- Hardcover: 272 pages
- Publisher: Scribner (1 July 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0743220129
- ISBN-13: 978-0743220125
- Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 13.5 x 2.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 353,351 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Glen Duncan’s I, Lucifer begins one steamy summer as some heavy negotiations are taking place in Heaven. God has decided to give Lucifer, the furthest-fallen of all fallen angels, a second chance. The Prince of Darkness can return to the fold, provided he manages to last one month on earth without sin. The human form chosen for this celestial experiment? A depressed novelist of little renown, currently contemplating suicide in his Clerkenwell garret.
Lucifer eagerly grasps the opportunity for a holiday on earth, and uses his host’s identity to re-write the story of Creation in a format that has Hollywood moguls kissing his feet. It’s not popular with Him Upstairs, of course, what with the Devil being portrayed as a maverick free-thinker and God as a humourless autocrat. But Lucifer’s having too much fun to care. He’s experiencing the pleasures of the flesh for the first time and everything – the odour of sweaty tube trains, cocaine, ice-cream, dirty sex--delights him. By the time the archangels are dispatched to bring him back, the Lord of all that’s inhumane can’t think of anything he’d rather be than human.
Lucifer befogs his audience, alternately spitting fury at them like some sulphur-charged Dennis Leary and then insisting that he’s a nice guy, just misunderstood. What’s clear, however, is that Glen Duncan is not merely one of those writers who can come up with amusing concepts. He’s a sharp, sometimes savage observer of the human condition, whose talents are as many as the legions of Hell.--Matthew Baylis
Matthew Baylis
'Duncan is a sharp, sometimes savage observer of the human condition, whose talents are as many as the legions of Hell'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A friend of mine works in a bookstore and recommended I,Lucifer a couple of years ago. He knows my taste in books so I thought I'd give it a try. Saying that it's a page-turner, that I couldn't put it down even after I had read it twice over, is a huge understatement. Truth is, the reader is immediately drawn into witnessing a series of events and afterthoughts that are unbelievably funny, cheeky, wicked and dark at the same time. Before long, I found myself empathising with Lucifer....at which point, having been a sad soul entrapped in a catholic convent school for many years, I felt compelled to put the book down and tell myself "It's Lucifer, for God's sake! You're feeling sorry for THE DEVIL". Well...it is at this stage that Duncan's work should be appreciated beyond it's literary value....because despite the nuns' influence and years of daily doses of guilt tripping, I picked the book back up and said "Yeah...so what?!"
Read it.
Read it.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I suppose I have to preface this review by saying that I am already a Glen Duncan fan, and have read all of his published novels save The Bloodstone Papers (on the reading list). At the point of my first reading of 'I, Lucifer', I had only read one other - 'Weathercock', which rocked my world and left me wanting more.
If 'Weathercock' ended up hovering around the top of my 'favourite reads' list, 'I, Lucifer' shot straight to first place. Where some of Duncan's books fall down is in the personality of the protagonist, frequently a young man musing on life after a catastrophic emotional event - they sometimes end up infuriating me with their whininess. Not so here. Lucifer has suffered, yes, has possibly been done wrong to, and yes, he complains about it; but his ultimate motive is to win over the reader, and so he narrates charmingly, persuasively and wittily.
Even while sympathising with the Devil, though, you are being shown his flaws. The more obvious ones he doesn't attempt to deny (namely, his urge to do evil), but there is more to him. This becomes more pronounced a subject towards the end of the book.
Glen Duncan's style is perhaps, as has been said, self-indulgent, but also wonderfully descriptive. He says exactly what he wants to say, sometimes in less, sometimes in more words. And what's more, what he's saying is often what a lot of us would rather ignore. He pinions human nature perfectly, using his fallen angel.
If 'Weathercock' ended up hovering around the top of my 'favourite reads' list, 'I, Lucifer' shot straight to first place. Where some of Duncan's books fall down is in the personality of the protagonist, frequently a young man musing on life after a catastrophic emotional event - they sometimes end up infuriating me with their whininess. Not so here. Lucifer has suffered, yes, has possibly been done wrong to, and yes, he complains about it; but his ultimate motive is to win over the reader, and so he narrates charmingly, persuasively and wittily.
Even while sympathising with the Devil, though, you are being shown his flaws. The more obvious ones he doesn't attempt to deny (namely, his urge to do evil), but there is more to him. This becomes more pronounced a subject towards the end of the book.
Glen Duncan's style is perhaps, as has been said, self-indulgent, but also wonderfully descriptive. He says exactly what he wants to say, sometimes in less, sometimes in more words. And what's more, what he's saying is often what a lot of us would rather ignore. He pinions human nature perfectly, using his fallen angel.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I, Lucifer is devilishly clever, fiendishly funny and angelically beautiful all at once. It's so jam-packed with description I felt I was literally being bombarded by all that Lucifer experiences all at once, but its so wittily done that it just washed into me and became an integral part of the story. Deeply satirical, Duncan has created a version of the Great Adversary that I could really get on board with - I could sympathise with his predicament and understand the motives for his every move.
The style is light, witty and highly enjoyable - I whizzed through it at lightning pace and loved every roller-coater moment of it. A Heavenly read from start to finish.
The style is light, witty and highly enjoyable - I whizzed through it at lightning pace and loved every roller-coater moment of it. A Heavenly read from start to finish.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not as good as I thought
I bought this after reading The Last Werewolf which I loved! Glen Duncan's work is generally good and he has a very distinct style which I like , although I was disappointed with... Read more
Published 1 month ago by kimberley
Amazing
Ok, so I have actually only read about 10 pages of this, but I am in love with it already. I will update you when I have finished
Published 3 months ago by Sleepysloth
"...You don't get through the average possession without the odd...
Finally, the other side of the story: why was Lucifer banished from heaven? And what is hell really like? Read more
Published 3 months ago by Eileen Shaw
Fantastic Read
This book was fantastic. I was recommended it by a friend and I am so glad that I picked it up.
A great storyline, a fantastic idea, I have always wondered how Lucifer... Read more
A great storyline, a fantastic idea, I have always wondered how Lucifer... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Hayley
Devilishly engaging
I don't want to say too much about this book by way of what it's about - it's one you really have to read for yourself. Read the blurb then settle down to it. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Juliet Foster
Love it
I love it, well written and a great concept. I've read it a few times and it never loses it's appeal.
Published 5 months ago by TonyG
Not bad enough to be good
I, Lucifer is an entertaining novel, undoubtedly, and Glen Duncan is a talented writer, but it's also a novel saddled with a major flaw that stops it from fulfilling its... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Oracle
I should have written this years ago...
Glen Duncan is without doubt the best author that has yet to strike it big. Don't be fooled - his books sell, and all reviews are glowing from the literary bods at the broad... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Paul Lagden
great book, shame about the blanks!
Loved the book, in fact was buying it to replace my copy which I lent to a friend. Loved the wit, irreverence and the unexpected ending. Read more
Published 14 months ago by regular reader
This Devil's a Charmer
From a descriptive-writing perspective, this book is almost flawless. Glen Duncan has the ability to engage all the senses of the reader, and to do so in a way I've never seen... Read more
Published 16 months ago by HeavyMetalMonty
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