The Devil All the Time

by Donald Ray Pollock

“What I’m saying is that when it comes right down to it, everybody suffers in the end,”

Jesus, Willard thought, rich people did fine and dandy as long as things were going their way, but the minute the shit hit the fan, they fell apart like paper dolls left out in the rain.

“Grandma, there’s a lot of no-good sonsofbitches out there.”

“You ain’t no preacher, you worthless piece of shit,” Arvin said. Teagardin began crying, true tears running down his face for the first time since he was a little boy. “Let me pray first,” he sobbed. He started to put his hands together. “I already did it for you,” Arvin said. “Put in one of them special requests you fuckers are always talking about, asked Him to send you straight to hell.”