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The Devil in America
Scant years after the Civil War, a mysterious family confronts the legacy that has pursued them across centuries, out of slavery, and finally to the idyllic peace of the town of Rosetree. The shattering consequences of this confrontation echo backwards and forwards in time, even to the present day.
At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.
At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.
43 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 2, 2014
45 people are currently reading
1733 people want to read
About the author
Kai Ashante Wilson
27 books394 followersKai Ashante Wilson's stories 'Super Bass' and the Nebula-nominated 'The Devil in America' can be read online gratis at Tor.com.
His story «Légendaire.» can be read in the anthology Stories for Chip, which celebrates the legacy of science fiction grandmaster Samuel Delany.
His debut short novel The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps won the 2016 Crawford Award. Kai Ashante Wilson lives in New York City.
His story «Légendaire.» can be read in the anthology Stories for Chip, which celebrates the legacy of science fiction grandmaster Samuel Delany.
His debut short novel The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps won the 2016 Crawford Award. Kai Ashante Wilson lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 182 reviews
July 30, 2016
While true that such profoundly sustaining traditions, hidden under the guise of the imposed religion, managed to survive centuries of slavery and subjugation, we should not therefore suppose that ancient African beliefs suffered no sea changes. Of course they did. ‘The Devil’ in Africa had been capricious, a trickster, and if cruel, only insomuch as bored young children, amoral and at loose ends, may be cruel: seeking merely to provoke an interesting event at any cost, to cause some disruption of the tedious status quo. For the Devil in America, however, malice itself was the end, and temptation a means only to destroy. Here, the Devil would pursue the righteous and the wicked, alike and implacably, to their everlasting doom…
White Devils/Black Devils, Luisa Valéria da Silva y Rodríguez
4.5 stars because occasionally confusing, apart from the intentional confusion, but jesus christ. this story gutted me. review to come.
read it for yourself here (but full warning - it's horrific):
http://www.tor.com/2014/04/02/the-dev...
September 24, 2023
Meandering In A Good Way.
This story is all over the place, but it’s a good thing. It makes sense.
A great ending.
Four stars. 💫💫💫💫
This story is all over the place, but it’s a good thing. It makes sense.
A great ending.
Four stars. 💫💫💫💫
September 2, 2021
With more effort than anybody could calculate, the earth every year brought forth these flowers, and then every year all the roses died.
The things we carry at times are taken. Africa holds magic; they tried to sap that too.
Update 2 June 2020: In light of recent events, I think everyone should go out of their way to read this short story. It’s a great example of Black people’s experiences in the United States. Allow yourself to become aware.
The things we carry at times are taken. Africa holds magic; they tried to sap that too.
Update 2 June 2020: In light of recent events, I think everyone should go out of their way to read this short story. It’s a great example of Black people’s experiences in the United States. Allow yourself to become aware.
May 30, 2022
4.5 Stars rounded up
Is there such a genre as historical fantasy? If so, this story fits the genre.
Set during Reconstruction in the 1870's we are introduced to Easter, some of her family, and her community.
We also learn that her family brought the old magic of Africa to the U.S. and lost the ability during generations of enslavement to control it.
In one or two places this story feels a little fragmented and I was confused. However the strong writing and immensely impactful story kept this minor flaw from being a big detraction.
Much of this story is the everyday life of a black family in the South. A mother cooking dinner, a father working his tobacco crop, a church picnic, . . .
The extreme contrast with interspersed more current day events from Emmett Till to Trayvon Martin makes a powerful statement.
The narrator is a child, so at first I have some doubt about her reliability, especially when Wilson incorporates magic, angels, and the devil into his narrative. Generally I am skeptical of magical realism, and it works seamlessly in this tale.
Much of this story is rooted in the actual U.S. History of Reconstruction. The good--families achieving freedom and forming independent communities. And the bad--lynchings and massacres.
