Up Jumps the Devil

Starred review from May 7, 2012
In his skillfully plotted and richly metaphorical debut novel, Poore sweeps from the beginning of time to a media-obsessed, 21st-century America chronicling the Devil’s quest to “raise the civilizations of earth until they looked down on Heaven.” The Devil’s motivation is not to win the universe, but only his long-lost love, an angel who descended with him from heaven only to leave again because she felt life on Earth was too brutal. In his mission to make Earth a “smarter, shinier, braver place,” the Devil pops up in ancient Egypt, in Ben Franklin’s lab, on the 1776 battlefield beside George Washington, and in the White House with JFK. He also makes an appearance at Woodstock and on his own reality TV show. Though the novel makes many jumps through time and location, the love story at the core holds the work together. In Poore’s hands, the world’s oldest antagonist becomes an unlikely but thoroughly lovable hero. Agent: Michelle Brower, Folio Literary Management.

July 1, 2012
Poore's first novel starts with an exciting premise. The devil has lived on earth since practically the beginning of time and was instrumental in creating everything from Egypt and Rome to the colonies at Plymouth Rock, life insurance, disco music, Woodstock, televangelism, video games, and celebrity obsession, among other things. The devil, being the devil, is not a great guy, but he sees promise in humanity and wants to help them speed things up a bit, so he pushes here and nudges there to move evolutionary and technological progress along without actually pulling the strings (that'd be no fun). The story jumps from the beginning of creation to the present and everywhere in between as the devil bargains for souls, makes mischief, and learns about fundamental human nature. It's a fun idea, but Poore relies a little too heavily on the punchy premise and leaves something to be desired in the way of character development and soulfulness. Still, readers may chuckle at the idea that the devil himself is behind The Real Housewives.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)