What an absolute pleasure it's been to read John Vercher's newest novel "Devil is Fine" -- ON SHELVES June 18th (right after Father's Day which adds to its perfection). This novel is a love letter, an amends, a heartbreak of missed opportunities delivered from father to son. But it's also a study in grief, pain, addiction, pride, and shame. It's a beautiful work of so many layers.

With the release under one month away, I hope this review helps to amplify what a beautiful and important book he has written. I've read both of John Vercher's prior novels--character-driven stories of conflict and redemption. This man can truly write some unforgettable characters and storylines. His real-life voice is very present in his writing -- intelligent, funny, sharp, powerful.

Both of the prior books were notably well-written and interesting (great plots, memorable characters, big stakes) so I had a positive feeling before starting this third release.. I first had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook version - narrated by Dion Graham - who was simply superb. I cannot recommend this option strongly enough. Dion Graham brings these rich characters to life -- his reading nuanced and just perfect.

I also hope it's adapted to film (or, like many books nowadays, to a series) because the material demands to be told in all modalities.

I was recently provided with the electronic copy of the book (thanks #Celadon and #NetGalley) and will reread it (not entirely uncommon but only revisited in alternate formats when the material is absolutely stellar.

This book is stellar and totally worth it!

The characters in "Devil is Fine" are very authentically drawn and multi-dimensional. From the unnamed narrator -- a guilt-ridden, quick-witted writer/professor -- to the diverse and stellar cast of supporting and colorful characters in his world). Some of this gang includes a traffic flagger, rideshare driver, dive bar owner and her one unforgettable customer from "The Thristy Scholar" bar (not a misspelling)! Some of the most emotionally resonant moments take place in that very bar (and some of the hottest "literary" burns 🔥-- thank you, Clarence). The supporting players in this genuine "hero's journey" are layered, vulnerable, and unforgettable.

I won't get into the plot too deeply (other reviews have and that's what the synopsis is for). Briefly, this is a guilt and shame-ridden man who has lost his son in an car accident (for which he feels personally responsible) and, throughout the novel, he is attempting to outrun, outjoke, and outdrink his fear. He lacks, in his own words, "bravery" and the novels opens with the funeral of his young son. He literally cannot breathe due to panic attacks, and Vercher's writing made me hold my own breath in these poignant moments.

Following the funeral, a series of heavy events unfold surrounding issues of race (in the present and throughout history), the frenetic shifts in societal support, conflict and politics in academia and the broader world, the growing chasm of divisiveness everywhere (Vercher appropriately calls the "movement du jour") and the reality that America's roots are not remotely objective (to say the least).

And -- on top of all of these issues and topics -- these lies a supernatural, other-worldly component in the telling. And jellyfish. Real and powerfully metaphorical and symbolic.

This book is an absolute knockout. The ending lands, heartbreaking but also hopeful, and a legacy is left. For me it felt like nesting dolls of interrelated pieces that come full circle -- ohhhh how I loved that magical flagger. In my own life, nothing touches a moment of compassion from an unexpected source—and this book has many!! Perfectly depicted.

I invite readers to embark on a LITERALLY transformative journey with a character I rooted for in every possible way. Beautiful. Read it on 6/18 and also experience the audiobook. Oh, Dion. And hopefully we'll be able to see it come to life on the screen (the story itself SO rich and ready for adaptation). Thank you #NetGalley and #MacMillanAudio via #CeladonBooks. Just loved this one

Macmillan Audio ALC
This was heartbreaking and tender look at loss of a teenage child from a father's POV, who is having such an understandably hard time. This book explored fatherhood, blackness, culture shifts, and other points - that would be a spoiler if mentioned - in such a uniquely voiced way. The book almost read as a stream of consciousness sometimes and coupled with Dion Graham's narration, made it such a gripping story. It also got a bit weird at times, and I honestly didn't mind it too much. At first I was a bit lost, but it did start feeling like the right thing to fit this story. This is one that will stick with me for a while, and I am so glad I got to listen to the audiobook because the performance really added so much depth to this story.