I was emotionally engaged from the first paragraph of this story and both wanted to read more and to look away at times.
https://www.tor.com/2014/04/02/the-de...
Is there such a genre as historical fantasy? If so, this story fits the genre.
Set during Reconstruction in the 1870's we are introduced to Easter, some of her family, and her community.
We also learn that her family brought the old magic of Africa to the U.S. and lost the ability during generations of enslavement to control it.
In one or two places this story feels a little fragmented and I was confused. However the strong writing and immensely impactful story kept this minor flaw from being a big detraction.
Much of this story is the everyday life of a black family in the South. A mother cooking dinner, a father working his tobacco crop, a church picnic, . . .
The extreme contrast with interspersed more current day events from Emmett Till to Trayvon Martin makes a powerful statement.
The narrator is a child, so at first I have some doubt about her reliability, especially when Wilson incorporates magic, angels, and the devil into his narrative. Generally I am skeptical of magical realism, and it works seamlessly in this tale.
Much of this story is rooted in the actual U.S. History of Reconstruction. The good--families achieving freedom and forming independent communities. And the bad--lynchings and massacres.
I was emotionally engaged from the first paragraph of this story and both wanted to read more and to look away at times.
https://www.tor.com/2014/04/02/the-de...
June 28, 2020
Never again...this time
Or next time...maybe the one after that.
But no, there's always a next time and never a never again. We don't learn because it wouldn't be near as much fun if we couldn't kill an anymore.
So Humanity goes on its violent, vile way, down and down.
The whole review is here: https://tinyurl.com/ycgpdmpf
Or next time...maybe the one after that.
But no, there's always a next time and never a never again. We don't learn because it wouldn't be near as much fun if we couldn't kill an anymore.
So Humanity goes on its violent, vile way, down and down.
The whole review is here: https://tinyurl.com/ycgpdmpf
May 13, 2015
This piece effectively conjures the horrific evils of American slavery - horrors which even old African magic cannot mitigate, in this tale of a family up against the overwhelming odds of racism.
However, I felt that the fractured and meta-fictional elements of the story detracted from its power.
However, I felt that the fractured and meta-fictional elements of the story detracted from its power.
October 4, 2020
I may not have understood this at times, but it’s beautifully written and is completely horrific and tragic. That ending just broke me.
January 12, 2019
Click here to read the novella for free
Tor.com
Thank you tor for the free book.
Scant years after the Civil War, a mysterious family confronts the legacy that has pursued them across centuries, out of slavery, and finally to the idyllic peace of the town of Rosetree. The shattering consequences of this confrontation echo backwards and forwards in time, even to the present day.
This was one trippy, dark, unsettling little book... I wasn't expecting anything going into this book, I actually didn't want to know anything about the plot as the book is just over 100 pages. It was confusing at first as I was trying to settle into the writing style but once I did, the book got under my skin. Filled with African lore and mythology about the devil and emphasis on the importance of passing down generational tales and how they were destroyed by slavery just blew my mind. Kate Wilson truly understands her craft in regards to storytelling and shattering the reader's heart in such a limited space as well as making you think. I know I sound vague but the best way to experience and appreciate this little book is going into it blind.
January 3, 2020
Dark. Wow, this one was a heavy hitter. Kai Ashante Wilson wrote a 30 page book that read as a 300 page book. It was full. Lots to think about after reading this one. Never read a book like that. I really like his writing, it was purposeful and direct and deep. Appreciated the approach he took to bouncing back and forth between time while switching up the narration. I'm kinda at a loss for words here. Really really liked it.
January 31, 2021
An unsettling, beautifully written dark fantasy tale about old African magic and a family descended from slaves in the post-Civil War South. Not always the easiest to follow, but very immersive. Excellent narration!
