Whether it be a fixation with canines or dolls, these are people predisposed to establish connections with inanimate objects and what would typically be subordinate beings far more readily than with their fellow humans. Is this because they quite rightly do not consider themselves human beings? Do they fear exposing themselves as being unlike others, or can we discern from their actions that the opinions of others don’t matter to them?
In narrative terms this is the author’s most conservative text. While it eschews the experiments in form Lawson is often known for, the stories in Devil Entendre tend to be presented from the perspective of antagonists. Does this impact our ability to sympathize with those who are wronged or in peril? Does this approach exploit, or contradict, expectations set up by traditional storytelling wherein the reader is intended to sympathize with the central character?
More than just being a play on double entendre, a phrase suggesting something has more than one meaning, devil entendre translates as “devil entry.” Is the “devil entry” in question restricted to characters on the page, or is the author—by means of using the antagonists’ perspective—allowing the “devil” to enter the reader innocuously in order to achieve some understanding beyond details presented in the plot?
Discussion Questions
Have you ever felt as the protagonist does in “The Invisible Girl?” Who is the protagonist here...the girl, the doll, or the parents?
Sacrifice is referenced repeatedly in “Never Go Back.” What does Addy actually do in the final scene? How does it echo and/or change the earlier scene between Cam and Whisp?
Can “An Ideal Family Holiday” be construed as an allegory for conformity, and in what ways does it fail to be so? Do the family dynamics and motivations ring true?
In “Tap That Ass” does the author build the characters around archetypes, or stereotypes? Is the “devil” here societal or personal?
In “Jagged Desire” is Father Picard investigating the incidents or the people? Is he investigating the case at hand or looking for something else?
Books/Films/ Media that Inspired the Author
Hunting Humans by Michael Newton
Pimp by Iceberg Slim
The Proving by Thomas Szollosi
World of MC Escher by MC Escher and JL Locher
Recommended Reading
Cabal by Clive Barker
The Collected Stories of HP Lovecraft
Exorcist and Legion by William Peter Blatty
Devil Entendre Page 21