Me and the Devil | ⭐⭐ | Review
- Michaela Raschilla
- May 1, 2020
- 3 min read
⭐⭐
Me and the Devil
Written by Nick Tosches
Published December 2012 by Little, Brown & Co.
Guys, I read this book for me. I read it for me. No deadline, no book club, no discussion. It was weird. Its kind of odd for me not to have to read things without book club discussion topics in mind. It felt really great.
I just wish I could say that I liked it. I wish I could. I kept telling Taylor while I was reading it I wasn't sure if I liked it or not, and I think that is purposeful on the part of the author. I don't think we are meant to like it.
If I had to summarize this book I would say ... it is a response to all of the vampire romance phenomena. What would an old man who is considered inexplicably sexy by all of the young woman in our modern society really be like? Surly. Disenchanted. Obstinate. Not to mention, racist, sexist, two degrees away from committing any hate crime toward any person who isn't himself. Its about that. The reality of vampires.
Because of this, you kind of hate the protagonist. Its written from the first person (which I often have trouble with in general). It makes it more difficult to put yourself in the place of the narrator.
When that narrator is utter garbage of a human being, I kind of wanted to shoot him while reading it. I could relate to his love of food. The way he described food was great. However, this is not redeemable in any way, because he talked about girls in the same way he talked about a good pasta dish.
I don't think I've ever read a better representation of women as objects while still technically describing them as complex and whole human beings. The description was objectifying, even while we have insights into them as a well rounded, deep characters. It seemed so oxymoronic, and yet there it was. It felt gross to have to think about them in this way. It made me uncomfortable.
Which, again, I think is the point of this novel.
My biggest problem with this book, however, was not the protagonist. I was completely on board with all of my discomfort, because at least I knew it was attempting to make a point. My biggest problem was that it never went anywhere. There are events in the novel that seem to be moving the plot and the character forward, and for me, it never panned out. It just seemed to crawl right back into where it had begun. Perhaps that was also the point, but it bothered me.
I did however really like the writing style. I liked the way he described the world and I think I would be willing to pick up another book by Tosches. This one didn't sit well with me, but it is all inherently this novel and not the authors choices necessarily. I am intrigued.
Despite all my problems, I think this is still a book worth reading. Especially if you are someone like me, who loves reading paranormal romance. It gives a more realistic interpretation, even if it leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. Did it ruin my love of sexy vampires, no. Will I still read every Kresley Cole novel and every Anita Blake book, hell yeah. It was just a different, and unique experience.
What do you guys think? Is it pretentious to try and tackle a genre in this way? Is it just putting down house wives who want to read about exotic men?
If you read something similar to this I would really love to hear about it and if you read this book what did you think about it?
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