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When the Devil
In When the Devil, Libby finds salvation in a new sapphic partner, homebrewed poison, and facing a God she no longer believes in.
66 pages, Paperback
Published May 7, 2024
4 people are currently reading
456 people want to read
About the author
Emma E. Murray
27 books102 followersEmma E. Murray (she/her) explores the dark side of humanity in her fiction. Her work has appeared in Vastarien and Cosmic Horror Monthly among other places. Her works includes When the Devil, Crushing Snails, The Drowning Machine and Other Obsessions, and Shoot Me in the Face on a Beautiful Day. When she isn’t writing, she is usually found playing make-believe with her young daughter or make-believe with her friends (aka D&D).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
May 10, 2024
Thank you to the author for sending me a copy to review. When the Devil is out today, and I know many of you are gonna wanna read this.
A story as fast moving as the tornado that rips through its final pages, When the Devil is a Southern Gothic that perfectly channels the two sides of life’s coin, violence and pleasure, as main character June asserts. It’s a brief novelette that manages to portray decades, centuries, millennia of female rage and patriarchal oppression, yet births hope and Sapphic love from the carnage of its ending. I loved it from start to finish.
Emma E. Murray’s masterful alternation of sweet passages and blunt, pragmatic violence is the best medium for this story. I would love to see a film adaptation, too. The swaying fields, the sunshine, the summer heat that makes both the landscape and protagonist Libby shimmer with its intensity. And you know when you’re watching a horror movie that is more psychological, and something happens, and you’re just kind of blinking in faint surprise as blood starts to pool or a body falls? There are several scenes of, shall we say sudden expiration, in this story, and each happens with that incredibly satisfying abruptness.
It’s such a short story that to say more would be detrimental, but suffice it to say that this deserves a place among the best of modern Southern Gothics, and that Emma is a rising star among women in horror. Her writing renders the horrific beautiful, somehow, and I am always happy to devour more pages of her words.
A story as fast moving as the tornado that rips through its final pages, When the Devil is a Southern Gothic that perfectly channels the two sides of life’s coin, violence and pleasure, as main character June asserts. It’s a brief novelette that manages to portray decades, centuries, millennia of female rage and patriarchal oppression, yet births hope and Sapphic love from the carnage of its ending. I loved it from start to finish.
Emma E. Murray’s masterful alternation of sweet passages and blunt, pragmatic violence is the best medium for this story. I would love to see a film adaptation, too. The swaying fields, the sunshine, the summer heat that makes both the landscape and protagonist Libby shimmer with its intensity. And you know when you’re watching a horror movie that is more psychological, and something happens, and you’re just kind of blinking in faint surprise as blood starts to pool or a body falls? There are several scenes of, shall we say sudden expiration, in this story, and each happens with that incredibly satisfying abruptness.
It’s such a short story that to say more would be detrimental, but suffice it to say that this deserves a place among the best of modern Southern Gothics, and that Emma is a rising star among women in horror. Her writing renders the horrific beautiful, somehow, and I am always happy to devour more pages of her words.
June 23, 2024
Another banger 🔥
May 8, 2024
In this short story, we are introduced to Libby, a woman trapped in a cycle of abuse inflicted by her husband and her own grandfather. Her life takes a sudden turn when she encounters June, a mysterious woman who swiftly eliminates both tormentors from Libby's life.
The narrative, however, falls short of providing the emotional and psychological depth one might expect from such a complex and delicate subject matter. The killings come across as shallow and strangely lacking in gravity, even appearing to evoke a sense of satisfaction from her. There is a missed opportunity to delve into June's character—her motivations, past experiences, or methods of covering her tracks—which could have added layers of intrigue and depth to the storyline.
June and Libby's relationship also remains ambiguous. There is no clear indication that June's actions are motivated by genuine concern or care for Libby; instead, her actions appear somewhat detached and clinical.
Overall, the story feels quite simplistic and fails to explore its potentially rich themes and character dynamics. The absence of plotting and psychological insights into the characters' actions leaves the reader with a sense of unfulfilled curiosity.
