I just finished Devil is Fine by John Vercher and here are my thoughts.


No father should ever have to bury their child. Not being able to process that death can be hard on anyone but when he received a letter from an attorney stating his grandfather had left a plot of land to the child he had just buried, the land now transferred ownership to him. Being a biracial man and estranged from his mothers white family, he is floored to find that the land used to be a plantation and the irony isn’t lost on anyone.

Firstly, I thought this was a horror. I did not read the synopsis and the title didn’t give much away. Not only is this not a horror but a magical realism book, it might be the most beautifully compelling read I have ever read. The book has no problems hitting you with as many complex issues as it could fit into one book but the author handled them with such gravitas that you will be left feeling like you went through a wood chipper but are so glad you did.

The book touches on things like addiction, grief and loss, it also brings up mental health struggles with not being able to fit in. The narrator is so unreliable but you come to understand that he isn’t reliable because he doesn’t trust himself which reflects back out to us in a very clever way.

I don’t read a lot of literary fiction because I always feel like the plot isn’t a priority but the characters are the focal point. This book didn’t do that. You can see clearly what the book is about, what it wants you to grasp and delivers you out the other end with a new perspective. I was blown away. I have never read a book like it. I found myself chuckling and breaking a little inside all the way through.

I definitely think you should give this book a go. You won’t be sorry.

4.5 stars.

Thank you to @celadonbooks and @netgalley for my gifted copy

This was a really interesting take on grief and generational trauma in terms of race and the effects it has on current and future generations. A man walks us through his journey of grief after losing his son, and the trauma he's feeling from the past.

This was funny, and real, and raw, and while it's not my main genre, I enjoyed the storytelling aspect of it. Race is still a huge issue in most of the country, and the lens through which this book is written gives a keen look into a generational trauma many of us never experience.

This was a beautiful and heartbreaking story! After the death of his son, the bi-racial narrator inherits land from the white side of his family. When bodies are found buried on his land, he learns that it was a plantation. Throughout the story, the narrator deals with his grief, his faith, and his identity as a black man and father. This book had many twists and turns, and the dual timeline added a lot of insight into his relationship with his son. This book was nothing like what I expected, but I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to John Vercher and Celadon for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3.5 ⭐️ (rounded up to 4 stars)

Looking for a book that will snatch your beating heart right out of your chest and punt it the whole way across town? Devil is Fine is your book. It brought out all the emotions in me, I could feel our main character’s grief deep inside and kept hoping for a reprieve from his pain for him but I also found myself laughing at the dark humor intricately tucked in amongst the grief. The story is beautifully told and covers some incredibly tough subjects without trying to dance over them, and has imperfect, complex characters that feel so real and relatable which I appreciated. It will stay with me forever, I don’t think I’ll ever forget this story.

If you enjoyed Tiffany McDaniel’s Betty and Tananarive Due’s The Reformatory, Devil is Fine isn’t exactly like these, but definitely evokes all the emotions that those two novels did for me. Many, many thanks to Celadon for my eARC. Devil is Fine published earlier this month and I can’t express enough how much it will stick with me. 😭🖤

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read this book early. It was a very interesting story and I also received a physical copy that I will pass along.

Have you ever read a book that is just nothing like anything you’ve ever read before? That is what Devil is Fine was for me. This genre defying novel explores heavy topics through an unreliable narrator and insane magic realism. The prose is pure poetry, I stopped to re read several paragraphs because of how poignant they were.

If you are looking for a psychological horror that highlights racial disparities and mental health this is the book for you. For fans of Tiffany Jackson and Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Us.

I never stopped wondering what the hell was going on in this story and still loved every weird moment of it. Hands down one of my favorite books of the year, I will definitely be checking out John Vercher’s backlist and hope to see amazing things from him in the future.

"Devil Is Fine" by John Vercher is a Blend of Family and Literary Fiction with Touches of Magical Realism!

Our unnamed narrator is a biracial American author who leads us through this story speaking in his head to his recently deceased teenage son, Malcolm. He is ravaged with grief, resulting in debilitating panic attacks.

