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Nick Tosches
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Me and the Devil: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Nick Tosches (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 86 ratings
Editors' pick Best Literature & Fiction
See all formats and editions
An aging New Yorker, a writer named Nick, feels life ebbing out of him. The world has gone to hell and Nick is so sick of it all that he can't even have a glass of champagne. Then one night he meets a tantalizing young woman who agrees to come back to his apartment. Their encounter is the most strangely extraordinary of his life. Propelled by uncontrollable, primordial desires, he enters a new and unimagined dimension of the forbidden and is filled with a sexual and spiritual ecstasy that is as intense as it is unholy.

Suddenly Nick's senses are alive. He feels strong, unconquerable, beyond all inhibition and earthly morality. He indulges in life's pleasures, pure and perverse, sublime and dangerous, from the delicate flavors of the perfect tomato to the fleshy beauty of a woman's thigh. But Nick's desire to sustain his rapture leads him to a madness and a darkness far greater and dreadful than have ever ridden the demon mares of night. Writing in a lineage that includes Dante, William S. Burroughs, Charles Bukowski, Hubert Selby, Jr., and Hunter S. Thompson, Nick Tosches may be America's last real literary outlaw -- a fearless, uncensorable seeker of our deepest secret truths and desires, from the basest to the most beautiful.

Me and the Devil is outrageous, disturbing, and brilliant, a raw and blazing novel truly unlike any other. Like the man said: Read him at your peril.

"A raw and blazing novel by "the single, most brain-searingly dangerous man of letters. Read him at your peril." -- Anthony Bourdain
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  1. Print length
    393 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Little, Brown and Company
  4. Publication date
    December 4, 2012
  5. File size
    3.8 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best Books of the Month, December 2012: Once upon a time--before heartthrob bloodsuckers sparkled in the sunlight of chaste daydreams--vampires meant sex and danger, blood and animal, Victorian taboo made unflesh, scratching at your windows in the small hours. In Me and the Devil, Nick Tosches doesn’t quite reach back to the Gothic (though he may reach for the Gnostic, if you want to dig into the seedier details) with his tale of an aging writer--a decrepit Drac of the New York night--who discovers rejuvenation in the femoral blood of his willing female complements. His book is so packed with grit, vice, and gore as to make it a queasy recommendation for unsuspecting readers, but if you think you’re ready, go for it. Me and the Devil is a throwback to the fearless writing of William Burroughs, Jim Carroll, and Richard Hell, a book heedless of boundaries and conscience. --Jon Foro

From Publishers Weekly

In this novel of sadomasochistic vampirism, an aging writer drinks blood to restore youth, vitality, and the urge to write. Nick is a misanthrope who sees people as a source of tedium and acid reflux. With young women, he enjoys rough sex, the kind that draws blood (his pickups like to be raped, bitten, and whipped). But there are no black capes or bats; instead, drinking blood is the transgressive act of an intellectual, an incarnadine feast over dull conversations about, among other things, the efficiency of the Greek language or the precision of Latin when it comes to oral sex. Nick also converses with the devil, about haberdashery and The Music Man. Occasionally, Tosches (In the Hand of Dante) uses the narrator as a mouthpiece to decry the monopoly of bookstores (a subject he's covered before), island-nigger nannies... pushing white yuppie brats in three-grand prams and strollers, and other topics. The book is composed of turgid prose, pornographic sex, misogyny, and slurs, images, and scenes impartial in their offensiveness, such as a woman falling in love with her rapist. A novel for the most devoted fans of transgressive fiction and the most outré vampire erotica. (Dec. 4)

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0076DD4TI
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little, Brown and Company (December 4, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 4, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3.8 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 393 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 86 ratings

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Nick Tosches

Nick Tosches

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Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
86 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers praise the writing style as captivating and well-written with a remarkable command of language. They find the pacing interesting, thrilling, and exuberant. Many describe the book as original and striking. However, opinions differ on readability and storyline quality. Some find it an enjoyable and worthwhile read, while others consider it weak and lacking a substantial ending.