The narrative, however, falls short of providing the emotional and psychological depth one might expect from such a complex and delicate subject matter. The killings come across as shallow and strangely lacking in gravity, even appearing to evoke a sense of satisfaction from her. There is a missed opportunity to delve into June's character—her motivations, past experiences, or methods of covering her tracks—which could have added layers of intrigue and depth to the storyline.
June and Libby's relationship also remains ambiguous. There is no clear indication that June's actions are motivated by genuine concern or care for Libby; instead, her actions appear somewhat detached and clinical.
Overall, the story feels quite simplistic and fails to explore its potentially rich themes and character dynamics. The absence of plotting and psychological insights into the characters' actions leaves the reader with a sense of unfulfilled curiosity.
March 8, 2024
Short, sweet and sapphic, this was a psychological horror novella that was both hopeful and bleak, a big book that takes up little space, what appears to be a simple narrative becomes so much more as themes of liberation, oppression and revenge are explored through well paced devilishly dark infused prose
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May 7, 2024WHEN THE DEVIL is a novelette from Emma E. Murray that packs many horrors inside of its compelling, feverish intensity. Libby's world is dark and cruel, and any peace, joy, or deliverance comes with a price. Devils abound, but sometimes the fruit they offer makes the damnation worth it.
April 23, 2024
A huge thanks to Shortwave for the physical ARC! Such a good cover too, I’m so glad I own one.
This novelette is short, a little sweet, and kind of a lotta dark. A tale of abuse, both from a husband and grandfather, this story showcases some of the horror stories women face daily. Yet it’s also mixed with a bit of hope and sapphic desire.
Now, you may know from some other reviews of mine that I really struggle with any form of cheating/adultery, but this is more so about having the ability, the autonomy, to want and decide for yourself. When all you’re shown is abuse, that ability to decide, to feel, to want, is part of that ability to claw yourself back from it. And that’s what this felt like.
Then there is of course, the more horrific elements. Deceit, deception, avoidance, perhaps a little murder? But isn’t all of that just another angle at being free, at fighting against the structured injustice being showcased in this rural community?
My favorite thing though, perhaps, is how Libby goes from one kind of prison to another. And as the bodies start to pile up, June’s hold over her is just another type of chokehold.
https://fanfiaddict.com/review-when-t...
This novelette is short, a little sweet, and kind of a lotta dark. A tale of abuse, both from a husband and grandfather, this story showcases some of the horror stories women face daily. Yet it’s also mixed with a bit of hope and sapphic desire.
Now, you may know from some other reviews of mine that I really struggle with any form of cheating/adultery, but this is more so about having the ability, the autonomy, to want and decide for yourself. When all you’re shown is abuse, that ability to decide, to feel, to want, is part of that ability to claw yourself back from it. And that’s what this felt like.
Then there is of course, the more horrific elements. Deceit, deception, avoidance, perhaps a little murder? But isn’t all of that just another angle at being free, at fighting against the structured injustice being showcased in this rural community?
My favorite thing though, perhaps, is how Libby goes from one kind of prison to another. And as the bodies start to pile up, June’s hold over her is just another type of chokehold.
https://fanfiaddict.com/review-when-t...
May 19, 2025
Things I loved:
• Toxic sapphic love
• Feminine rage
• Southern gothic
• Revenge
• Violence and pleasure
I had to sit on this before writing a review immediately because there is so much packed into 66 pages. You have Libby who is grieving the loss of the only light in her life, her grandmother. The only person who was left to provide any type of comfort between the abuse from her husband and father. The amount of toxic masculinity, women being treated as objects, literally punching bags for the men in their lives, their religion as god fearing people used as a weapon against them to try and further keep them in line. Libby is meant to be a house wide kept hidden away as a slave to be used as her husband sees fit and not to have a life of her own. She's isolated and oppressed and utterly underappreciated. So when she meets June, she's a breath of fresh air, a freedom and possibility Libby hasn't known before. June is outside of the suffocated world Libby has known for so long. But with that comes the doubt and the self deprecating thoughts of potential sin. Though it doesn't stop them from connecting because they are drawn to each other, their chemistry palpable. With their connection, Libby finds moments of pure joy, is able to appreciate beauty of the world, June's beauty, embrace her attraction, embrace the pleasure, give into her desires and explore her fantasies. Allow herself to see that life might have more to offer than what she has been restricted too all her life.
