The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock
“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.”
Synopsis:
“Set in rural southern Ohio and West Virginia, The Devil All the Time follows a cast of compelling and bizarre characters from the end of World War II to the 1960s. There’s Willard Russell, tormented veteran of the carnage in the South Pacific, who can’t save his beautiful wife, Charlotte, from an agonizing death by cancer no matter how much sacrificial blood he pours on his “prayer log.” There’s Carl and Sandy Henderson, a husband-and-wife team of serial killers, who troll America’s highways searching for suitable models to photograph and exterminate. There’s the spider-handling preacher Roy and his crippled virtuoso-guitar-playing sidekick, Theodore, running from the law. And caught in the middle of all this is Arvin Eugene Russell, Willard and Charlotte’s orphaned son, who grows up to be a good but also violent man in his own right.” - Goodreads
I want to start by saying that this novel is brutal and definitely not for sensitive readers. *I will include some trigger warnings below if you are undecided about reading.* Many violent scenes are depicted within the novel as readers follow a sordid bunch of perverse characters. None are, by any means, likable, but while some act out of pure evil, others are motivated by desperation or loneliness. Arvin’s father Willard being one of them, as he creates a sacrificial prayer log in a desperate attempt to save his dying wife, Charlotte. An introduction of veteran Willard and his haunting memory of World War II becomes the foundation for malicious and foul intent, which creates a ripple of violence throughout the story. The “hero” of the novel is the son of Willard, Arvin, who adopts violent tendencies to survive his rural settings and the wicked people he encounters.
Review:
Violence within the novel is not solely used for shock value. It provides a broader context for understanding the desperation and loneliness resulting in impoverished rural living. Boredom and an inability to escape also leads to alcoholism, corruption, and more violence. Even Arvin, the most sensible character of the lot, must constantly ride the waves between good and evil.
Many characters, including Willard and Charlotte Russell, Sandy Hendersen, Roy Lafferty, and Theodore deteriorate as the novel develops and events unfold. Pollock reveals how the reality these characters exist in ultimately destroy them. Notions of the Devil seep into every corner of the novel as preachers profess the word of God to the community only to conduct vile and sinful acts on the side.
Pollock creates a festering, blistering wound of an atmosphere that can be difficult to digest. With that said, I loved it and was drawn in from the very first page. If you love reading about detestable characters with a hopeless end, this is definitely for you! I haven’t seen the newly released Netflix film, and I’m not sure if I ever will, but The Devil All the Time was definitely a worthy read!
*Trigger Warnings: suicide, murder, rape, animal cruelty*