William Griffin, the author of this enormously witty epistolary novel, takes his cue from C. S. Lewis. Like Lewis's beloved Screwtape Letters, the letters of a master tempter to his protege, this novel contains a packet of letters from one devil to another. The correspondent is an accomplished young demon named Fleetwood. He's taking a break from his high-powered position in the American mass-temptation industry to answer his uncle's challenge to successfully tempt just one individual, a young woman who's recently moved to Manhattan. Though Fleetwood's elderly uncle is only an ember of his former self, he can still make his nephew burn, and Fleetwood outdoes himself trying to show up the older devil. The demonic minion tries every technique at his disposal--from whispering philosophical arguments in her ear to tapping her phone to tipping hot food into her mail friend's lap--to win the soul of the beautiful woman. And as if that isn't enough for an upwardly mobile young demon, Fleetwood also has to content with a bevy of belligerent of angelic bouncers. Will Fleetwood win, or might the road to Heaven be paved with diabolic intentions? Find out in this hilarious yet thoughtful satire in which the arena where souls are lost (or won) is modern-day America.