Before you know it, June takes charge and shows an incredible amount of strength from within. Instead of waiting for life to deal her cards, she takes matters into her own hands and takes the trash out herself; in her own brutal way, all with a smile on her face, with no ounce of remorse. In a world where women have no power, June takes back her power and shows Libby she can do the same.
This story really does touch on so many topics, abuse, religion, fear, freedom, trauma, murder, revenge, love, and dare i say it even peace. Its faced pace so be careful not to blink, because before you know it you'll be finished going what the fuck... what the fuck. Just like me.
✨️
• Toxic sapphic love
• Feminine rage
• Southern gothic
• Revenge
• Violence and pleasure
I had to sit on this before writing a review immediately because there is so much packed into 66 pages. You have Libby who is grieving the loss of the only light in her life, her grandmother. The only person who was left to provide any type of comfort between the abuse from her husband and father. The amount of toxic masculinity, women being treated as objects, literally punching bags for the men in their lives, their religion as god fearing people used as a weapon against them to try and further keep them in line. Libby is meant to be a house wide kept hidden away as a slave to be used as her husband sees fit and not to have a life of her own. She's isolated and oppressed and utterly underappreciated. So when she meets June, she's a breath of fresh air, a freedom and possibility Libby hasn't known before. June is outside of the suffocated world Libby has known for so long. But with that comes the doubt and the self deprecating thoughts of potential sin. Though it doesn't stop them from connecting because they are drawn to each other, their chemistry palpable. With their connection, Libby finds moments of pure joy, is able to appreciate beauty of the world, June's beauty, embrace her attraction, embrace the pleasure, give into her desires and explore her fantasies. Allow herself to see that life might have more to offer than what she has been restricted too all her life.
Before you know it, June takes charge and shows an incredible amount of strength from within. Instead of waiting for life to deal her cards, she takes matters into her own hands and takes the trash out herself; in her own brutal way, all with a smile on her face, with no ounce of remorse. In a world where women have no power, June takes back her power and shows Libby she can do the same.
This story really does touch on so many topics, abuse, religion, fear, freedom, trauma, murder, revenge, love, and dare i say it even peace. Its faced pace so be careful not to blink, because before you know it you'll be finished going what the fuck... what the fuck. Just like me.
✨️
May 13, 2024
Oooh, I just LOVED this! Murray is an excellent storyteller and scene setter. I really needed this novelette to be much longer! Looking forward to reading more from Murray and will definitely keep my ear to the ground on her upcoming books.
4.5/5
4.5/5
March 31, 2024
Review originally on
JamReads
When the Devil is a Southern horror novelette, an intense and cathartic piece written by Emma E. Murray, which will be published by Shortwave Media. Lynn is trapped in an abusive marriage (and supported by her father), but when June appears in the town, she will experience freedom, and will see a way out of her situation.
A fast-paced story structured around Lynn's desires to escape from this toxic relationship, and which is only fulfilled when June appears to give her an anchor point that helps Lynn to manifest her own preferences. Lynn is an excellent representation of those women trapped in abusive marriages that are perpetuated by fear and sometimes with the complicity of the own family; thankfully for her, June is there.
June definitely fulfills more the role of a grey-morale character, as despite we can understand the idea behind her actions, and we can even support them, you cannot stop you thinking if she is mostly playing the role of the Devil in this novelette: the measures are really extreme even if it's needed for Lynn's sake.
Even in that situation, Murray has written an extremely cathartic novelette, with sapphic elements that add a bit more to the plot; a perfect piece if you are looking for a short horror book without avoiding the intensity of it.
When the Devil is a Southern horror novelette, an intense and cathartic piece written by Emma E. Murray, which will be published by Shortwave Media. Lynn is trapped in an abusive marriage (and supported by her father), but when June appears in the town, she will experience freedom, and will see a way out of her situation.
A fast-paced story structured around Lynn's desires to escape from this toxic relationship, and which is only fulfilled when June appears to give her an anchor point that helps Lynn to manifest her own preferences. Lynn is an excellent representation of those women trapped in abusive marriages that are perpetuated by fear and sometimes with the complicity of the own family; thankfully for her, June is there.
