The Devil All the Time

Like William Gay (notice the nod on p. 170), Pollock tells a brutal, inevitable tale of the wages of savagery. The entire book is a sublimated nightmare. There's grace here, too, though it comes through an awful purchase. Pollock would be in good company with Jim Thompson and Harry Crews. This is a book that means something.

Some reviewers have questions the comparison of Pollock and Flannery O'Connor. But there is no doubt that Pollock is the heir to O'Connors throne as a master of the grotesque. This work is hard to stomach at times but trudging of this Dantesque world like the Comedy ends in grace. A disturbing and enlightening read.

Having read the "Knockemstiff" book by Donald Ray I hoped he would keep writing in the same vein. I wasn't disappointed with "The Devil All the Time". I was born in central West Virginia and raised in a small town in northeast Ohio so the characters in his books are like family to me. A great read !!!

I certainly wouldn't hitchhike after reading this book. Not a particuarly nice story which features an unlikely couple of serial killers. This story is not your usual suspense story, but is more realistic.

The devil rules the day in this tangle of despicable and twisted souls.

Unrelenting and gratuitous violence haunt the story-line, sending all of its deranged and freakish participants to a fiery literary inferno, where hopefully they will stay and never been seen or heard of again.

The best I can offer is that it is a fast-paced story and well-written in that limited sense.

What is missing in the story-line is any real semblance of a reason for all of this messy and unrelenting violence and an over-arching response or counterbalance that renders a perspective and antidote to such ugly and inhumane acts.

Hemingway once said "There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." I can smell the blood on every page of Donald Ray Pollock's riveting novel, "The Devil All the Time". Reading this book is like feeling your way through a carnival fun house, something horrible and grotesque jumps out at you at every corner turning your blood to ice and attacking your senses. But when you get to the end you get back in line and buy another ticket. Pollock's characters have more than depth, they have heft, a weight of pain, desire and depravity they carry through every chapter. The story line is simple and intricate at once, expanding the cast of characters at the story flows from one macabre twist to the next and then turns back on itself as each character's voice comes together like a well conducted symphony at the end. The writing itself is powerful, full of dark, lyrical energy. Pollock has masterfully captured the unspoken menace and simple intensity exclusive to the people of the western Appalachians as well as Breece D'J Pancake ever could. He has also managed to contrast the religious fervor of the truly, albeit misguided, faithful with the hypocritical corruption and profanity of the conveniently pious with a deftness that would do Flannery O'Connor proud. From seasonal serial killers, to bug-eating church circuit riders, to bloodthirsty prayer logs and sacrificial lambs, this book is a deeply disturbing masterpiece. I can't wait for Pollock's next release.
---V. Mark Covington, author of Bullfish, Heavenly Pleasure, 2012 Montezuma's Revenge and Homemade Sin.

Once I started reading, it was difficult to stop. Engaging characters, each with their own story, who all link together in a story that picks up steam as it rolls along. And amidst all of the depravity, there is redemption. Loved it!

I immediately pre-ordered Mr. Pollock's first novel when I found out several months ago "The Devil All the Time" was to be published this month. Impatient for the shipment to arrive I purchased the Kindle version yesterday, the first day of its availability.

My impatience was rewarded with the first read being straight through, impossible to set aside. Mr. Pollock is an incredible talent, and now I anticipate his next work. Until then, I'll take the time to savor his current publications.

Wowzers. This was an amazing book. I bought it on a recommendation form a friend and was NOT disappointed. Very dark and disturbing but constant plot movement and great characters. I feel like people who are into Stephen King type dark would enjoy this.

Engaged. Engaged. Engaged. Touches on my surroundings of a familiar Appalachia. The tone and feel of the characters felt honest and close. The ending became predictable, however, the simplicity of the end was well appreciated.

Good read, pretty interesting characters to say the least. I wasn't sure what to really take from the story other than there are some pretty messed up people that do some pretty messed up things out there. I guess this was just their tale and it's always good to read about lives that are not much like your own.

Great Book, Great Story, Great Price and I received it fast. Better than Knockemstiff, I couldn't put it down and can't wait for a movie. Dusty did a great job with this one. A twisted tale with everyone getting what they deserve in the end, yet you can't help feeling a little sorry for some of them. Read it, you'll like it, well worth the cash. Not your average serial killer tale, I highly recommend it.

Engaged. Engaged. Engaged. Touches on my surroundings of a familiar Appalachia. The tone and feel of the characters felt honest and close. The ending became predictable, however, the simplicity of the end was well appreciated.

Good read, pretty interesting characters to say the least. I wasn't sure what to really take from the story other than there are some pretty messed up people that do some pretty messed up things out there. I guess this was just their tale and it's always good to read about lives that are not much like your own.

Great Book, Great Story, Great Price and I received it fast. Better than Knockemstiff, I couldn't put it down and can't wait for a movie. Dusty did a great job with this one. A twisted tale with everyone getting what they deserve in the end, yet you can't help feeling a little sorry for some of them. Read it, you'll like it, well worth the cash. Not your average serial killer tale, I highly recommend it.

Do it now. Read this and Pollock's earlier book "Knockemstiff" before 1) Pollock's next book (here's hoping) comes out, or 2) somebody does you in. This is Larry Brown channeled from a darker place. Read it now, before it's too late.

Heard about this author on Terri Gross' NPR show. "Blue collar guy" turned author. Trust me, it's well plotted, engaging read. Thoroughly enjoyable... a little "hinky" (some gross elements) but very well done.

When Terry Gross interviewed Donald Ray Pollock on "Fresh Air" (NPR), the author, in his down-home voice, said that he often would type out published stories he liked for the purpose of studying how the author wrote them. I don't recall his mentioning Flannery O'Connor. But almost from the moment I started reading this novel, the voice of Ms. O'Connor was like an overlay of Mr. Pollock's. That is meant as a compliment. Let me cite a passage from the novel--and if you have ever read the haunting "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" by O'Connor, you must see what I mean:
The couple had been roaming the Midwest for several weeks during the summer of 1965, always on the hunt, two nobodies in a black Ford station wagon purchased for one hundred dollars... The man on the passenger's side was turning to fat and believed in signs and had a habit of picking his decayed teeth with a Buck pocketknife. The woman always drove and wore tight shorts and flimsy blouses that showed off her pale, bony body in a way they both thought enticing. She chain-smoked any kind of menthol cigarettes...while he chewed on cheap black cigars that he called dog dicks...
These are not people you want moving into your neighborhood although that wouldn't be a problem since they have an interest in hitchhikers. Why? Well... I'm not telling although I will go back to O'Connor and remind you that the grandmother was just a little too trusting. Stupid and too trusting, just like the characters in this wonderful novel.
These are not cartoon-ish characters although some might think so when first meeting them. They live in an existential world--our world--where many of them are totally clueless about the horrors occurring around them but go to prayer believing that prayer will bring them better lives. And then toss in things that seem more like some type of Hicksville voodism. Ever heard of a prayer log? No. Well, read this novel.
I think, like me, you will laugh but then immediately think, "But this is too horrible for me to be laughing at," telling you something about yourself. And that is so O'Connoresque. So Pollockesque.
If I could give this six stars I would.

If you're looking for something upbeat, this isn't it. It is, however, very well written, with great characters and dialog. I personally enjoyed the book immensely and would recommend it to those who like dark, gritty stories, in the vein of Quentin Tarantino and Cormac McCarthy.

This book was okay...a bit drawn out & confusing. Hard core killers and religious wack-os.

I was able to go days without reading....was not a page turner for me. I got it for $1.99,not the $11.99 current price. Not worth that, imo.
This was my first & probably last book by this author.