Up Jumps the Devil

"Part fable, part warped historical travelogue . . . an inscrutably charming debut novel that poses the question: What if Satan wasn't that bad a guy?"*

He's made of wood. He cooks an excellent gumbo. Cows love him. And he's the world's first love story . . . and the world's first broken heart.

Meet the darkly handsome, charming, John Scratch, a.k.a. The Devil. Ever since his true love, a fellow fallen angel named Arden, decided that Earth was a little too terrifying and a little too violent, John Scratch has been trying to lure her back from the forgiving grace of Heaven. Though the wonders of Egypt nor the glories of Rome weren't enough to keep her on Earth, John Scratch believes he's found a new Eden: America.

From Pocahontas and the Pilgrims onward, John Scratch capitalizes on the bounty of this arcadia. Then, one dark night in the late 1960s, he meets three down-on-their-luck musicians and strikes a deal. In exchange for their souls, he'll grant them fame, wealth, and the chance to make the world a better place. Soon, the trio are helping the Devil push his pet nation towards the height of civilization—or so he thinks. But there's a great deal about humans he still needs to learn, even after so many millennia among them.

Overflowing with imagination, originality, insight, and humor, rippling with history and myth, Up Jumps the Devil is an immensely fun read, a richly entertaining, clever and madcap journey as irresistible and charming as the devil himself.

"I don't know where Michael Poore came from, but I sure am glad he's here." —*New York Times–bestselling author Patrick deWitt