American Odyssey: The Devil’s Hand is a book that should be marked amongst the best eye-opening books that are thrilling, keep readers hooked and teach some of the most valued lessons humans need to re-learn. In this era of materialism and greed, this book serves as a piece for remembering who we are and what our humble origins are.
So what is the story of American Odyssey and why should you read this book? Read this review to find out!
Spoiler-Free Plot of American Odyssey:
American Odyssey starts with Uriel Jacob, the main character coming to a mental hospital to talk to a doctor. He was wearing a torn Armani suit and his condition was not good to see the least. After meeting the doctor, he started telling him about his childhood as well as what happened to him a month prior.
During his childhood, Uriel lived a very poor life as his mother and father didn’t make much money and they were always fighting. At the age of eight, he went to see his uncle, Walt, who was a very wealthy man and loved nature and plants. Uriel grew to love his uncle more than his parents and spent every summer there. But on his thirteenth birthday, Uriel’s father and uncle fought, resulting in Uriel coming back home to his father.
When he grew older, he became a lawyer and started indulging in bad lifestyle choices to make more and more money. Until one point, when his old schoolmate, Daniel Lamb, met him and told him that he will fight exactly one month from today and wants to add Uriel’s name to his beneficiary list, making Uriel become the owner of 25 million dollars, shall Daniel die from an accident.
Uriеl, now a wickеd pеrson, doеsn’t havе to lift a fingеr for Daniеl, savе for thе 25 million dollars hе’ll inhеrit oncе Daniеl kicks thе buckеt. Uriеl couldn’t carе lеss about thе ways Daniеl might choosе to shufflе off this mortal coil. But right bеforе signing thе bеnеficiary form, Uriеl starts еxpеriеncing somе rathеr surprising occurrеncеs.
Will Uriel be able to save his soul, or will he become the devil’s slave? What is Uriel doing in the mental hospital? Read the book to find out more!
My Take on American Odyssey:
This book is an absolute eye-opener for man’s desire for money, luxury and lust. The way in which Uriel, and readers get to learn difficult lessons of humanity and the consequences greed brings for its attainer are well-described using the main character’s story.
The plot of this book is intriguing, to say the least. From the first chapter, there were mysteries that grew increasingly once the book picked up some pace. Why did Daniel Lamb make Uriel his beneficiary? Who was Monsieur Diabolus and why did he want to know about Uriel? Why was Uriel seeing those dreams? Or were they dreams or reality?
I loved Uriel and his uncle Walt’s relationship. Walt treated him like his own son. I really liked the scene when Uriel was growing a plant that, in the future, will represent his personality. What do you think his plant grew out to be like?
Uriel himself, as a character, wasn’t very much likable. Wealth and Luxury were his gods, his entire life surrounded by ways to make more money. He was greedy too. But his character was portrayed very realistically. He was a character that can’t be forgotten. The internal fight between what’s right and what’s wrong represents the continuous struggles humans have while choosing right over wrong.
My most favorite part was reading about what happened to Uriel after obtaining all the money. It teaches us serious lessons that we may think we are unstoppable, but we are also controlled by someone. And the real wealth is love, family and relations which humans often forget to cherish.
Is Money Really The Answer?
It also teaches one thing: Money doesn’t bring happiness. Though I disagree with this lesson. Money tends to give a person freedom, choices, and lifestyle upgrades, which ultimately brings happiness.
But the money that brings happiness is the one that is hard-earned, not the black money. Also, if you have all the money in the world, and no family or loved ones, that money is useless because it can’t buy you happiness. Now enough for the money rant.
Monsieur Diabolus’s character was another unforgettable one. He was the one behind all the things and how he played the devil’s advocate and involved Uriel in that too was remarkably described. His extraordinary display of money and trials through which Uriel went through due to him made him an impressive character. He was one of the central characters in making Uriel what he became.
This book was so well-written that once I started reading it, I completed it in 2 sittings. It was so thrilling, an emotional roller-coaster and the writer knew what he was doing.
His choice of words to make this book even more visually appealing and descriptive, and the twisting plot was all I needed in a book for so long. In short, this book was and is everything one wants in a book. It was so good and refreshing to read a book that was well-paced, well-handled and delivered the conclusion in the best way possible.