March 6, 2017
When I finished this utterly unsettling, strikingly original and deeply creepy story, I started wondering whose writing it reminded me of. I couldn't put my finger on it until, scrolling down the page on Tor, I noticed a link to Wilson's appreciation of Lanagan. Of course. Wilson praises Lanagan for "that class of consolation available only from fiction that attends to life’s most painful aspects without flinching" - this is what Wilson does in this short story, so compelling and horrifying. I'm not a reader of horror (now that I'm no longer 12 and know better), but there is a very special kind of pleasure to be had from reading something that creeps you out, a pleasure known to children reading the scariest of fairy tales--or, in my case, way too much Catholic propaganda about demonic possession. So I was clearly predisposed to enjoy this.
I don't think all the elements of the story quite fit together perfectly (the metafictional fragments in particular feel a little gimmick-y), but all the same, it was fascinating and terrifying. (Recommended fiction pairing: either Lanagan or Veronica Schanoes's Burning Girls, for more on creepy deals you can't get out of easily.)
I don't think all the elements of the story quite fit together perfectly (the metafictional fragments in particular feel a little gimmick-y), but all the same, it was fascinating and terrifying. (Recommended fiction pairing: either Lanagan or Veronica Schanoes's Burning Girls, for more on creepy deals you can't get out of easily.)
October 27, 2020
Occasionally confusing, yet amazingly powerful, brutal and heartfelt. Against the backdrop of racial violence and upheaval in the aftermath of the Civil War this is a powerful tale of "old Africa magic" brought over by slaves from Africa and one family with a special connection to the ancient African spirits. Like so much else, much of the knowledge and wisdom needed to understand those connections and that power was lost as the slaves were brutally uprooted from their lives, leaving the mother and daughter in the story with scant knowledge, without which that power becomes a dangerous thing to wield. Yet the temptation can be great, as mischievous spirits are only too eager to take advantage by striking up a bargain with a very high price indeed.
February 12, 2023
now THAT'S how you do a spec-fic novella!! holy shit.
as soon as I finished it I went back to the beginning to try to piece things together. I mean, it's not that the story is confusing as such, but the author approaches it in quite a metafictional way, with excerpts from secondary literature and the implied author's (can't belive I actually get to use a fancy term from narratology irl) father giving editorial notes and historical context. apart form these meta-asides, the main narrator and POV character is a girl named Easter, and we follow her in two distinct points in her childhood, as she tries to understand the Old Africa Magic that runs in her family. I won't go into any other details because this is not the kind of story where focusing on the plot points really matters - it's everything else about it that's completely spellbinding.
The Devil in America won a bunch of awards and lemme tell you, it's well deserved. you can read the whole thing for free on Tor's website: https://www.tor.com/2014/04/02/the-de...
(also this goes without saying in a story about the legacy of slavery and systemic racism in post-Civil War America, but like, all the content warnings. take care of yourselves but also for the love of god read this shit, it's so good!!)
as soon as I finished it I went back to the beginning to try to piece things together. I mean, it's not that the story is confusing as such, but the author approaches it in quite a metafictional way, with excerpts from secondary literature and the implied author's (can't belive I actually get to use a fancy term from narratology irl) father giving editorial notes and historical context. apart form these meta-asides, the main narrator and POV character is a girl named Easter, and we follow her in two distinct points in her childhood, as she tries to understand the Old Africa Magic that runs in her family. I won't go into any other details because this is not the kind of story where focusing on the plot points really matters - it's everything else about it that's completely spellbinding.
The Devil in America won a bunch of awards and lemme tell you, it's well deserved. you can read the whole thing for free on Tor's website: https://www.tor.com/2014/04/02/the-de...
(also this goes without saying in a story about the legacy of slavery and systemic racism in post-Civil War America, but like, all the content warnings. take care of yourselves but also for the love of god read this shit, it's so good!!)
July 25, 2019
*Reading Rush 2019*
Prompt "Read a book with a non-human character."
Kai Ashante Wilson's The Devil in America is a fantastical piece in which the trauma of the past meets the horror of the present. Young Easter Sunday Mack is a precocious girl who carries with her the magic of the ancestors but as her mother warns her, lacks the knowledge to wield it properly. This is just one of the many legacies of slavery -- loss of identity and connection with our ancestors.
