Overall the idea of the book I have no problem with. Taking on fear and loneliness and not exactly winning.There was just two things I had a big problem with. One, Nick keeps making obscure academic references in a stream of consciousness sort of flow or making radical statements about other characters or events without explanation. I felt like I was being told to accept the protagonist is intelligent for unnecessary reasons. And then the same message was repeated over and over again. Two, we hear about Nick having sex a lot, which is fine whatever. But the description of the sex scenes felt really similar while also trying to make each one sound absolutely epic. After a while I was dying for the author to just skim over the evening with the ladies. Beyond these things any criticisms I have are just personal bias. First, to be up-front, I suspect that Nick Tosches could write a lengthy grocery list and I'd find it an interesting read. He's an erudite, learned guy who can put words together in beautiful ways, and make even the lowest of low-lifes spit out poetry. I've read more of his non-fiction than fiction, but found the description of "Me and the Devil" pretty compelling so I picked it up. I'm glad I did -- but, honestly, I'd have to be cautious about recommending this book, because it depends on your proclivities, interests, and tolerance for both philosophical wanderings and heavy carnal goings-on. The novel's essentially a first-person tale of Tosches himself facing his demons and the devil alike, whilst stumbling through everything from possible vampiric rejuvenation to losing months to an alcoholic downward spiral. As to how much is really him, and how much is fictional, well, the boundary's a blurry one, but that doesn't matter to the story. "Me and the Devil" feels to me like a New York-set mixture of "Against Nature", "Maldoror", and something that doesn't exist elsewhere. The blend of decadence, philosophy, perversion, misanthropy, and alcohol-fueled fantasy is pretty unique, and definitely my thing. Much of it is pretty dreamlike, but along the way you'll pick up bits and pieces of information about Heraclitus, Maupassant, Hesse, cooking, Japanese knives, wine, Buddhism, and more. There are moments of casual racism which, even if in character, would have been better smoothed out. But overall, so long as some rough sexual conduct won't bother you and the rest sounds interesting, then you're in for a great ride.
What do You think about Me And The Devil (2012)?
Believe all of the other reviews. Simply terrible. Stupid premise and pointless. Pass on this
—ymsmm
A waste if literature. Started out "interesting" but it never grabbed attention again.
—kendra
Can you give minus stars? I read 56 pages . . . enough for me!
—kohlran
