I saw Glen Duncan’s I Lucifer on another blog, attracted by the comparison to C S Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters. Checking the What’s in London’s Libraries site, I was pleased to see they had a copy down at Catford library and so popped down to borrow it.

Like Lewis’s work, it is written from a diabolical viewpoint; in this case, purportedly Lucifer himself. It is well-written, often amusing and Duncan is one of those authors who delights in stretching the reader’s vocabulary.

However, it is not one to read if you are put off by sex and bad language. Likewise, the clear conceit that Lewis uses (everything written by Screwtape can be, more or less, turned directly on its head to yield good Christian advice) is a muddier concept here; even the choice of Lucifer as the protagonist rather than an invented demon immediately places Duncan’s work onto much less solid ground.

I was glad to have read it but hesitate to give it an unequivocal recommendation. It has at least inspired me to start re-reading Lewis’s work, which is less edgy and somewhat more comforting.

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