June definitely fulfills more the role of a grey-morale character, as despite we can understand the idea behind her actions, and we can even support them, you cannot stop you thinking if she is mostly playing the role of the Devil in this novelette: the measures are really extreme even if it's needed for Lynn's sake.
Even in that situation, Murray has written an extremely cathartic novelette, with sapphic elements that add a bit more to the plot; a perfect piece if you are looking for a short horror book without avoiding the intensity of it.
January 20, 2024
I am so lucky to get an early eye on When the Devil and I enjoyed it so much!
Novellas are one of my favorite forms of storytelling and Emma E. Murray utilized the structure perfectly. The pacing is engaging, moving from scene to scene with quickness and fluidity while also allowing the reader to get a solid grasp on the characters through beautiful exposition. You really feel for Libby and the life she’s living before she meets June.
I love a good morally gray character (or several!) and enjoyed the little love story tucked between dark moments. This ticks so many of my boxes (short and sweet, sapphic, and dark) and I highly recommend checking it out when it releases on May 7th, 2024.
Novellas are one of my favorite forms of storytelling and Emma E. Murray utilized the structure perfectly. The pacing is engaging, moving from scene to scene with quickness and fluidity while also allowing the reader to get a solid grasp on the characters through beautiful exposition. You really feel for Libby and the life she’s living before she meets June.
I love a good morally gray character (or several!) and enjoyed the little love story tucked between dark moments. This ticks so many of my boxes (short and sweet, sapphic, and dark) and I highly recommend checking it out when it releases on May 7th, 2024.
May 12, 2024
Although I loved the cover, the book fell short of my expectations for a dark and twisted romance. And the characters and plot lacked depth.
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March 10, 2024A big thank you to the publisher for an ARC of the book!
I finished this in a single sitting and found it to be a fast-paced story about the desire to escape toxic relationship but also the fear of doing so. There are themes of losing faith in some ways and gaining it in others, women confined to the domestic sphere, finding freedom in the most unexpected places and in unexpected ways—the fleeting, stolen moments that linger above the pain. Murray reminds us through the novella the detriments of societal expectations and judgement against women, of women having to learn independence after forced reliance and compliance, of how women can serve as mentors for other women rather than seen as "competition". There is a desire, hunger, and lust for power by the powerless, and the novella illuminates the darkness moments of reclamation. A chilling and liberating read.
I finished this in a single sitting and found it to be a fast-paced story about the desire to escape toxic relationship but also the fear of doing so. There are themes of losing faith in some ways and gaining it in others, women confined to the domestic sphere, finding freedom in the most unexpected places and in unexpected ways—the fleeting, stolen moments that linger above the pain. Murray reminds us through the novella the detriments of societal expectations and judgement against women, of women having to learn independence after forced reliance and compliance, of how women can serve as mentors for other women rather than seen as "competition". There is a desire, hunger, and lust for power by the powerless, and the novella illuminates the darkness moments of reclamation. A chilling and liberating read.
April 22, 2024
Good things come in small packages. Actually, even evil things can come in small packages, lol. When The Devil is a whopping 48 page novelette that does not lack the meat of a full length novel.
Though this is a very short dive into it, the novelette deals with domestic abuse, revenge and justice. It’s a unique telling of a young woman, in a bad situation, finding herself and getting out. I enjoyed watching Libby grow, and find excitement in life again. June is her new love interest, and the thrill of the story. She is a fierce woman who takes what she wants, even if it does involve murder. Lol
Though I didn’t find the story terrifying or horrific, it was no less shocking in some moments. Definitely a quick hitting story, leaving nothing out.
Though this is a very short dive into it, the novelette deals with domestic abuse, revenge and justice. It’s a unique telling of a young woman, in a bad situation, finding herself and getting out. I enjoyed watching Libby grow, and find excitement in life again. June is her new love interest, and the thrill of the story. She is a fierce woman who takes what she wants, even if it does involve murder. Lol
Though I didn’t find the story terrifying or horrific, it was no less shocking in some moments. Definitely a quick hitting story, leaving nothing out.
