Book Review: From God's Monster to the Devil's Angel

From God's Monster to the Devil's Angel. Luther Butler. CreateSpace: January 17, 2014, Trade Paperback and e-book, 166 pages.

Reviewed by Jessica Cage.

From God's Monster to the Devil's Angel is an autobiography of the life of author, Luther Butler. It maps his growth from childhood to adulthood and provides a graphic look into the life of someone who has suffered a lifetime of abuse and neglect but manages to overcome it. I have to say that this book wasn’t at all what I expected. It is shocking and touching and heartbreaking. Butler wrote this book to inspire the at-risk teens that he mentors and the story he portrays is truly inspirational.

While reading this tale of hard knocks, you want to imagine that it isn’t real, that the characters were fictional because to know that such acts occur is difficult to digest.

However, it is the truth and it reads as such. Luther tells this story as if he is sitting down with a friend recounting the trials of his life. What I appreciated about this story was that it wasn’t written to be overly pleasing or overly aggressive. It is written in a way that takes you through all the emotions from sadness to triumph.

The shock factor of this book has to be the celebrity aspect of it. Butler’s life was entangled with the lives of some high profile people and you want to think that they, anyone, would have stepped in. It just goes to show that being a celebrity doesn’t make you any better or any less blinded to what is going on around you. People like to take the stand of “It ain’t my business.” This one thing really needs to change in our society. I do believe that by reading this book, at-risk youths and adults will find solace in knowing that things can get better. Butler portrays some of the lowest points of his life openly and honestly to show that there is a way out of the fire.

At some points, I did find it hard to follow along with the timeline. I attribute this challenge to the conversational style of writing employed. Also, there were some points where I found myself mentally saying “Wait, say that again . . .” I did enjoy the descriptions of inner city Chicago, especially being so close to where I grew up myself. It allowed me to have a personal connection to the book as well.

From God's Monster to the Devil's Angel is a powerful story with an important message.