**Features:**
- A biracial main character coming to terms with his grief, identity, and a complicated family history/legacy
- Explores themes of loss, grief, addiction, identity, fatherhood, and disenfranchised groups finding their voice
- Set in a US northeastern coastal town
- Heavy and reflective with moments that push the edges of reality

One can be haunted by many things in many ways, and this narrator experiences almost every way possible. This story starts with an emotional drive to his son’s funeral and never really lets up from there. However, the narrative style gives it a calm, reflective feel despite some of the more intense moments. I am not the biggest fan of the main character, but I think a lot of the complicated feelings I have about him are intentional.Through this character, Vercher masterfully manages to capture your attention and empathy while still leaving room for thoughtful criticism. This story pushes the edges of reality though it never completely crosses into the realm of paranormal or fantasy. Both this and the heaviness of the story mean that this book isn’t really for everyone. However, if you are looking for a read that is equally beautiful and tragic with just a sprinkle of paranormal oddity mixed in, I would highly recommend this book!

**Pro: Grief you can feel**

After the death of his son, the unnamed narrator of this story receives a notice informing him of a plot of land that had been left to his son by the narrator’s grandfather. While the narrator tries to piece together what to do with the land and the dark family history it reveals, he is also under threat of losing his job due to his failure to publish. The story bounces back and forth between the present and past memories and is written as a one-way conversation the narrator is having with his deceased son. The style gives this a very somber, reflective feel even as dramatic things continue to happen to the narrator in the present.

Due to the style of writing, the reader gets to see the narrator at his most vulnerable throughout. Though I expected the narrator to try and make excuses or present a skewed picture of things, it is quickly clear that the narrator’s goal is to be honest and critical, especially with himself. In this way, we live through his grief not only emotionally, but physically as well. We experience his panic attacks, night terrors, sleep paralysis, and other physical manifestations of his inner turmoil in a visceral way. This book is definitely one of the best representations of immense grief and how all-consuming it can become.

**The Breakdown: A hard man to like**

The narrator of this story is easy to empathize with, but hard to actually like. Despite being vulnerable and introspective when describing things to his son (and the reader), his external actions and dialogue are very different. Though some of what he says and does are understandable for someone grieving, the vast majority reveal him to be a somewhat self-centered and callous individual. Though he reflects on these moments, it is clear for some of them that there is still some disconnect. For others, even when he realizes the harm done, he doesn’t seem to learn and attempt to adjust his behavior. We do eventually see some growth in the present, but it feels almost arbitrary after all of the harm that has already been done.

Though I ended up not really liking the narrator for most of the book, I was still really invested in his story. There were a lot of things I could empathize with and I found some of his reflections and introspection to be extremely powerful. Healing and change are a process, and I think a tragic character like this really highlights that point. Despite all of his flaws, the narrator is still someone that I wanted to succeed in finding his place.

Impressive emotive first person writing. The narrator's internal dialogue on grief and relationships is very relatable. The history that the main character uncovers is weaved seamlessly into modern problems that we still struggle with today, the main characters own emotional recovery, growth and mental health. 'Devil is Fine' is, in general, a father's conversation with his deceased teenage son. It's a part of the grief process that we all recognize. As a reader if you enjoy character-based plots this is for you. It's slow but this novel will stick with you.

"DEADLIFT
I don’t
know how to weigh loss
But I do know how heavy it is."

Devil is Fine
4/5

It is a little difficult to articulate my feelings about this book. From the first chapter of this book, everytime I would read it, there would be an uncomfortable pit in my stomach. Sometimes it was from the devastating relationship between a father and son, other times it was because of the heart wrenching discoveries made, and other times it was because I was annoyed at the main character. Here is the thing though, I really enjoyed this novel. John Vercher is an incredibly talented author with a gift for constantly making the reader question what is happening.

This story follows a bi-racial narrator after the tragic death of his son. The narrator is an author, who inherits his white grandfather's plantation. The plantation calls to the narrator and many difficult discoveries are uncovered there. This book is literary fiction with some light horror elements. There were many times that I was unsure what was reality while reading. I especially liked the horror imagery used as it related to the narrator’s body. The discussions the narrator has with his son through this book, especially towards the end are very moving but as a parent, also very devastating. While this book made me uncomfortable for most of it, the end did bring a feeling of peace. Overall a beautiful, thought-provoking read.

Thank you @celadonbooks and @netgalley for this ARC.