June 17, 2024
Dark, sweet, short AND sapphic ! This novella comes at a whopping 48 pages its fast paced and the perfect read when you want something to read but dont want to make a full commitment yet, although short the themes in the story pack a punch and truly make you sympathize and root for our main character Libby. All the men in this novella were horrible and made me soo mad for the main character she a thousand percent deserved better but in the end that's exactly what she got. This also has morally grey characters who do morally grey things and if that still doesn't convince you to read I dont know what will. There's not much else to say since this was very short but if you're looking for a good story about a very sweet sapphic love with a little bit of murder then I highly recommend this one.
April 10, 2024
“Life’s just two sides of a coin: violence and pleasure.”
📚
This sapphic, Southern horror novelette tells the story of Libby, a young woman grieving the loss of her grandmother, her sole light in a dim world composed of her abusive and unfaithful husband, vicious grandfather, and unfriendly community. Born into a legacy of ignorance, savagery, contempt, and toxic masculinity where women are treated as trash, objects of disdain, and literal punching bags, Libby lives a brutal, stagnant, isolated, and utterly oppressed existence as an unappreciated housewife where violence is a mundanity. Nothing she does is enough, and she doesn’t believe that she deserves better, nor that anything greater exists.
Hope and opportunity are foreign concepts, as are respect, kindness, safety, and bodily autonomy. Religion is used as a suffocating, unyielding, and misogynistic source of power, shame, and suppression — a hypocritical, backwoods means of keeping “nonconformists” in line — rendering Libby depressed and miserable. Until an enigmatic and potentially dangerous stranger named June moves in next door and upends everything, giving her transformative moments of desire, beauty, happiness, and pleasure. Can Libby embrace her new relationship, face the God who has forsaken her, trust that life has more to offer, and ultimately find salvation?
When the Devil lays an incredible groundwork of backstory, character, plot, and setting in only 66 pages, weaving a chilling, believable, addictive, engaging, and anxiety-inducing account of trauma, mortality, murder, revenge, and empowerment — a gorgeous, harrowing, and immersive tale of abuse, fear, freedom, and potential that both grips and guts the reader. It’s at once an intensely disheartening and deeply satisfying read where the downtrodden must fight for liberation.
Thank you to Shortwave Publishing for providing a free digital ARC of this forthcoming release, which hits shelves on May 7, 2024.
📚
This sapphic, Southern horror novelette tells the story of Libby, a young woman grieving the loss of her grandmother, her sole light in a dim world composed of her abusive and unfaithful husband, vicious grandfather, and unfriendly community. Born into a legacy of ignorance, savagery, contempt, and toxic masculinity where women are treated as trash, objects of disdain, and literal punching bags, Libby lives a brutal, stagnant, isolated, and utterly oppressed existence as an unappreciated housewife where violence is a mundanity. Nothing she does is enough, and she doesn’t believe that she deserves better, nor that anything greater exists.
Hope and opportunity are foreign concepts, as are respect, kindness, safety, and bodily autonomy. Religion is used as a suffocating, unyielding, and misogynistic source of power, shame, and suppression — a hypocritical, backwoods means of keeping “nonconformists” in line — rendering Libby depressed and miserable. Until an enigmatic and potentially dangerous stranger named June moves in next door and upends everything, giving her transformative moments of desire, beauty, happiness, and pleasure. Can Libby embrace her new relationship, face the God who has forsaken her, trust that life has more to offer, and ultimately find salvation?
When the Devil lays an incredible groundwork of backstory, character, plot, and setting in only 66 pages, weaving a chilling, believable, addictive, engaging, and anxiety-inducing account of trauma, mortality, murder, revenge, and empowerment — a gorgeous, harrowing, and immersive tale of abuse, fear, freedom, and potential that both grips and guts the reader. It’s at once an intensely disheartening and deeply satisfying read where the downtrodden must fight for liberation.
Thank you to Shortwave Publishing for providing a free digital ARC of this forthcoming release, which hits shelves on May 7, 2024.
April 27, 2024
A great short novellette, dark and twisted, I thoroughly enjoyed it. From the moment Libby and June met, it was evident that there was a connection between them. With Libby having such an abusive husband, it was like a breath of fresh air for her when she finally got to feel something good from June.
