Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Art-Movie-BookArt-Movie-Book
    • OUR STORIES
    • ABOUT ART-MOVIE-BOOK
    • CONTACT
    • DISCLAIMER
    Art-Movie-BookArt-Movie-Book
    You are at:Home»Book Review»Devilskein and Dearlove / Alex Smith

    Devilskein and Dearlove / Alex Smith

    1
    By Rachika Marx-Badenhorst on December 8, 2014 Book Review

    A fantastical world exists on the top floor of a seemingly normal apartment building on one of the most colourful and eclectic roads in South Africa. Long street is one of my favourite places in Cape Town and it was easy to imagine this otherworldly fantasy unfolding up the road from the iconic Mama Africa restaurant.

    The protagonist, Erin Dearlove, is a dark, moody teenage girl trying desperately to live a life free from her horrific past. She chooses to befriend the nasty, facially deformed Mr. Devilskein, instead of the sweet, sensitive teenage boy Kelvin, who would have been the more obvious choice of friend for a traumatised girl trying to make sense of her new life.

    Erin finds comfort in Devilskein’s blatant crassness, but more importantly he holds the keys to new worlds that Erin is aching to discover. Keys start playing a central role in her tumultuous journey of self discovery and as these keys take her to places that are sometimes more calm and sometimes more unstable than her own reality, she eventually finds a new place to belong.

    I’m not usually a big fan of the fantasy genre, but I loved this adventure. I found the balance between the real world and the fantasy world quite intriguing and was never quite sure whether the world of Mr. Devilskein existed only in Erin’s unstable psyche or whether it was part of the reality, where Kelvin and Erin’s free spirited aunt Kate lived. Alex Smith also finds rather quirky and sometimes questionably humorous lines for Erin to utter in dealing with her issues, which gives the novel a more adult approach.

    I must admit that it was quite fun to imagine a Tim Burton movie coming to life from this fantasy novel and even though the book is technically geared toward the young adult market, I would recommend it to anyone who needs to escape from the real world into a place filled with dark and sometimes humorous adventure, where no rules abound.

    alexsmith artmoviebook book capetown creativity dearlove devilskein genre johannesburg journey jurgenmarxphotography raschikamarx review selfdiscovery southafrica story
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Previous ArticleThe Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy / Rachel Joyce
    Next Article Alastair Thomas / Humming a happy tune
    Rachika Marx-Badenhorst

    Bibliophile. Logophile. Cinephile. Wife to @Jurgen__marx. Mom to Matteo, Zoë and Phoebe. #relativelyontrack

    Related Posts

    Lehlogonolo Mashaba / Unfolding the mathematical atom through art

    Stephan Welz / Connoisseur of art, antiques and life

    The Magistrate of Gower / Claire Robertson

    1 Comment

    1. Pingback: Art-Movie-Book Reviews Devilskein and Dearlove by Alex Smith | Books LIVE

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    You must be logged in to post a comment.

    Recent posts
    September 8, 20160

    Lehlogonolo Mashaba / Unfolding the mathematical atom through art

    February 2, 20160

    David Koloane / Drawing through space and time

    January 12, 20160

    Stephan Welz / Connoisseur of art, antiques and life

    November 7, 20150

    Layziehound Coka /

    Archives
    • September 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    Our stories

    Art-Movie-Book is a lifestyle blog about creative people, their work and their stories by creative director and blogger Rachika Marx-Badenhorst.

    We want to create a community of people interested in the Art of Living.

    Instagram
    • OUR STORIES
    • ABOUT ART-MOVIE-BOOK
    • CONTACT
    • DISCLAIMER
    Copyright © 2022 Art-Movie-Book | All images and photographs on www.artmoviebook.com are protected under South African and International Copyright Laws. No photographs, images or content may be reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without the written permission of Art-Movie-Book | Photography & Images © Jurgen Marx | Terms & Conditions Apply | Error's & Omissions Excluded | Made with ♥︎ by Mrs Smith

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.