{"title":"Michael Poore","description":"Michael Poore's short fiction has appeared in Glimmer Train, Southern Review, Agni, Fiction, and Asimov's. His story \"The Street of the House of the Sun\" was selected for The Year's Best Nonrequired Reading 2012. His first novel, Up Jumps the Devil,  was hailed by The New York Review of Books as \"an elegiac masterpiece.\" Poore lives in Highland, Indiana, with his wife, poet and activist Janine Harrison, and their daughter, Jianna.","products":[{"product_id":"reincarnation-blues-paperback","title":"Reincarnation Blues - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA wildly imaginative novel about a man who is reincarnated over ten thousand lifetimes to be with his one true love: Death herself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Tales of gods and men akin to Neil Gaiman's \u003ci\u003eSandman\u003c\/i\u003e as penned by a kindred spirit of Douglas Adams.\"--\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003ci\u003eFirst we live. Then we die. And then . . . we get another try? \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Ten thousand tries, to be exact. Ten thousand lives to \"get it right.\" Answer all the Big Questions. Achieve Wisdom. And Become One with Everything. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Milo has had 9,995 chances so far and has just five more lives to earn a place in the cosmic soul. If he doesn't make the cut, oblivion awaits. But all Milo really wants is to fall forever into the arms of Death. Or Suzie, as he calls her. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e More than just Milo's lover throughout his countless layovers in the Afterlife, Suzie is literally his reason for living--as he dives into one new existence after another, praying for the day he'll never have to leave her side again. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e But \u003ci\u003eReincarnation Blues\u003c\/i\u003e is more than a great love story: Every journey from cradle to grave offers Milo more pieces of the great cosmic puzzle--if only he can piece them together in time to finally understand what it means to be part of something bigger than infinity. As darkly enchanting as the works of Neil Gaiman and as wisely hilarious as Kurt Vonnegut's, Michael Poore's \u003ci\u003eReincarnation Blues\u003c\/i\u003e is the story of everything that makes life profound, beautiful, absurd, and heartbreaking. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Because it's more than Milo and Suzie's story. It's your story, too. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eReincarnation Blues\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"The most fun you'll have reading about a man who has been killed by both catapult and car accident.\"\u003cb\u003e--NPR\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"This book made me laugh out loud. And then a page later, it made me sob. Reminiscent of Tom Robbins and Christopher Moore, Poore finds humor in the dark absurdities of life.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eChicago Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Charming . . . surprisingly light and uplifting . . . It reads like a writer having fun.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eNew York Journal of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50103930355935,"sku":"9780399178504","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/1leSNrfvYW9780399178504.webp?v=1781099767"},{"product_id":"up-jumps-the-devil-paperback","title":"Up Jumps the Devil - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"The sustained comedy in this hilarious novel is equaled only by its heart, and the myriad ways there are for it to break. I love this book. Michael Poore writes like an angel.\"\u003cbr\u003e--Daniel Wallace, author of \u003cem\u003eBig Fish\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJohn Scratch, the Devil himself, is the protagonist in this stunningly imaginative, sharp, funny, and tender novel, as he tricks, teases, and prods America to greatness in the hope of luring his lost love back down to Earth from Heaven. \u003cem\u003eUp Pops the Devil\u003c\/em\u003e is fiction with humor and heart, the kind of hilarious, off-beat, and original reading experience that fans of Chris Moore, Joe Hill, Chuck Palahniuk, and Jim Shepard would sell their souls for--a brilliant blending of the occult and the outrageous starring the anti-hero of anti-heroes, the one and only Prince of Darkness.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA stunningly imaginative, sharp, funny, and slyly tender novel featuring the Devil himself, John Scratch.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe's made of wood. He cooks an excellent gumbo. Cows love him. And he's the world's first love story . . . and the world's first broken heart. Meet the darkly handsome, charming John Scratch, aka the Devil. Ever since his true love, a fellow fallen angel named Arden, decided that Earth was a little too terrifying and violent, John Scratch has been trying to lure her back from the forgiving grace of Heaven. Though neither the wonders of Egypt nor the glories of Rome were enough to keep her on Earth, John Scratch believes he's found a new Eden: America.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJohn Scratch capitalizes on the bounty of this arcadia as he shapes it into his pet nation. Then, one dark night in the late 1960s, he meets three down-on-their-luck musicians and strikes a deal. In exchange for their souls, he'll grant them fame, wealth, and the chance to make the world a better place. Soon, the trio is helping the Devil push America to the height of civilization--or so he thinks. But there's a great deal about humans he still needs to learn, even after spending so many millennia among them.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Overflowing with imagination, insight, and humor, rippling with history and myth, \u003cem\u003eUp Jumps the Devil\u003c\/em\u003e is as madcap and charming as the Devil himself.\u003c\/p\u003e--Daniel Wallace, author of \u003ci\u003eBig Fish\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA stunningly imaginative, sharp, funny, and slyly tender novel featuring the Devil himself, John Scratch.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe's made of wood. He cooks an excellent gumbo. Cows love him. And he's the world's first love story . . . and the world's first broken heart. Meet the darkly handsome, charming John Scratch, aka the Devil. Ever since his true love, a fellow fallen angel named Arden, decided that Earth was a little too terrifying and violent, John Scratch has been trying to lure her back from the forgiving grace of Heaven. Though neither the wonders of Egypt nor the glories of Rome were enough to keep her on Earth, John Scratch believes he's found a new Eden: America.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJohn Scratch capitalizes on the bounty of this arcadia as he shapes it into his pet nation. Then, one dark night in the late 1960s, he meets three down-on-their-luck musicians and strikes a deal. In exchange for their souls, he'll grant them fame, wealth, and the chance to make the world a better place. Soon, the trio is helping the Devil push America to the height of civilization--or so he thinks. But there's a great deal about humans he still needs to learn, even after spending so many millennia among them.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Overflowing with imagination, insight, and humor, rippling with history and myth, \u003cem\u003eUp Jumps the Devil\u003c\/em\u003e is as madcap and charming as the Devil himself.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50104295850207,"sku":"9780062064417","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/Nwc2DqgJ9V9780062064417.webp?v=1781104603"}],"url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/collections\/michael-poore.oembed","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}