4.5/5
The Devil's Own Work is a beautifully written, subtly told Faustian tale, which the narrator performs perfectly.

A man relates the story of his friend, Edward, and how he became a famous and successful writer. A writer who, although he writes many words, ultimately has nothing of substance to say. Further along, we discover that Edward inherited a manuscript from a recently deceased author named Tyrell. With that manuscript he also seems to have inherited a beautiful, ageless woman named Eudoxy.

As the story unfolds, we learn more about the manuscript, (which only can be read one letter at a time, because to try to see an actual word results in the reader seeing gibberish.) It's when this manuscript falls into Edward's hands that he suddenly becomes successful. Is that because of the manuscript itself, or because of the mysterious Eudoxy? You'll have to read this to find out!

This novella length story is tight and slow to build. There isn't necessarily a denouement, but instead a growing realization of horror and what is truly involved. If you are a reader expecting a lot of action, this isn't the tale for you. However, if you have a love of language and precise storytelling, AND this premise sounds intriguing to you, I highly recommend you give The Devil's Own Work a try. It probably won't provoke any screams or shouts of terror from you, but I bet it will give you a bad case of the heebies-jeebies.

Highly recommended!

*This audiobook was provided free of charge by the narrator, in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*

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An astonishing book, written with great technical virtuosity and containing Hidden Depths. A promising young writer makes a Faustian bargain, whereby he is able to write astonishing books of great technical virtuosity, but that lack any sort of depth nor portray the world in any real way. Bad things happen to him. A mordant look at English letters. ( )

Letteratura inglesecontemporanea. Romanzo

This book tells the story of Edward, a writer, who achieves fame via a mysterious manuscript passed to him by a former "great" writer. Along with the manuscript, Edward also gets a woman. The manuscript is responsible for Edward becoming a world-renowned author. In fact, he can no longer write his own material. He can only write from the manuscript. And his new female companion never seems to age and does seem to control him at every juncture. This is a spooky story, but in my opinion, moves slowly and lacks true drama. It questions the creative muse and sheds light on the process, however, and it a worthwhile read because of that. It will not keep you awake at night, but does hold the reader's interest in a paced and sedate way. It is, of course, well written. ( )

Stephen King said, in a blurb on the cover of the book, that this was the best book he had read all year. Well, if so, I think Mr. King was doing a lot more writing than reading. The two discussions on LT were positive. It must be me because I was a bit disappointed in the book.

Not that it was terrible or badly written. It just seemed flat to me, pedestrian and without spark. It evoked no spark of tension or anticipation. As I said the problem could certainly be me. I leave it to anyone who reads the book to make up their own mind. I will neither recommend nor denigrate the book. ( )