Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
"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...but they likely won't want to put it down." Booklist
Review
"Duncan packs more wit and energy into one page of I, Lucifer than most writers fit into an entire novel." Neal Pollack
Review
"A wicked, impish conceit, all ably orchestrated with Duncans playful intelligence and sizzling wit." Arena
Review
"A film version...might be exciting but it would not be a patch on Duncan's wonderful act of ventriloquism." Times Literary Supplement
Review
"Captivating and truly clever....Successful in its attempt to humanize Lucifer...If you like witty, raunchy British humor, you'll love this." Library Journal
Review
"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." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Duncan has comic energy to spare but no clear idea of what to do with it. The result reads like a promising first draft." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Duncan just blew me away with his conceit that the devil was so overcome with Blakean awe in his discovery of our sensory world...that he would ask, 'This can't be what it's like for them. If this is what it's like for them how do they...how on earth can they...get anything done?'" The Washington Post
Review
"[A] bitingly funny pseudo-memoir." USA Today
Synopsis
"One of the hottest literary properties of the new century" (Independent on Sunday) forks over a devilishly clever new novel.
Synopsis
The end is nigh and the Prince of Darkness has just been offered one hell of a deal: reentry into Heaven for eternityif he can live out a well-behaved life in a human body on earth. Its the ultimate case of trying without buying and, despite the limitations of the human body in question (previous owner one suicidally unsuccessful writer, Deelan Gunn), Luce seizes the opportunity to run riot through the realm of the senses. This is his chance to straighten the biblical record (Adam, its hinted, was a misguided variation on the Eve design), to celebrate his favorite achievements (everything from the Inquisition to Elton John), and, most important, to get Julia Roberts attached to his screenplay. But the experience of walking among us isnt what His Majesty expected: instead of teaching us what its like to be him, Lucifer finds himself understanding what its like to be us.
By an author hailed by the Times Literary Supplement as one of Britains top twenty young novelists, I, Lucifer is a masterpiece
startlingly witty, original and beautifully written” (Good Book Guide).
Exclusive Essay
Read an exclusive essay by Glen Duncan