Devil Is Fine

A Novel

By: John Vercher

Narrated by: Dion Graham

Long-listed, Time Magazine Best Books of the Year, 2024

Long-listed, CPL: Chicago Public Library Best of the Best, 2024

This program is read by award-winning narrator Dion Graham.

"Devil Is Fine is self-deprecatingly tender, often bracingly hilarious, and at its heart is a runaway train through the haunted house of us. And I loved it. Don't miss it."—Dion Graham

"Graham’s rich, inviting, sigh-inducing voice magically weaves another irresistible aural web...Graham is wondrous throughout, seamlessly assuming and discarding characterizations with accuracy and aplomb, from dubious allies to empathic strangers and pretentious experts. His impressive range effortlessly melds dark humor, chaotic surrealism, and historic horror into another rewardingly mesmerizing performance."—Booklist (Starred Review)

From acclaimed novelist John Vercher, a profoundly moving novel of what it means to be a father, a son, a writer, and a biracial American fighting to reconcile the past

Reeling from the sudden death of his teenage son, our narrator receives a letter from an attorney: he has just inherited a plot of land from his estranged grandfather. He travels to a beach town several hours south of his home with the intention of immediately selling the land. But upon inspection, what lies beneath the dirt is much more than he can process in the throes of grief. As a biracial Black man struggling with the many facets of his identity, he’s now the owner of a former plantation passed down by the men on his white mother’s side of the family.

Vercher deftly blurs the lines between real and imagined, past and present, tragedy and humor, and fathers and sons in this story of discovery—and a fight for reclamation—of a painful past. With the wit of Paul Beatty’s The Sellout and the nuance of Zadie Smith’s On Beauty, Devil Is Fine is a darkly funny and brilliantly crafted dissection of the legacies we leave behind and those we inherit.

A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books.

©2024 John Vercher (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Devil is Fine is many things: part meditation, part fever dream, and part high-wire act that, somehow, Vercher executes flawlessly. Few have the imagination to write like this, and even fewer have the skill."—Jason Mott, author of National Book Award winner Hell of a Book

"As arresting as it is propulsive, Devil is Fine plunges readers into every parents' worst nightmare, and asks, What do we owe to those we've failed? Vercher's rapid-fire insights on fatherhood, loss, and redemption are necessary reading. The novel's final pages will leave you breathless."—Jonathan Escoffery, author of the Booker Prize finalist If I Survive You

“How can we bear a world in which the pain of our past threatens to extinguish the promise of our future? John Vercher’s lovingly caustic Devil Is Fine threads this question with dexterity and heart, allowing for the possibility that our flaws might also be our salvation.”—Mira Jacob, author of national bestsellers Good Talk and The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing

Well told story

The narrator had a way of pulling you in with pitch, timber, volume, breath…The writer did a brilliant job of blurring the lines of the story in past/present.

Mesmerizing

I listened to it in one day. From the opening sentence, I was hooked. The writing, the performance - INCREDIBLE! Tear and laugh inducing. As the observer, I didn't always know if I was up, down, sideways, or diagonal. A true delight in every sense of the word.

Amazing Narrator and Reader

I loved how genuine and authentic the narrator was and how well suited the reader was to match him. A truly wild journey, both heartbreaking and unbelievable, completely worth the ride.

Narrator was phenomenal

The writing / storyline was amazing. Especially enjoyed the cultural dynamics and its relevancy of today.