Satan appears much more than three times in Rickey Fayne’s generational saga, The Devil Three Times. Fayne’s novel makes it clear that this is Lucifer, who fought against the Christian god and was cast out, but it complicates things. For the Laurent family, the Devil is a protector as much as he is a tempter. Also, this Devil has been given a mission: to free Black people from bondage.
The Devil started paying attention to the Laurents before they were given the surname. The first member of the sprawling family we meet draws the Devil’s eye when her mother dies and begs the Devil to save her child. Something about this child sparks the Devil’s curiosity, so much so that he follows her across the Atlantic Ocean when she is captured and sold into slavery. It’s not even Ytunde’s gift for talking to ghosts or for rootwork that captures the Devil’s interest (though this captures the interest of her enslaver, one Captain Laurent). The Devil doesn’t save Ytunde from slavery. Nor does he save her children, Lucille and Ada. Later descendants face vicious racism, poverty, adultery, alcoholism, and hauntings. Sometimes, the Devil manages to stop these children from going down a bad path. Other times, his temptations push Ytunde’s children onto a worse path.
The Devil Three Times is a sprawling, thoughtful, and multi-layered novel. We have to understand each character and what shaped them to understand the next generations, as trauma stacks on trauma. The Laurents suffer a lot in this book. It’s little wonder that some of Ytunde’s children turn to drink to numb their sorrows. Their children often run away from alcohol, towards religion or tending the earth or making money to escape their parents’ miseries. Secrets play a huge role in this book, too; sometimes they play a bigger role than the Devil, no matter how deeply they’re buried.
I really appreciated the individuality of the subsequent generations as they reacted to their parents’ failings and the violence of the world around them. I also very much enjoyed the unique beliefs of the Laurents. Even the most traditionally religious members, like Walter (Ytunde’s grandson), make a lot of room for other supernatural beings and paths. Ytunde’s children and grandchildren staunchly believe in the powers of water and rootwork to heal anything, viral, bacterial, or spiritual. Some of Ytunde’s children are able to find a way to love themselves and the world. The prose grows especially poignant in these sections as these characters reflect on the power of grace and forgiveness.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.