Customer Reviews

I, Lucifer: Finally, the Other Side of the Story

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

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.

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.

i can't believe all the bad reviews this book is getting in here! this turned out to be one of my favorite books of all time! it is funny through and through. (more than once i laughed out loud and had to explain myself to my husband.) the feeling i took away from this book is APPRECIATION. when lucifer gets to experience life, duncan is great at describing how he experiences the wonderful things we all take for granted every day. i will think twice now whenever i see a sunset or feel the wind on my face. the ideas about how it all began and heaven/hell are clever and thought provoking.
there is some british lingo, but not so much that i couldn't follow the story. and, i agree w/ one of the other reviewers about the name being annoying, but once you get over it (oh, within the first chapter, i would hope!) it's no big deal...there is so much else going on, it's the last thing to worry about.

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! i highly recommend it!

I don't read a lot of literary fiction. Very often I find it to be needlessly meandering, self-indulgent and overly autobiographical. Glen Duncan has received a large amount of praise for I, Lucifer, his third book. Duncan has been short listed for the Geoffrey Faber Award and named as one of England's best young writers.

In I, Lucifer God offers Satan a deal that he will receive redemption for his role in rebellion against God if he can lead a relatively sinless life in the body of Declan Gunn, a pseudonym for the author.

What follows is a very enjoyable 100 pages where Satan runs rife through London experiencing the human senses for the first time. Duncan strings together pump adjectives flowing into stream like sentences in which the color of a blade of grass is described like a fine portrait.

The book is framed as a kind of memoir where Lucifer documents his life on Earth and his experience among the living. He also recounts his version of biblical events and pretty much lets you know why God was such a bastard that had to be rebelled against.

The beginning is interesting, witty, fun and offers some insightful ideas on several Biblical events. The problem comes when Duncan runs out of plot and interesting situations for Satan to explore.

Satan's explanations turns more and more into whining and ranting about what a bad lot he had being one of God's angels. A movie deal Satan was trying to put together is forgotten about as he devotes himself more and more to whining.

What started out as a good concept faded and cooled like dying embers in a fading fire. A twist of some sort raises its head in the last 20 pages as Satan rather predictably faces his end as the story is quickly wrapped up.

I know that literary fiction doesn't have to be strictly plot based. That the experience of a literary book is supposed to be worth the trip, not the story as a whole. I understand that, but at the end of the day I wonder if they couldn't do better.

Being a fan both of popular fiction and the meatier, more literary kind, I was delightfully surprised to find, at the end of this novel, that Mr. Duncan has written a masterful piece that ably straddles both sides of the fiction genre. It is an immensely entertaining read, with a tempo that varies like a classic symphony in four movements and a lead character that you will find, almost aghast and perhaps in spite of yourself, you carry around with you in your coat pocket, so charming is he! Mr. Duncan's insights into the human condition, through the eyes not only of Lucifer but also of the bona fide humans he interfaces with, enrich this work further. Wit, wisdom, sometimes lyrical, sometimes harsh and ugly (he IS Lucifer, after all), Mr. Duncan's novel encompasses it all. Don't miss this gem!

I really like the premise of this book: Lucifer gets the choice of living a reasonably well-behaved mortal life and gets to return to Heaven, or he is doomed to spend life alone in absolutely nothing when the world ends (which, we are told, will be fairly soon). Lucifer is cocky, unashamed of his reputation and deeds, and in his human form (he occupies the body of one Declan Gunn) he is determined to tell his side of the story through the media of film. People like him, he's delightfully self-indulgent - and able to partake of such a lifestyle due to a little demonic tweaking of a bank account - but he keeps getting disturbed by memories and the effects of past experiences on Gunn's body. Apparently the entire body, not just the mind, has a memory. A fun read (beware of British slang if you are not familiar with it), in which Lucifer stays true to form. C'mon... how much can you expect the Devil to reform? Pride is too much fun.

... 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.

Lucifer, aka Satan, is the first person narrator of this deliciously witty tale. Old Scratch gets an offer from God to test-drive a mortal body for a month - the recently vacated corpse of writer Declan Gunn (an anagram of Glen Duncan-in case you didn't notice). After one month, if Satan decides to stay mortal, he may be eligible for re-admittance to heaven under the normal rules.

Glen Duncan's brilliant writing shows Satan as Legion, indeed, forever getting lost in digressions and asides, altering his own story to fit circumstances, lying to the reader, himself, and anyone else who will listen. It's like Satan as played by Eddie Izzard. (If you haven't seen him-check him out in the DVDs-hilarious) The story is rich with irony as Satan loses his head in the same hedonistic pursuits for which he has ridiculed humans, and increasingly falls prey to Declan's emotions. A story to read again and again - each time picking up something you missed before.

Awesome. If the idea of the devil as a guy with horns, wings, red scaly skin, a forked tail, and pitchfork makes you laugh and you appreciate some well constructed vulgarity you should give this a read. It felt to me like the author wished he could be the devil himself, and really enjoyed writing this book. The character he creates is every bit as mischievous and cunning as you would expect, and half the time you don't know whether to believe him or not. Particularly amusing are the potshots he takes at religious figures such as Adam, Eve, Gabriel, Christ, etc. Not recommended for anyone who actually believes that anything in the bible really happened (you know who you are).

It was the concept of the book that caught me. After being overwhelmed with information about The Passion of the Christ, last month I began to counter program myself to the onslaught of Christian propaganda. I began to watch anything and everything that refused to take Religion(tm) seriously.

I started with Lamb by Christopher Moore. I watched Life of Brian thirty times. Then, by the grace of God (or the other guy) I found this book. How perfect could a tell-all memoir by the Prince of Darkness be? The answer is, "just about".

God makes Lucifer a deal. Spend a month in human form without commiting a mortal sin and receive the one thing that would tempt the devil - a free pass back into heaven with an entry level position in the angelic ranks. The book is a great big testament to the human experience and how we take everything we can for granted.

The writing style gets a little over-the-top at parts, but if you remind yourself that the narrator IS the Devil, you should be able to forgive it. It's a fun read and an intriguing look at the ways of God, the meaning of Evil and the concept of salvation in general.

Some people have suggested that Christians should stay away from this. While that's probably a given, I would like them to keep one thing in mind. THE NARRATOR IS THE DEVIL. If you feel that the book glorifies Satan, is full of lies and evil thoughts, you are probably right. What else do you expect from the Devil?