The storyline is entertaining and keeps you on your toes the whole way through, wondering what is going to come on the next page. It was great.
There is a book that I would recommend, but it may not be suitable for everyone as it contains some content that may be disturbing to some readers.
Star rating. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice rating. 🔥🔥
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The storyline is entertaining and keeps you on your toes the whole way through, wondering what is going to come on the next page. It was great.
There is a book that I would recommend, but it may not be suitable for everyone as it contains some content that may be disturbing to some readers.
Star rating. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice rating. 🔥🔥
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
March 20, 2024
Omg! I just started looking at this novelette and didn’t put it down until I was finished! A sexy tale of feminine rage, domestic abuse and sweet sapphic love. Fantastic characters that felt well developed in such a short time, I just loved June and Libby. I’m invested in this author and will gladly read whatever comes next!
May 6, 2024
Sure to read again and again.
Libby meets someone who is about to change her whole life. Hot humid southern charm lingers throughout the journey this short sweet horror takes the reader on. A tempting tale of what happens when you do the wrong thing.
Libby meets someone who is about to change her whole life. Hot humid southern charm lingers throughout the journey this short sweet horror takes the reader on. A tempting tale of what happens when you do the wrong thing.
June 2, 2024
This novelette was the killing eve set in the south I never knew I needed! Yes, thetr was catholic guilt and violent moments...but when I tell you I loved every second of these characters falling into a dark love story. I really did! I'll read anything Emma E. Murray writes!
February 22, 2024
This powerful and voicey novelette has all of Murray's signature style and elegance with no punches held. I raced through this, rooting for Libby and June. Great read!
March 24, 2024
A sapphic horror novelette that is brutal and passionate, When the Devil by Emma E. Murray took 70 pages to give me more to chew on philosophically than 800+ page novels I’ve read. Murray doesn’t waste a word or sentence while taking you through Libby and June’s story. Sometimes we happen upon another person by what seems like coincidence or convenience, only for them to upend our world — it’s up to us to decide whether or not that’s for the better or worse.
A definite must-read of the spring. Thank you to Shortwave Publishing for the ARC.
A definite must-read of the spring. Thank you to Shortwave Publishing for the ARC.
May 5, 2024
Libby has grown up in a deeply religious, oppressed environment. Her husband beats her, and her grandfather shames her. In order to survive, Libby has convinced herself that she is happy and deserving of what the men in her life inflict upon her. All that slowly changes when she gets a new neighbor, June. This story is dark, with bursts of hope and love sprinkled throughout. I really enjoyed watching Libby really come into her own. The story is short but excellently written. The pacing was very engaging, and the reader is given multiple characters to connect with. This is one novella that will stick with you!
Thank you to Shortwave Media for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily, and all views expressed are my own.
Thank you to Shortwave Media for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily, and all views expressed are my own.
April 7, 2025
Death by Gatorade 😍
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 23, 2025
A resounding hell yeah to this little tome. It doesn’t waste any time reeling you and I was incredibly impressed with how fleshed out and satisfying it felt for such a short, lean piece. It carries the dynamic weight of a novel despite being a faster read than some short stories. My first experience with a “novelette” but now I understand how When The Devil fits that unique mode.
March 30, 2024
Short and sweet as southern sweet tea
A harrowing story of domestic violence and the lengths women go to avoid it. The main characters are lovable, and the adversaries are detestable. I enjoyed this quick read. I just wish it was longer, I wanted to see what happens after it ends.
A harrowing story of domestic violence and the lengths women go to avoid it. The main characters are lovable, and the adversaries are detestable. I enjoyed this quick read. I just wish it was longer, I wanted to see what happens after it ends.
January 28, 2024
“In When the Devil, Murray’s lips curl back to reveal fangs. With sharp and southern prose, this story of awakening beats with the bloody empowered tang of reclamation.” —Scott J. Moses, author of Our Own Unique Affliction
October 3, 2025
4 ⭐️
Short and sweet. I had a lot of fun reading this. Due to the length I don’t wanna say more, but pick it up.
