Out, Beelzebub!

Perhaps the highest recommendation I can give for Johnathan Wilber’s novel “Out, Beelzebub!” is this: he completed it just about the time we started dating. Things were going just so-so between us and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue. He gave me the book and after I read it there was no longer a question in my mind; the guy who wrote this book was a guy I wanted to get to know better.

And so I did. 

The book is a freewheeling madcap adventure concerning a pair of writers (Damien-Vic and Janet Wolber) locked in a fierce rivalry. Except the rivalry is one-sided. Janet is a huge success while Damien-Vic toils away in frustrated, geeky obscurity. (Think Jonathan Schwartzman at his most neurotic.)

As I read the book I was constantly reminded of “A Confederacy of Dunces” both in its style and in its farcical characters and situations. “Dunces” happens to be my favorite novel and Johnathan’s book is not left wanting by comparison. In the scope of narrative and in the length and breadth of insane experiences the characters find themselves propelled along by, “Beelzebub” is epic. Time doesn’t really proceed logically (a lengthy prison term somehow doesn’t get in the way of Damien-Vic’s unrelenting scheming against Janet) and outrageous plot developments are treated as normal events (the runaway success of a clothing line... for Chihuahuas?)

I frequently found myself laughing out loud as I read, happy to be launched into the craziness along with the various characters in the novel. 

Oh, and did I mention it’s also really sexy?

Trust me: this is the best $3.99 you’ll spend in a long, long time. But if you still need a reason to buy the book, there’s always this: 

Click on the image below to purchase the eBook through Amazon.com.