Find that place in yourself again where you were so brave you had to be rescued. @ 67%

The narrator of this story has lived a very contrary life and after his son dies, goes on a journey of self-discovery to find answers of why and who he is. He does this in a small waterfront town in "the northeast" where his estranged maternal white grandfather has left a waterfront property to his now late son and it reverts to him. While visiting this place, his property is found to hold graves of long forgotten slaves and he must decide what and where these remains belong whether in a museum to portray the slave experience in the conventional way or sent back to their birth country in Africa. But while he is in this little touristy town, he meets a gay black female bartender and one of her regulars, an old man, also black who will befriend him and help him navigate all of this. Meanwhile, he seems to be "visited" by a ghost who make him feel and see things from his past that he just has never had clarity to come to terms with--one of which is his strained relationship with his black father who showed him so little affection and that of his late son with whom as a dad he had a strained relationship. He talks to the ghost who he believes is Malcolm his son and he opens up in converses with him trying to explain and come to terms with their relationship in order to allow his spirit to rest in peace. Much of what he has dealt with over the course of his life is his being biracial and not knowing where he fits in. Happening all around him are the fringe movements like LGTBQ+, Black Lives Matter, #MeTOO and how these groups are trying to find a voice and a place in the world. The story is trying to find a voice for them so they won't be invisible or just the "cause of the moment" as is portrayed when the narrator loses his college job because his recent book is not "provocative" enough to sell copies and keep him relevant. If this really can happen to a college professor, that is truly horrible.
This is a very heady read and one that needs to be really chewed on. The mystical aspect of the book is more the narrator's conscience talking than real ghosts and goblins. The narrator goes through so much on a personal level in a very short amount of time though it would seem that things have been building up just waiting for the dam to burst. He is a recovering alcoholic, needing to take some pretty powerful antidepressants and has anger issues. He's a lot to take in, sarcastic (which the author thinks he is being funny) and I didn't like him all that much. I did feel badly when the reader finally learns the cause of his son's death and why it was so hard for him to relate as a dad to Malcolm but even that wasn't as satisfying as it could have been (there was more energy spent on his trips to the water or the pain in his leg from the jellyfish bites than there was with this important part of the book.) The overall theme and message of the book is very important and needs to be told but I just was not as committed to the story as I would have liked to be.
Thank you to Celadon, Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. These opinions shared are my own.

The was a beautiful book from start to finish. The man is in traffic stuck and on his way to his son’s funeral. He has a panic attack. He is. Biracial and has so many personal and social issues to deal with. He is a writer who may lose his job any day now.
Life is hard . Then there this property that his late son inherited.. Since his life is so turmotualous he decides to take time check out the property and try to get left back in order.

So well written and heartbreaking. The grief feels so eminent and strong, you can feel it through the book. However, the strange “freezings” of time and several other parts just fell flat for me and I got a little lost in the middle.

Wow, this was a great book!!
Devil is Fine dives into the life of a biracial man who inherits a plantation after the loss of his son. There are themes of grief, race, and identity. This is a literary fiction with some hints of sci-fi.
I thought the story was very unique! I don't read a lot of literary fiction, so this was a good addition to my small
'read' collection of those.
The grief was well done, and I appreciated the flashbacks to when Malcolm was young. I also admired the way that the conversation with late Malcolm was done.
I loved the relationship dynamics between the few characters present in the book, and I liked when the story would flashback to when the main character was young, too.
However, I docked one star because the language was distracting at the beginning. The diction was too complex for this story, and I felt that I was worrying about the meanings rather than the plot. This is just my opinion though, of course!!
Thank you to Celadon for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Such a touching and heartfelt story. Loved it. The dark humor only added to the pain and redemption of the past.

"Devil is Fine" by John Vercher is a novel about a biracial narrator who, while dealing with the loss of his son and criticism of his writing, inherits a plantation from his grandfather. The narrator's struggle with identity, loss, and artistic criticism weaves a complex narrative that captivates the reader. The unexpected inheritance of a plantation adds another layer to the story, forcing the narrator to confront a part of history that has personal implications for him. All these elements come together in a novel that is both thought-provoking and engaging.
The compelling narrative and skillful writing have earned the book high praise.
I want to thank John Vercher, Celadon Books, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this amazing ARC.

❤️ Happy Reading!!! ❤️

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Devil is Fine, but it blew me away. It was a powerful story. Some of the atmosphere and the formatting (the photos etched into the words??? Hello??) gave the book an underlying sense of eeriness. This book tackles so many difficult themes without ever skipping a beat. The jellyfish/magical realism, “flashbacks”, etc were meshed together and woven into the story in such a way that I never got bored. I need to read more of this author asap.

