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The Devil Three Times by Rickey Fayne
The Devil Three Times by Rickey Fayne
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The Devil Three Times: A Novel
by Rickey Fayne
"A debut of enormous ambition" - Nathan Harris, New York Times bestselling author of The Sweetness of Water
When Yetunde awakens on a slave ship bound for America, she makes a desperate bargain. Seeking survival, she accepts an offer of supernatural power from an unexpected source: the Devil himself. In exchange for an incredible sacrifice, the Devil promises to protect her, hoping to prove himself worthy of returning to heaven.
This bargain, however, extends far beyond Yetunde's lifetime. Over the next 175 years, the Devil visits eight generations of her descendants in West Tennessee, always appearing in their darkest hour. He offers each of them a different version of salvation. We meet Lucille, a conjure woman; Asa, who passes for white; Louis and Virgil, who are locked in a struggle that threatens to turn them into a modern-day Cain and Abel; Cassandra, who speaks to the dead; and James, who fights to hold his family together.
As the Devil navigates the lives of Yetunde's family, he wonders if his repeated acts of intervention can truly save him as well. Steeped in the spiritual traditions and rich oral history of the Black diaspora, The Devil Three Times is a baptism by fire and water, heralding a powerful new voice in American fiction.
About the Author
Rickey Fayne is a fiction writer from rural West Tennessee. His work has been featured in prestigious literary magazines such as American Short Fiction, Guernica, and The Kenyon Review. Holding an MA in English from Northwestern University and an MFA in Fiction from the Michener Center for Writers, his writing reimagines and honors his ancestors’ experiences through his Black, Southern upbringing.
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