The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock

Roy looked at his crippled cousin with tears running down his face. "Jesus, I think I killed her."

Theodore pushed himself closer and pressed the back of his dirty hand against her face. "She is dead, all right."
~~Page 36

Title: The Devil All the Time
Author: Donald Ray Pollock
ISBN: 9780385535045
Publisher: Doubleday/2011
Pages: 304

It is one of the most compelling novels I read in recent times. The characters are weird, bizarre, almost menacing at times. Almost all of the characters are poor and very much real. It is not a commentary on religion or evil. It is about people we see around us, fanatics, over the edge, yet living a normal life.

The setting is in West Virginia and Ohio, the backroads of rural America where people are poor and down-trodden, homes are ramshackle and filthy. We get to meet Willard Russell who has served his time in the South Pacific and can't get over the brutality of war. He puts all of that behind him when he meets and falls in love with the beautiful Charlotte. Willard and Charlotte have a son, Arvin Eugene. Then we meet Carl and Sandy Henderson, married psychopaths who have a terrifying and disturbing hobby of murdering males they meet while driving around. Carl has this habit of photographing the victims before they are killed. . Two other weird characters are, a so-called preacher, Roy, and his wheelchair bound cousin and partner, Theodore. Both are running away from the law after murdering. How the life of Arvin Eugene is connected with all of this is the main highlight of the novel.

All of these lives become entangled together, which propels the story forward in a very good pace. Pollock's descriptions of the characters were so vivid that you can almost see their gestures, features and idiosyncrasies. The novel is gut-wrench at times. And the negatives and positive aspects of the characters gets blurred. The writing is too good and the characterization of a whole cast of people is finely-tuned. A mixture of religion, southern Gothic and haunting people, as well as places and the plots create a dark story. This novel is not for those who like happy endings. However, I found the ending totally apt, as I thought there can't be anything better.

Here I leave you with young Arvin's thoughts about his father, before Willard committed Suicide, after his wife's death: 

“Unless he had whiskey running through his veins, Willard came to the clearing every morning and evening to talk to God. Arvin didn't know which was worse, the drinking or the praying. As far back as he could remember, it seemed that his father had fought the Devil all the time.”

In the Bag by Kate Kilse

"He was adorable in every shot with his wide-open smile and rumpled hair. I, meanwhile, looked like a girl who wears granny panties and padded bras----which I don't. Not anymore, anyway."

~~~Page 192, In the Bag

Title: In the Bag
Author: Kate Klise
ISBN: 9780062108050
Publisher: William Morrow/2012
Pages: 306

After a long time, I finished a book in one go! I just couldn't put down In The Bag. Two similar bags get wrongly picked by two teenagers and rest, as they say, is history!! Webb and Coco, the two teenagers are frantic about their lost luggage and one of them finds an email id of the other and writes. There is a massive exchange of emails between the two. They feel some sort of pull towards each other. Webb comes to see Coco in Paris, without telling his father Andrew, who is in Madrid for work.

Coco's mother, Daisy leaves for Madrid to help out an old friend, Solange. She is a famous chef. There she meets Andrew and they hit it off! Now Andrew had slipped a note into her bag but she does not know that, thinking it is from some creep and he cannot tell her that it was him. 

Meanwhile, both the kids meet, without telling their parents and although they have a great day, both part somewhat sad, thinking they offended the other. Now Andrew and Daisy decide to meet again in Barcelona, along with their kids. Coco and Webb meet again. They are too shocked to talk to each at first. But soon they are chatting like old friends. And it is time for the parents to have misunderstandings!!

Both have the same flight schedule to Paris and both change that to avoid the other. No guessing. All end up in the same flight. What happens next? Well you gotta read the novel to find out!

The email exchanges are great, the interactions between the kids as well as their parents are witty, quirky and funny. Told in the voices of Coco, Webb, Daisy and Andrew, I liked the pace, the thought process of all four involved. Go for it! Who knows it might answer that big question, are there chance meetings or designed by Universe? Food for thought....

BTW, I learnt a lot about Jimmy Webb.......

The Minefields by Steven C. Eisner

Title: The Minefields
Author: Steven C. Eisner
ISBN: 978-1937836023
Publisher: When Words Count Publishing/2012
Pages: 320

The Minefields deals with the world of advertising, something I knew nothing about. Sam Spiegel, the protagonist, takes us into the internal world of advertising, not an easy business. It deals with his life, his family and friends. 

The novel takes us into the emotional depths and conflicts. Sam's character is well developed and we see a varied range of his emotions. He is complex yet likeable. Hard to understand but very balanced decisions at the end of the day. Sam takes the business to great levels despite opposition.

It is totally a readable book although we can see the pathos but that is dwelt with a depth of humour