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Jan 28, 2017lukasevansherman rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
"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." Debut novel from Ohioan Donald Ray Pollock, whose still has been called hillbilly gothic, but I prefer white trash noir. Bringing together a range of damaged and disturbing characters, including a serial killer couple, a local sheriff, a fervently religious vet and his son, "The Devil All the Time" plunges you into a very dark, very violent world where, despite the religion theme, God is nowhere to be found. Comparisons to Flannery O'Connor and Cormac McCarthy are common and a few see similarities to Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers," which I think is inaccurate. Stone's film is wildly over the top and bombastic in its "satire" about violence and media. Pollock isn't trying to shock, he simply presents the brutality and nihilism of this world. That said, I think his second novel, "The Heavenly Table," which has more of a conventional crime story is stronger. It's almost too perfect that he grew up in a town called Knockemstiff, which is also the name of his first book, a collection of short stories.