"I, Lucifer" by Glen Duncan - Book Review

In I, Lucifer by Glen Duncan, Lucifer gets a final chance to save his soul and gain his way back into heaven. To do this, Lucifer must live out the rest of his life in a human body, and when he dies a mortal death (however that life ends), if he has lived a life deserving of a seat in heaven, he will return to heaven in his angelic form. Lucifer is able to convince God to give him a one month “trial” in human form, and at the end of that month, he will decide whether to continue in human form, or to spend the rest of eternity in nothingness.

The human being Lucifer gets to inhabit is Declan Gunn, an author on the brink of suicide. Although the month “trial” was so that Lucifer would desire to reform, from the start Lucifer had no such intentions, and instead desired to put Gunn’s body through as much sin as he could while taking a month off from being the “devil”. Lucifer puts Gunn’s body through a ton of drugs, alcohol, and sex, while at the same time elevating Gunn above his low-level life to promote the story of Lucifer’s own fall from heaven.

Leading a sinful life is not as easy as he intended it to be, when Gunn’s own feelings start to interact with Lucifer’s. Feelings about an ex-girlfriend make Lucifer act on feelings he has never felt before. When given new knowledge of the future of the world, the decision becomes even harder.

Written through the perspective of the “devil” himself, I, Lucifer is full of witty, social commentary told through very unique eyes. Lucifer does not shy away from telling it as he sees it, making for a humorous, yet eye opening look at both the human and spiritual worlds. Even though you know it’s the “devil”, he has such a way with words that you begin to question just how much of what he says could really be true. He connects further to the reader when he describes his senses as a human for the first time. We begin to realize just how much of the world we take for granted, and we long to feel like he feels.

Perhaps it is because the reader is so drawn into the story with such great descriptions and discussions of the world, but at a few points in the novel, the story gets a little off track. Lucifer himself admits that he wants to say so much and knows he can’t, thus he is a little sporadic with his storytelling. Yet, at times, the plot lines of the story become lost, and instead Lucifer’s thought process takes precedence, and at times, the reader gets a little lost. In addition, the reader is constantly reminded that the deal is one month, yet so much happens without giving you a sense of where in that month it is, again creating a sense of uncertainty of where in the story the action takes place.

I, Lucifer takes a unique concept and ultimately creates a story of the possibility of redemption in a sinful world. The comedy, intelligent thought, and creativity of the “devil’s” prose allows the reader to set aside the sporadic storytelling at times, and instead allows the reader to enjoy the ride.

"I, Lucifer" by Glen Duncan - Book Review