Institutionalized racism and brutality are addressed by the other "parent" in this novella. Part editor, "Dad" serves as a metafictional narrator directing the reader to look closer and see the devil in all of his disguises.
There is a lot to unpack here in these few short pages. I am still reeling from the power of this book.
Prompt "Read a book with a non-human character."
The devil you know . . .
is still the devil.
Kai Ashante Wilson's The Devil in America is a fantastical piece in which the trauma of the past meets the horror of the present. Young Easter Sunday Mack is a precocious girl who carries with her the magic of the ancestors but as her mother warns her, lacks the knowledge to wield it properly. This is just one of the many legacies of slavery -- loss of identity and connection with our ancestors.
Institutionalized racism and brutality are addressed by the other "parent" in this novella. Part editor, "Dad" serves as a metafictional narrator directing the reader to look closer and see the devil in all of his disguises.
There is a lot to unpack here in these few short pages. I am still reeling from the power of this book.
July 3, 2020
________
Free on Tor.com:
https://www.tor.com/2014/04/02/the-de...
February 21, 2019
A harrowing, beautifully written tale about how, even after everything had been taken from Africans enslaved to America more could yet be taken. Brutal and affecting.
January 30, 2022
Okay, I kind of loved this creepy, experimental little book! The Devil in America is really a story about how the enslavement of Black people in America stole their African heritage from them. But it's told with meta-textual elements, through the story of a young Black girl in the 1800's who can sense spirits and gets into trouble. I won't say more because it's short, but this really came together for me in a powerful way. Note that it does get quite dark and tragic, but also it's only around 100 pages. For sure worth a read.
November 29, 2024
The Devil In America is a vivid world depicted in 43 scant pages; Wilson’s talent is obvious, I especially enjoyed the language used. The novella is clearly well written, however I still wish there had been more, or maybe that come concepts had been firmly cemented — at the same time, though, the sense of confusion over the fantastical elements could very well be a literary representation of the disconnectedness Easter and her family feel when it comes to their powers, and subsequently their African roots.
3.5
3.5
March 5, 2017
Warned against the devil, Easter ensures she only listens to the angels. Her mother warns her of their families fate, trying to keep her free; of the white folk and the African devils.
I probably should've listened to 'dad' at the end.
I probably should've listened to 'dad' at the end.
June 3, 2020
While written 4 years ago, and no less relevant then, this seems like a particularly good time to boost attention for this novella. It's magical, historical, vague enough to keep you guessing, yet just direct enough. It's poignant and Wilson's writing gripped me immediately. I wanted more of this semi-magical, but still very (sadly) real version of America in the 1800s, but I feel like Wilson gave just the right level of detail and information. Sometimes it's good to be left with questions and to read the end of a story and be upset at the resolution. Idk, I'm not being very eloquent about this. Just go read it!
I was able to read this for free on Tor.com (as of June 2020), so check it out. After finishing I immediately bought copies of Wilson's two other books and I can't wait to read them! Clocking in at about 50 pages (or just some scrolling on your phone), it's worth setting a little time aside for.
I was able to read this for free on Tor.com (as of June 2020), so check it out. After finishing I immediately bought copies of Wilson's two other books and I can't wait to read them! Clocking in at about 50 pages (or just some scrolling on your phone), it's worth setting a little time aside for.
November 28, 2021
A short, powerful and gritty story about ancestral African magic in America, set roughly a decade after the Civil War. The writing is powerful and poetic, though sometimes fragmentary and confusing. This is almost certainly intended, but makes me wish it could have been developed even more fully.
January 4, 2022
Short and powerful.
June 5, 2025
Sense from Senselessness: Kai Ashante Wilson’s “The Devil in America” by Nisi Shawl...
https://reactormag.com/sense-from-sen...
https://reactormag.com/sense-from-sen...
