Asmodeus - by Rita Indiana (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

A hallucinatory thriller about a failing demon's search for a new host in post-dictatorship Santo Domingo

Asmodeus, a millennia-old demon, has inhabited Rudy, a once-legendary Dominican rock star, for decades. But in 1992, the demon's powers begin to fade. What follows is a desperate weeklong odyssey as Asmodeus ricochets through the bodies of the inhabitants of Santo Domingo's underworld: from Guinea, a young metalhead plotting a warehouse heist, to Mireya, the daughter of a former torturer, to other souls caught in his chaotic orbit. Each possession reveals another layer of a city still reeling from the Balaguer dictatorship. And each new host engenders a surprising tenderness in the demon.

From acclaimed musical artist and author Rita Indiana, Asmodeus is written in urgent prose punctuated by original décimas, ten-line rhyming poems drawing from Latin American musical and oral tradition. Indiana weaves together Dominican heavy metal, black magic, and political trauma. Asmodeus is a supernatural noir, riotous thriller, and searing portrait of a nation grappling with its complicated past.

Review Quotes

"A tale of demonic possession becomes a dazzling exploration of art, desire, and the lingering wounds of Dominican history."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"A picaresque journey through the Santo Domingo underworld."--Sam Sacks, The Wall Street Journal

"Indiana presents music (and story) as a venue for addressing the problems that plague this viscerally squalid, gritty, and painful world."--Sara Martínez, Booklist

"I love a demon novel, especially one that hops point of view. One that's written by Rita Indiana, taking us along for a demonic ride through Santo Domingo? Fist-pumping rock-and-roll, baby, let's go."--Literary Hub

"Rita Indiana is some kind of genius. Asmodeus is an incantation, an intoxicating and poetic novel about heavy metal, demonic possession, and love. This book is as funny as it is devastating."--Luis Jaramillo

"Rita Indiana consistently creates new sounds and meanings to get the party started. Her writing is elegant, melodic and wiry. Now imagine that channeling an ecosystem of demons in the Caribbean."--Yuri Herrera

About the Author

Rita Indiana is a writer, composer, and Global Distinguished Professor at New York University. She has written six novels including Tentacle, winner of the Grand Prize of the Association of Caribbean Writers. She lives in New York City.

Achy Obejas is a poet, novelist, and translator. She has received fellowships from United States Artists, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the CINTAS Foundation, among other awards. Born in Havana, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.