Beat The Devil

by Mishka Shubaly

In "Beat the Devil," addict, alcoholic and bestselling Kindle Singles author Mishka Shubaly returns to battle his ultimate his obsession with rock 'n' roll. Over three decades, his affliction has spawned immeasurable chaos and destruction (and, yes, maybe some debauched good times). While his rivals have graced the covers of Spin and Rolling Stone, Shubaly's projects have always flamed out in the eleventh hour. At 36, sober and stable, Shubaly is poised to finally achieve the rock 'n' roll glory he has lusted after for years... or walk away from his lifelong dream forever. Shubaly spares no gory detail in this autopsy of his wasted years and Beat The Devil is rife with anonymous sex, casual drug abuse and behind-the-scenes desperation borne out of chasing an unattainable dream. Everything that has endeared Shubaly to his readers is his resistance to common sense, his inability to accept defeat, his probing intellect, and his heart. Mishka Shubaly is Amazon's most frequently published Kindle Singles author with a string of four bestsellers to his name. His first-hand account of a disaster at sea, “Shipwrecked,” rescued him from anonymity. “The Long Run,” a mini-memoir detailing Shubaly's transition from drunk-and-drugged gutter dweller to sober ultra-marathoner was a flyaway smash. He continued his hot streak with “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” an incredible-but-true tale of online love gone awry, and “Bachelor Number One,” which chronicled Shubaly's induction into the dark world of reality TV. Cover design by Adil Dara Kim

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Memoir

74 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 2, 2013

About the author

After receiving an expensive MFA from Columbia University, Mishka Shubaly promptly quit writing to play music. He lived out of a Toyota minivan for a year, touring nonstop, and has shared the stage with artists like The Strokes, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Decemberists.

His Kindle Singles for Amazon have all been bestsellers. He writes true stories about drink, drugs, disasters, desire, deception and their aftermath. His work has been praised for its grit, humor, fearlessness and heart. 'The Long Run,' his mini-memoir detailing his transformation from alcoholic drug abuser to sober ultrarunner is one of the best-selling Kindle Singles to date.

Mishka Shubaly lives in Brooklyn where he writes music and plays bass for Freshkills. He is at work on a new solo record of his original songs and a full-length memoir.

Reviews

[John Yarbrough · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I ain't saying I beat the devil...but I drank his beer for nothing. " (Kris Kristofferson) Shubaly is a raging alcoholic and drug addict fueled by his dream to be a rock-n-roll god. His story (1st step?) talks about the path he took and how far he went down the rabbit hole to get there and the loves he burned and blurred over the time. He's a terrific writer. Two quotes that I loved and put out there, "It smelled like any old bar does, like bleach and sour beer, but I was exhausted and I hate New England, and the myriad combinations of those two odors swirled in my sleep-deprived brain, conjuring smells from my white trash boyhood that I'd hoped to forget wet shag carpeting, mildewing Sheetrock, fake wood paneling swollen with lake water, old semen in a sweaty sock, vomit-drenched laundry, cat piss on the nylon of a sleeping bag, the dust from old foam insulation crumbling in a decrepit aluminum trailer." And, "Her songs were dark, black as fucking midnight, but when you listened to her lyrics enough, it made you realize that black wasn't an absence of color but instead the presence of every single color at once." Jon Weathery was reading the book and I was taken in.

[Francis Unco · Rating 1 out of 5]

Badly written and incredibly boring

[Frieda Uda · Rating 1 out of 5]

YAWN

[Cassandra Venganza · Rating 1 out of 5]

YAWN

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

"It's taken me years to realize that a confused man can inflict much more damage than an evil one."

This miserable book opens your eyes to the lives of those opening bands you don't care about. Trying to emulate rock 'n roll stars while broke, broken, and probably puking in an alley somewhere. Trying to get somebody to notice them. It was an enjoyable book with some pretty funny tidbits (the lead singer of another well-known band caught porking a girl backstage, and some hilarity ensues) but the author never really struck me as likable. I cheered him on. I wanted him to succeed, but there's only so much you can do when you realize they're just, well, kind of a dick.

I would recommend this to people who want a quick read and enjoys the music scene out of NYC.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mishka Shubaly is my favorite Kindle Single author and this is my favorite one of his so far. Really enjoyed it.

[Ralph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous stories of rock and roll and total debauchery.

[Cyanemi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of not so great. This guy loves to write about all his vices etc. Tha's fine up to a point and then it becomes really dull.

[Becca Ladd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really sure... different.