling outpouring of whining (and an unprecedented amount of toilet humour). Some of the retelling of `historic' events such as Creation, Adam and Eve, The Fall, are great ideas but the telling of the stories took so long and went off on so many tangents that it became boring. Yes, the writer has talent with word mongering but my goodness ... it was as if he (writer) was desperately and constantly trying to convince us (reader) of his cleverness.

Also, why would L waste this entire opportunity on a month long orgy of the usual, banal, human, self-indulgent pastimes? Although the body he inhabits is not selected by him and has its corporal limitations it is made clear to us that L has the opportunity to expand on the given parameters of this temporary `real' existence and wreak almighty havoc on earth for a month. But does he? No. He just drinks, smokes, plays a little with the body owner's already pitiful life and spends a lot of time and many, many, many words trying to convince us that he's more than we've been led to believe.

Surely if Lucifer were to play a game with God and humans it would be more complicated than that.

Great ending though.