March 13, 2017
Short and not so sweet. More absolutely devastating. A long way from the author's other works I've read, but with his usual standard of amazing writing, and characters who could jump right off the page.
February 7, 2020
A novella about magic, tragedy, injustice, and mythmaking, set after the Civil War.
This is a masterful novella that isn't trying to pack in a novel's worth of plot into a tinier package. Wonderfully paced. The twists are so perfectly set up that it's almost difficult to see them as twists--they are simply what must happen.
I read this based on a horror list, but I would categorize this more as a tragedy with fantastic elements.
Recommended.
This is a masterful novella that isn't trying to pack in a novel's worth of plot into a tinier package. Wonderfully paced. The twists are so perfectly set up that it's almost difficult to see them as twists--they are simply what must happen.
I read this based on a horror list, but I would categorize this more as a tragedy with fantastic elements.
Recommended.
August 4, 2020
This novella is ambitious, fragmented, feverish, and daring--and yet the fragments don't hit as hard as they should, considering the content. I reserve the right to amend my review after my class discussion because there are a few parts I didn't entirely understand.
Wilson is definitely on my radar--this is as if Toni Morrison wrote fantasy, and I'm intrigued to read more.
Wilson is definitely on my radar--this is as if Toni Morrison wrote fantasy, and I'm intrigued to read more.
November 15, 2017
An amazing short story combining racial tensions in the 1800s with the devil’s seduction of a young girl. Very disturbing and very good.
September 4, 2024
I don't really have anything to say...I was intrigued but for some reason I struggled to follow along properly and I honestly don't think that was the writings fault, at least not completely.
June 21, 2020
Wow, this was brilliant. I couldn’t take my eyes away from this story. Harrowing and utterly compelling.
March 4, 2018
I can't remember what led me to read this novella. I tried reading The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps a few years back, and I couldn't make it through, but I read something about this story that made me want to read it. I'm glad I did, though when I first finished it, I wasn't sure.
It took time for the story to settle, and for me to realize just how good it is. I didn't like the metafictional asides (there are moments in the story where the author's -- not the narrator's, now, but the author's -- father interjects with comments about the story), but I realized they were clues as to what was to happen in the story. Why Wilson chose this device I don't know, but when he comments on Emmett Till and Trayvon Martin, it becomes clear that this story is about the violence done against African-Americans, historically and currently.
As such, it's not a comfortable story. We see white cruelty, though we also see hope through our main character, Easter, who lives in the late 19th century and possesses African magic. She has the ability to control "angels", who can either do good or ill. An uneasy bargain she makes to save her father leads to future violence ... or maybe the violence would have happened regardless.
The magic story works, as does the metafictional device (strange as it is), and the theme resonates. It's a powerful piece of fiction, though it doesn't reveal its significance until after some thought. Wilson is a talented writer, enough so that it makes me want to revisit The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps to see if I gave up on it too soon the first time around.
It took time for the story to settle, and for me to realize just how good it is. I didn't like the metafictional asides (there are moments in the story where the author's -- not the narrator's, now, but the author's -- father interjects with comments about the story), but I realized they were clues as to what was to happen in the story. Why Wilson chose this device I don't know, but when he comments on Emmett Till and Trayvon Martin, it becomes clear that this story is about the violence done against African-Americans, historically and currently.
As such, it's not a comfortable story. We see white cruelty, though we also see hope through our main character, Easter, who lives in the late 19th century and possesses African magic. She has the ability to control "angels", who can either do good or ill. An uneasy bargain she makes to save her father leads to future violence ... or maybe the violence would have happened regardless.
The magic story works, as does the metafictional device (strange as it is), and the theme resonates. It's a powerful piece of fiction, though it doesn't reveal its significance until after some thought. Wilson is a talented writer, enough so that it makes me want to revisit The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps to see if I gave up on it too soon the first time around.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 182 reviews