The Devil All the Time is decidedly darker than Pollock’s first book, and yet it is simultaneously much more hopeful. What may be surprising for readers of Knockemstiff is the positive role Christianity plays in the novel. While this book has several characters who wildly distort the Christian faith or, worse, exploit the faith of others in a despicable fashion, it also has, more subtly, some representatives of the genuine article. One of these is the preacher at Coal Creek, where Arvin and his grandmother attend church, a goodhearted man whose story involves a chewing tobacco pouch that has attained something like sacramental significance. But his nephew, who comes to replace him when he must retire for health reasons, is as corrupt as his uncle is goodhearted.