Days after the funeral, he receives a letter from an attorney concerning beachfront property Malcolm inherited from his estranged white maternal grandfather, Malcolm's great-grandfather. As his son's next of kin, this property now falls to him.

What begins as a quick trip south to view and sell the property, ends with unexpected news from an on-site inspection. Our unnamed narrator feels himself spinning in the aftermath of the tragic death of his only child and the shock of what is on this inherited land...

"Devil is Fine" is the first book I've read by this author and there is much to love about Vercher's beautiful writing, choice of sensitive topics, and flawed characters. This is one of the best books I've read this year and, at less than 300 pages and 9 hours, it's a perfect choice as an immersion read. The audiobook, magnificently narrated by Dion Graham and one of the best narrations I've experienced, was my preference, but either format will deliver a memorable read.

I felt compassion for our unnamed narrator who struggles with his biracial identity, his intense grief, and the bridges he's burned in his relationships. His spiral was hard to witness as he continued making poor choices, yet, I was mesmerized by the author's use of Magical Realism which left me questioning what was real, imagined, or mystical, and feeling much like the unnamed narrator felt.

If you enjoy a blend of Family and Literary Fiction with touches of Magical Realism that leave you wondering, "Devil is Fine" is a satisfying option I highly recommend!

5⭐

Thank you to Celadon Books, Macmillan Audio, and John Vercher for a DRC and an ALC of this book through NetGalley. It has been a pleasure to give my honest and voluntary review.

Devil is Fine is narrated by a biracial author and professor who is coming to terms with the death of his son. Soon he receives a letter from an attorney informing him that he has inherited a plot of land from his white grandfather, a place that he later learns was a plantation.

This book was so intricate and complex, with truly some of the best prose I've ever read. The story is all told through a one sided conversation the narrator is having with his late son, so it feels very intimate. It also alternates between past and present, giving you just enough of the back story that you can start to understand how complicated their relationship was when Malcolm as alive.

Throughout the book, the narrator starts to experience visions that might be completely in his head, or they could be ghosts. It's all very up to interpretation and I found myself wondering "wait, is this really happening?" a lot as I read.

This book is definitely heavy, but it has a lot of really great, dark humor sprinkled in.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon for the ARC!

Okay this one really makes you think. I liked the gray, undecided take on reality that the narrator has. This book was emotionally touching and eye opening. Loved how it alternated between the past and the present. I felt like it dragged a little in the middle so I will take a star off. Otherwise, I liked reading this book!

Incredibly imaginative, heartfelt, weird and at times, darkly humorous. Meditations on grief and loss, fatherhood, race and identity. The magical realism pieces are wonderfully executed and the prose is beautiful. By the end, I wished for a deeper exploration on the plantation’s generational history and its relation to our narrator but overall, a remarkably compelling story.

The premise of the book was really interesting: the book opens with our biracial narrator burying his son and throughout the book we are flashing between present day and when his son was alive where we learn more about their relationship and how he died.

In present day, the father receives a letter telling him that he has inherited a plot of land from his grandfather on the white side of his family. He goes to the town where this land is and finds out that it was actually a former plantation. The narrator has very strange situations happening to him while he is in this town, he is dealing with some addiction issues and the narrative does some bobbing and weaving where sometimes as a reader you aren’t really sure what is real or not (and he doesn’t either). It can get a little trippy and there were moments where I found myself chuckling.

We do deal with some complex themes (grief, loss, mental health, addiction, faith), so I did find myself being sad and mad at times. The ending is definitely a thinker - I’m still not sure what happened.

If you like stream of consciousness type of writing, you would like the writing style of this book. There are really really long run-on sentences throughout the book that I’m only to assume are done on purpose to reflect some of the chaoticness of the narrator and would reflect how someone might talk to themselves in real life. Personally… while the writing was well done, I realize that this style is not my favorite style - I think I am naturally anxious and when I don’t get enough punctuation in paragraphs, I guess I get more anxious which is probably more of a me problem than the book.

Final star rating: 3.5 (rounded up to 4 since we can only do full stars on this platform).