Short and sweet. I had a lot of fun reading this. Due to the length I don’t wanna say more, but pick it up.
June 19, 2024
A brilliant one-sitting read full of feminine rage. I really enjoyed the dynamic descriptions of June's features, the conflict Libby suffered throughout and the delicately portrayed romance.
April 6, 2024
Interested in some sapphic, feminine rage? Boy do I have the story for you.
Quick paced at only 48 pages, When the Devil is absolutely beautiful and I have to say it made me smile, leaving me feeling oddly satisfied.
Quick paced at only 48 pages, When the Devil is absolutely beautiful and I have to say it made me smile, leaving me feeling oddly satisfied.
April 11, 2024
When I finished Emma E. Murray’s novelette, When the Devil, my first thought was that it was a kind of demonic version of the classic novel, Fried Green Tomatoes, and the more I’ve thought about it, the more I think the comparison holds.
Both novels give us a lesbian romance in the heart of a stifling, rural community. Both feature a pair of polar opposite female leads who somehow click despite their differences. Both deal with the question of women’s roles. Both involve women banding together in the face of dangerous, abusive men. Both even involve the murder of such men.
But only When the Devil has June, a murderous version of Idgie Threadgood, who doesn’t just bristle against social convention, she destroys them, one tyrannical man at a time.
Libby is a mousy housewife, all but held prisoner in her house by her creepy truck driver husband and her domineering grandfather. As the story opens, her grandmother has just died, leaving Libby stranded alone in this world of men.
When June arrives next door, she initially presents as the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, here to shake Libby out of her complacency, awaken her sapphic desires, and teach her how to live. And there is certainly some of that at work here, but June has a dark side as well. June’s philosophy is that there are only two forces at work in the world: violence and pleasure. And she takes this pragmatic if troubling philosophy to heart.
Soon, the bodies begin to pile up, and Libby, horrified as she is, can’t quite break free from June’s dark orbit. More importantly, she isn’t sure she wants to.
Novelettes are a difficult form to really get just right. How to make it feel like something complete rather than simply a long short story? When the Devil hits that target, and it dies so with prose that is assured and beautiful and full of regional flavor without ever sounding stagy or false.
Over the course of a story that is easily read in a single sitting, When the Devil raises many questions about morality, passion, religion, and self-determination, and it ends with just enough ambiguity so as not to pretend that it has any real answers to these questions.
The book drops the reader into a well-drawn world peopled with cleanly drawn characters, and it has the courage to let them do their thing. The results, if not exactly uplifting, are powerful.
Both novels give us a lesbian romance in the heart of a stifling, rural community. Both feature a pair of polar opposite female leads who somehow click despite their differences. Both deal with the question of women’s roles. Both involve women banding together in the face of dangerous, abusive men. Both even involve the murder of such men.
But only When the Devil has June, a murderous version of Idgie Threadgood, who doesn’t just bristle against social convention, she destroys them, one tyrannical man at a time.
Libby is a mousy housewife, all but held prisoner in her house by her creepy truck driver husband and her domineering grandfather. As the story opens, her grandmother has just died, leaving Libby stranded alone in this world of men.
When June arrives next door, she initially presents as the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, here to shake Libby out of her complacency, awaken her sapphic desires, and teach her how to live. And there is certainly some of that at work here, but June has a dark side as well. June’s philosophy is that there are only two forces at work in the world: violence and pleasure. And she takes this pragmatic if troubling philosophy to heart.
Soon, the bodies begin to pile up, and Libby, horrified as she is, can’t quite break free from June’s dark orbit. More importantly, she isn’t sure she wants to.
Novelettes are a difficult form to really get just right. How to make it feel like something complete rather than simply a long short story? When the Devil hits that target, and it dies so with prose that is assured and beautiful and full of regional flavor without ever sounding stagy or false.
Over the course of a story that is easily read in a single sitting, When the Devil raises many questions about morality, passion, religion, and self-determination, and it ends with just enough ambiguity so as not to pretend that it has any real answers to these questions.
The book drops the reader into a well-drawn world peopled with cleanly drawn characters, and it has the courage to let them do their thing. The results, if not exactly uplifting, are powerful.
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