Book Review: Diablerie by Walter Mosley
Diablerie, meaning “reckless mischief” is a title that is denotatively consistent with the content of this book. In Diablerie, Walter Mosley creates a well-written, dark, urban, unbelievable and somewhat insipid story. The protagonist, Ben goes through many trials and tribulations on his quest to find himself. Ben appears to have it all: a loving wife, a daughter in college, a home in New York City and a steady job as a computer programmer, yet he classifies his life as boring and routine.
The story reads as if Ben is dreaming. His life does not seem real; rather it exists more as a delusion. He has been married to a woman he does not love for 20 years. In fact, he does not love anyone, including his daughter and his young Russian mistress. Ben is present, yet he experiences no real connection with the women in his life: his wife, daughter and mistress. He does not care that his wife and mistress are sleeping with other men. Ben has no apparent emotions and he blames this on his dad, who mercilessly whipped him on a daily basis as a child.
In scenes where Ben would have sex with his wife or mistress, he would request them to perform strange erotic acts and use strong evocative language. Almost on every other page, Mosley paints graphic pornographic scenes, with exorbitant amount of dialogue filled with profanity to move the pace of this 180 page book. These scenes are deeply bizarre and yet, Ben expresses that he does not even like the acts he requests.
This book is geared more to a niche urban audience, consisting of people who unabashedly support the use of profanity in speech and writing. This audience will have a more relaxed attitude about the provocative language used in Diablerie.
Throughout these 180 pages, Ben tries to find himself in the midst of his trials. In the end, Ben finally gets in tune with himself. He did not know who he was in his loveless marriage, loveless relationship with his daughter, mistress, and job. At the end, you see how it all comes together. He leaves his wife and daughter, but makes peace with them before doing so. He finally addresses the pain he was going through in their relationships. It is amazing though how all his decisions hurt the people around him, yet at the end, Ben comes out smelling like a rose.
Book reviewed by Diane Williams, the author of “Angels in Action.”