4.5⭐️


With exquisite prose, dark humor, complex characters and a gripping narrative that revolves around themes of grief, trauma, fatherhood, racial identity and legacy, I found Devil Is Fine by John Vercher hard to put down.

As the novel begins, we meet our unnamed narrator/protagonist, a biracial author born to a White mother and Black father, grappling with the recent loss of his teenage son Malcolm. When he inherits a plot of land from his estranged maternal grandfather, he wants nothing to do with the property and travels south to initiate all necessary formalities for its sale. However, a routine inspection of the land leads to a shocking discovery. As the dark history of the land and his ancestors is gradually revealed, our protagonist is traumatized by the implications.

Adding to his grief and pain are his strained personal relationships and the stress brought on by the fact that his latest manuscript isn’t generating much interest among publishing houses and that his inability to publish in recent years might make it difficult for him to hold on to his teaching position.

As our narrator slips back into old habits, triggering a downward spiral, what follows is a fever dream-like journey wherein the lines between reality and imagination begin to blur, past and present collapses into a hallucinatory series of events that force our protagonist to confront his complicated feelings about his legacy and explore how the same has impacted the most important aspects of his life.

The narrative is shared from the PoV of our unnamed protagonist in the form of a one-sided conversation with his deceased son. The author has deftly woven an element of magical realism into the narrative, creating a tension-filled almost claustrophobic vibe but also injects enough dry humor into the narrative so as not to overwhelm. The strength of this novel lies in its in-depth exploration of the protagonist's psyche – his beliefs, his motivations, his inner conflict and his worldview - as he wavers between moments of lucidity and phantasmagoria. The supporting characters are well thought out, and from their interactions with our narrator we are provided an insightful look into how he is perceived by those who know him/ come to know him as opposed to his self-perception. We might question our narrator's choices, because at times, his motivations are difficult to understand, but at no point do we stop rooting for him to emerge from his traumatized state and embark on a journey of self-acceptance, forgiveness, healing and redemption.

I appreciated the significance of the cover art - which is indicative of the symbolism of the jellyfish, which is integral to the narrative - more after reading the book. I only wish that we were given a bit more insight into past events and the history of the plantation.

I paired my reading with the incredible audio narration by Dion Graham who brought this story, the setting and the characters to life making for an intense immersion reading experience.

Overall, I thought this was a brilliantly crafted work of literary fiction that I would not hesitate to recommend to those who enjoy character-driven narratives with an element of magical realism.

Many thanks to Celadon Books for the digital review copy and Macmillan Audio for ALC via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Devil is Fine follows a biracial narrator who is well known for his work and writings regarding Black identity and Black culture. When he learns that he has inherited land from his white grandfather and soon thereafter learn that it was formerly a plantation with slaves, he does not know how to reconcile this information. This book alternates between real and imagined and was a little difficult for me to follow early on. It kind of seemed to jump around. As I read further, I believe this to be intentional to the story as the narrator processes his own grief and his family legacy.

I was a little stunned after reading this book. It was so beautiful, unique, and mesmerizing. I kind of felt like I had woken up from a trance when I was done; the writing was so beautiful. With the added layers of magical realism to this story, and the slight sarcasm and dry humor, the heavy subjects of grief and racism are tackled in a non-heavy hitting way. It still makes your heart hurt, but with the feeling that everything is going to be okay.

I did a tandem read & listen to this book, and while I LOVED the narrators voice, I preferred to go back and read what I had listened to so I could recapture some of his writing. I don’t know how to explain it, but seeing the words written out helped his writing really sink in.

Overall a fantastic book. If you’re a fan of literary fiction and beautiful prose, with a light dose of magical realism, you’ll love this book.