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Writing stylePacingOriginalityReadabilityStoryline
11 customers mention "Writing style"11 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's writing style. They find it captivatingly rich in vocabulary, allusions, and description. The author is described as remarkable and a skilled writer. Readers appreciate his command of language and inner struggle.

"Writing style, subject matter, voice, sense of humor, sense of pleasure—the desire to live boldly and well while still stalking this doomed earth...." Read more

"...write about the most venal and dreadful things, yet his amazing command of the language makes even those passages almost transcendent. Even..." Read more

"...But the writing is captivatingly rich in vocabulary, allusion, and description of indulgent (sometimes disturbing) pleasures...." Read more

"...The writer is clearly talented, but for some reason this book is just pointless...." Read more

8 customers mention "Pacing"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging and well-written. They describe it as dark yet exuberant, with an interesting premise that opens their minds. The writing style, subject matter, voice, sense of humor, and pleasure are appreciated.

"Writing style, subject matter, voice, sense of humor, sense of pleasure—the desire to live boldly and well while still stalking this doomed earth...." Read more

"...But the writing is captivatingly rich in vocabulary, allusion, and description of indulgent (sometimes disturbing) pleasures...." Read more

"...It is searingly, bravely honest, in a world that does not often value these qualities -- even in art." Read more

"...A little self-indulgent, but that's the point. Full of self-analysis, narcissism, and philosophical ramblings...." Read more

4 customers mention "Originality"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's originality. They find it striking, with a richly rendered narrative and characters.

"...However, it is undoubtedly original and Nick doesn't pull any punches, so I appreciate that in any writer." Read more

"This is a darkly beautiful book. Nick Tosches is a remarkable writer but may be an acquired taste - like pickles...." Read more

"I loved it. So Sexy and intelligent.also crazy" Read more

"Richly rendered bull..." Read more

14 customers mention "Readability"9 positive5 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's readability. Some find it a great, fun read worth their time, while others say it was awful and not exceptional.

"Tosches proves once again here that he's one of the best writers of our generation, and his knowledge of everything from ancient semantics to..." Read more

"...quick and easy lurid, violent encounters become as interesting as reading a refrigerator manual...." Read more

"...The writer is clearly talented, but for some reason this book is just pointless...." Read more

"...Initially, I loved the book. Nick Tosches is a wordsmith and I felt that his gift of language really kept me going back...." Read more

7 customers mention "Storyline"4 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the storyline. Some find it original and well-thought-out, with an amazing narrator and inner struggle. Others feel the storyline lacks substance, has a weak ending, and the premise is ridiculous.

"...But he is an amazing narrator and his book is full of inner struggle, misogynistic sex play, love and lust...." Read more

"...it through this awful book you will be rewarded with a lack of any substantial ending. The story line plays out uneventfully and the book just ends...." Read more

"Great character consist throughout. Plot well thought out and followed through...." Read more

"...The premise is ridiculous and it's over-wordy." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • william Greene
    5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books I have ever read.
    Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Writing style, subject matter, voice, sense of humor, sense of pleasure—the desire to live boldly and well while still stalking this doomed earth. Buy this book and let it open your brain up. You won't be the same.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Robert G. Allen
    4.0 out of 5 stars This Celebration of Darkness and cynicism is actually an affirmation of life
    Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Tosches proves once again here that he's one of the best writers of our generation, and his knowledge of everything from ancient semantics to upscale cuisine is impressive. He can write about the most venal and dreadful things, yet his amazing command of the language makes even those passages almost transcendent.
    Even though the plot of "Me and the Devil" is a little convoluted and slightly predictable and he has a propensity for name-dropping, these flaws are more than redeemed by the book's starkly confessional autobiographical tone.
    I've always found Tosches' extreme existential and philosophical perspectives and his unabashedly cynical world view incredibly fascinating. More yet, I heartily identify with it, though I'm not sure what that tells you about me.
    Bob Allen Sept. 30, 2014.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Mark Mclaughlin
    5.0 out of 5 stars Not for everyone
    Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This book is dark. The whole story is told from inside the head of a man who has a lot in common with the author - just more of it!

