The Devil and Daniel Silverman

by Theodore Roszak

Danny Silverman’s first novel reached #10 on the New York Times best-seller list, but that was 20 years ago. Now middle-aged, he and his partner, Martin, an African-American actor, are getting by on the residuals from Martin’s cancelled TV cop series when Danny gets an offer he can’t refuse: a speaking gig in a Minnesota bible college that will net him a small fortune. Why me? Silverman wonders, but he’ll take the money and run. What can happen? Only a record-breaking snowstorm that traps him under the same roof as the evangelical Christian faculty who see this Jewish homosexual writer from San Francisco as the incarnation of the anti-Christ. Forced to defend all he believes in—sexual equality, human rights, same-sex marriage; dancing! vodka! coffee!—Silverman finds himself on the front lines of the culture wars dividing the nation today.

Genres: Fiction, Jewish, Religion

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Theodore Roszak was Professor Emeritus of history at California State University, East Bay. He is best known for his 1969 text, The Making of a Counter Culture.

Roszak first came to public prominence in 1969, with the publication of his The Making of a Counter Culture[5] which chronicled and gave explanation to the European and North American counterculture of the 1960s. He is generally credited with the first use of the term "counterculture".

Reviews

[Courtney Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were parts of this book that I really like, such as the essential plot line. The main character was a little hard to read sometimes because he's one of those literati that even literati can't always stand. However, I thought the book was poignant: it's comical yet terrifying. It's well written and has strong imagery. I even like the discussion of some of the stories the main character (a writer) has written--I'd read them!

[Angelina]

Superb!

[Maurean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smart, funny, and thought-provoking.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got this book as a random book that caught my eye at the library. It is a story about Daniel Silverman a washed up author that is hanging on by a thread he gets an offer he can't refuse a 45 minute lecture for $12K in a religious college. Daniel can't turn this down even though he is from San Francisco, is gay, and Jewish. But money is too good so he goes and is snowed in with these people who hate him.

Theodore takes the social issues of the day homosexuality, women's rights, and Israel. He points out the right's hypocrisy. He tries to be neutral about the issues and lets the two sides talk it out.

[Micah Berken · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is essentially a long and humorous argument about theology. Definetely worth the read for the opposing viewpoints alone. The one thing I could say that detracted from it was its exageration that tended to make it a little bit unbelievable. Are there really people out there this hardcore in their beliefs??