Not to mention, the cover is immaculate.

Thank you MacMillan and Celadon for review copies of Devil is Fine; this is a beautifully moving story of loss but also resilience, identity, and race. I love a gentle ode to fatherhood as well, so many books examine parenting through the lens of mothers and Vercher's focus on the male voice, of a father, stands out and is important. The writing and imagery call to mind powerful writing from other writers such as Zadie Smith, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and I was also reminded of Yaa Gyasi's Transcendent Kingdom. I thought the examination of inheriting a plantation during a time of grief, the reconciliation of themes on race, land/ownership, and slavery and biracial identity were deftly done, allowing me as a reader to think about the ideas, to sit with them and examine them just as the main character does

Thank you to Celadon Books for the gifted eARC of DEVIL IS FINE by John Vercher!

DEVIL IS FINE follows a man who is dealing with the unexpected death of his son. When he hears from a lawyer that he has inherited a plot of land from an estranged grandfather he isn't expecting his life to be sent even more out of control with what is discovered in the dirt there.

This book is literary fiction with elements of horror mixed in and I think the author did a fantastic job of blurring reality and the paranormal. The body horror imagery was very striking and there were a few times where I absolutely had to go back a bit and reread because the imagery needed the extra time.

The narrator is biracial and there are a lot of good discussions on identity and belonging. The land he inherits has been passed down through the white side of his family, a plantation that has seen many horrors. The impact of this realization combined with the feelings of grief over his son's death all come through strongly from the page.

This was my first book by John Vercher and I will most definitely be looking to pick up more in the future!

This book was beautifully heartbreaking. The narrator is dealing with the immense grief of losing his son, while also being surprised to find out he inherited a plot of land. Due to being a biracial man, and this property coming from his maternal, white grandparents, with whom he did not have a good relationship, he struggles with the decision of what to do with the land.

The main character is a flawed and imperfect man, but someone you also fall in love with. He is real about his struggles and past mistakes, all the while trying to move through grief and loss. Add on top of this his ancestral burden of owning land that once may have been a plantation. To put it plainly, he's got a lot on his shoulders. The culmination of all of this is written beautifully and shows him to be real, and finally gives him peace.

All in all, I would recommend this book, as long as readers know it's a book to be read slowly, with parts that may need to be reread.

This book was both tragic and beautiful all at the same time and I'm so incredibly glad I decided to read it! It opens with the author speaking to his dead son on the way to his funeral. As a mother, this broke me immediately. We don't know how he was lost but the weight of much unfinished between them is palpable and you can feel the author's struggle with not only dealing with the obvious current tragedy but with letting go of all that was unsaid and left unresolved between them.

Struggling with his own identity as a biracial man, he finds that a piece of property, left to his son by his mother's father, has now been passed on to him as his next of kin when his son dies. This was a man he wanted nothing from -- his estranged white maternal grandfather. He then travels to the property simply to sell it and in the process finds that it is a former plantation and he is now the owner, a sick irony I can't even imagine.

He does meet some amazing people along the way and while I struggled to connect with him at first, they brought out the lighter side to him for me and I found myself warming to him quickly after that. His thoughts range from delusional drunken dreams to almost supernatural flashbacks, taking on roles that I can totally see as torturous ways your brain could try to deal with something as twisted as this situation he finds himself in. My heart broke for him, again and again.

A beautiful, tragic, moving story that I didn't want to end. Highly recommended!!

Pffftt. I didn't get this one. I felt pulled into the story then we got ghosts and jelly fish legs. What happened now?

Then sections in italics and Not me. I am glad I finished it - perfect ending - but I am not really sure what I just read. I think I'm just not the audience for this one.

The writing was beautiful and moving, I was completely lost in the story right from the start. It was achingly sad and compelling.

I have been provided with a review copy of this title from NetGalley for an impartial review. I was just drawn into this wonderful story and I just couldn’t get enough of it. It was just so easy to get lost in this great story. I just didn’t want it to end. I just lost myself in and I just couldn’t get enough of these interesting characters. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

DNF

The premise sold me on this one, but found the writing style and pacing to be a bit clunky. May come back and revisit one day, but for now, it doesn't work and didn't hook me.