    Are you an aging man still wrestling with demons inside your head? Do you remember stumbling around among dive bars sometime in your past. Remember the goth women you met before anybody heard of goth. Remember the darkest side of your mind when you were drinking too much. Remember reading The Geek by Craig Nova.

    Now, imagine doing that in your sixties, living alone and possibly becoming sociopathic without understanding how your mind is changing or why. (The sex in this book is less pornographic than 50 Shades of Grey but it makes that silly novel look like BDSM for Kindergartners.)

    The character is Nick and he has made enough dough writing novels in his past that he does not need to work or worry too much about money. He is an English major's dream because his mind endlessly pursues the meaning of words and the history of gods and the meanings of myths. And, it is all inside his own head rambling on and on. It gets harder and harder to know what is real plot and what is in his head.

    So, readers are likely to give this book zero stars or five. There is not likely to be too much room in the middle. This book still haunts me.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Andy
    3.0 out of 5 stars Richly rendered bull
    Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    I could tell from the beginning that this was not going to be a rewarding read. But the writing is captivatingly rich in vocabulary, allusion, and description of indulgent (sometimes disturbing) pleasures. So I read on, and I’m not sorry I did, but this is as dark a read as the title suggests, and it doesn’t mean a thing. That said if you love words, have at it.
    Helpful
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  • OKC Reader
    1.0 out of 5 stars Pointless book about a character you won't care about
    Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    I have never read anything from Nick tosches before but for some reason this book caught my eye. Unless you are into reading about an old man biting young women then this book is not for you. The longer the book went on, the less I found myself caring about the main character. The writer is clearly talented, but for some reason this book is just pointless. the main focus of the book is an older man who starts picking up young women and sucking their blood. This goes on for the majority of the book. If you can make it through this awful book you will be rewarded with a lack of any substantial ending. The story line plays out uneventfully and the book just ends. Typically I would be upset by a book not having any real closure, but by the time I got to the end of this book I was just glad it was over. I truly did not care what, if anything, happened to the main character.

    I was very disappointed with book and I hope others will save their money and avoid this book. It just simply lacked any real substance and the story line was very very weak. The whole story could have been told in about 30 pages. Even then you really wouldn't care about the main character.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Geox
    5.0 out of 5 stars "Headline required" here? This book can't be reduced to a catch phrase.....
    Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Despite the gloomy predictions on the flap about a descent into Hell by the storyteller, I found the opposite to be true. This book is about life, and an unquenchable thirst for more of it. Some nasty parts along the way -- yes. Parts that I didn't like, and even had trouble with, But by the last pages, I realized that these too, were necessary. Like life itself, with its dark corners as well as sunshine.

    ''Me and the Devil" is the rare book with the potential to change the way you look at the world and your own life. It is searingly, bravely honest, in a world that does not often value these qualities -- even in art.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Central Industrial
    2.0 out of 5 stars 50 Shades of Grey for Old Men
    Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Let this book be a lesson to burgeoning writers on the importance of networking; cultivate a well-rounded circle of celebrity associates and even works of this disappointing magnitude are sure to do well. I wonder if Mr. Tosches is likewise plugging Anthony Bourdain's new show?

    As for the book itself, it's an exercise in banal blasphemy. I imagine the easy retort would be that I'm a prude who can't handle this kind of literature, but the most impressing thing about this novel is how quick and easy lurid, violent encounters become as interesting as reading a refrigerator manual.

    This is the first I've read of this author, and he does have an arresting way with words, but this reads too much like a desperate grab for some retirement money. One that I hope is successful so that he doesn't feel compelled to create more of the same.

    I do look forward to reading his earlier work except for the fact that it will probably sadden me that this is where his craft has taken him.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Randall Neustaedter
    4.0 out of 5 stars great writing and philosophy...
    Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Not much in the way of plot though. Tosches is an amazing wordsmith and he knows it. A little self-indulgent, but that's the point. Full of self-analysis, narcissism, and philosophical ramblings. But he is an amazing narrator and his book is full of inner struggle, misogynistic sex play, love and lust. Read it if you want an intellectual ride on the dark side.
    2 people found this helpful
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