Friday, March 16, 2007

I, Lucifer, by Glen Duncan

If you're offended by blasphemy, stay away from this book. If your religious views are more open minded and you feel like a good challenge (even if infinitely more humorous than serious) to your beliefs is healthy, then have fun with this read. The storyline is not complex, but the tone is just insanely funny and ultimately, this is what made the book enjoyable to me.

The basic idea is that Lucifer is offered a second chance before the apocalypse hits us: if he can manage to live the last days in the body of a mortal with a semblance of virtue, then he will be redeemed. The book is narrated in first person by the prince of lies himself. The language is so foul and the subject matter often so profane that even the most derelict reader will at times feel blood rush to the cheeks. Still, I found this book worthwhile for the riotous fun and for the philosophical and the religious themes that permeate the story. Of course, I had to put aside all my religious sensitivities for a few days, while I read it or else I would probably have felt like I was condemning myself to an eternity of suffering in Hades.

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