Wow - this book was a wild ride. Hard to categorize, it's a bit of a fever dream with scenes you're not quite sure are real or imagined by the narrator. The book touches on grief, loss, confronting your past, parenting, forgiveness, race, and more, all packed into a compact little novel. The main character is a professor who has lost his only son as a teenager -- this sets the stage but you don't learn until later in the book what has happened. The narrator is really going through a lot, when he finds out he inherits some land that was intended for his son...land that used to be a plantation (adding to the complexity, the narrator is mixed race). The jellyfish and dirt on the cover of the book make sense in time -- reoccurring in parts of the book in meaningful ways. This book was a wild ride and I thought it was incredibly creative and poignant at the same time.

One man’s grief expressed in magical realism and commentary on racism—this book was a lot and I liked it. It meandered, which is my only quibble. I’m not a hundred percent sure what the message was, but I thought it explored topics of family history, grief, and transformation in a compelling way.
A black man inherits a plantation site from a white relative, while dealing with the recent loss of his son. And something strange is happening to his body. His whole life is turned upside down, and I wasn’t always sure what was going on, but the writing transfixed me and I didn’t want to stop reading.
Thanks to the publisher for the ebook arc.

This was a unique story. In the end it comes together but I found myself wondering what was going on at multiple points in the story. I loved the struggle the MC went through trying to navigate such a strange situation after the inheritance and what he learned about himself. I overall enjoyed the story.

A biracial, author and professor has just lost his son. He is having a terrible time coping with his grief. When he discovers he has inherited a plantation from the white side of the family he decides to go and see what this is all about. He discovers more than he ever expected.

Y’all! This is one beautifully written book! This author has some of the best prose! As a matter of fact…I have read thousands of books in my life and this is one of the best first chapters I have ever read.

I am singing this author’s praises, but I was a bit confused throughout the story. This is the reason for the 4 star rating. I think that this story is above my head in some places. Or maybe I am not as in tune to my feelings as I need to be to follow exactly what the author wants to portray.

This story is full of grief, emotion, symbolism and life lessons. It is hard to know how you will react upon the death of a child. So along with the hard issues in this novel, it also has quite a bit of humor. There were several places I laughed out loud.

Need a story which will have you thinking and pondering…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Recently, the biggest tell I have for how highly I view a story in any media form is how eager I am for others to experience it themselves.

I want everyone to read this book.

John Vercher is a highly acclaimed author that I had not read until this novel and now an author I will read more from in the future.

In Devil Is Fine, Vercher writes from the viewpoint of a father trying to come to terms with the loss of his son and the loss of his sanity. The way in which Vercher writes allows for so much movement within the story - like the feeling one has when watching rolling waves at sea.

With themes of race relations, changing family dynamics, the haunting of haints and phantom-aquatic limbs, and the challenges of maintaining ones mental health when faced with overwhelming grief, Vercher creates a story so meta and surreal the reader questions what genre they have even delved into.

While it did take a minute or two (read as 21% into the book) for my initial interest in the story to find purchase, I could not put it down and the use of alliteration as well as the references (I mean They Live, Gremlins, AND Jurassic Park?!) are enough to make this story worth the read alone.

So much of our history has been written and crafted by the same people who have tried to erase our physical beings from existence. Devil Is Fine is also a reminder of the continued work needed to ensure that the stories of Black, Indigenous, and other Persons of Color are heard and remembered.

Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan, and John Vercher for a humorous, historical, and highly satisfactory read.

"These keepsakes for the dead never made sense to me. I don't want a placeholder for your absence."

"DEADLIFT
I don't
know how to weight loss
But I do
know how heavy it is."

"I was an anchor to her grief and my petulance had finally been enough to unmoor her."

"But I think maybe that's what faith is, yeah? Not exactly believing in God, but believing he believes in you."

"... I don't think you should do it because you need to be free of someone else's notion of you, you know? If you did would you really be free of it?"

"Because controversy sells just as much as voyeurism."

"I already been made to serve. I ain't going to serve living and dead. If your devil is real, send me to him. If I got to choose between your God and the devil, then the devil is fine. Send me to him so I can haunt you and yours until all your dying days."

"Don't we need magic, too, Freddy? Hell, don't we deserve it from ourselves?"

I think if you’re looking for a literary Yellowface-esque book, this if definitely for you! It leaves a lot to think about as it bends our perception of reality, and such a strong novel.