I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this book incredibly interesting the author really kept me hooked until the end. very well written I highly recommend.

this was so much fun to read, I had a good laugh during a few parts. I enjoyed the unique plot and going through this book. It was a great satirical novel with great characters.

English is not my mother tongue, nor is it the language in which this book was originally written. Maybe this has something to do with it, but the truth is this book was not easy to me. I couldn't get myself to like it or to want to read it.

I wanted to like this book. I hoped that it would be an expose´ of the traditional views of Genesis - something thought provoking enough to justify the risks the author took and the problems he faced.
The author chose to make the Devil the protagonist, succeeding in irritating conservative Christians and Muslims alike, however as a piece of literature, I am not sure that this book is worth the trouble it caused.
Thanks to Net Gallery for providing an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a retelling of Adam and Eve's story from Genesis that was told from the devil's POV. It's funny and there's so many jokes here and there.
Thanks to Netgalley for the e-ARC

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A unique example of literary archaeology by Bedrettin Simsek that can only be compared to the Gospel of Judas. A different, ironic take on the world's oldest story that tells us about the secret life of the devil in a satirical tone.

A novel that recreates the stylized, distinctive tone of Gnostics that is decorated with metaphors, presents the richness of images in an economic language, not only has deep meanings, but can also be funny.

The story of Adam and Eve has been told countless times by different authors. It was all like a repetition of what was said in the holy books. But this time the roles change, the role of Jesus is taken by the devil, who imitates his style, speaks just like him, performs miracles but somehow cannot be crucified in any case.

As Judas Iscariot did, who wanted to regain his reputation in the newly discovered Gospel of Judas; the Devil, who is always accused but is never allowed to defend himself, puts his own Bible before us with this work. He tells us the truth from his own perspective and shows the courage to go against God and say, "No, that's not what happened, this is what happened."

Thus, while it becomes clear after centuries why God has placed a ban and why this ban has been violated, Devil himself answers the questions left unanswered by the holy books and the prophets.

NOTE: I received a free preliminary, and likely unedited copy of this book from Netgalley for the purposes of providing an honest, unbiased review of the material. Thank you to all involved.

I think the backstory of the author, as described in the preface, is almost more intriguing than this book itself. A Turkish author, Simsek apparently wrote a book early in his career that was deemed heretical and was jailed in his home country along with people associated with the book publisher that released it. When released, he tried for decades to get his books out there, but was blocked and threatened forcing him to self-publish. This caused his books to go largely forgotten until now apparently.

The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Heaven According to The Devil is written in the tradition of the ancient Gnostics, who composed a whole litany of religious texts in the early eras of Christianity, and were later deemed the most heretical of all heretics and driven underground by what is now The Catholic Church, they were oppressed, killed, and had their books destroyed. Most of what we have of their works was only made available due to a monk burying scrolls in a clay pot hundreds of years ago. Being a person that formerly considered themselves Gnostic, and having read a lot on the subject, this was a definite interest for me.

This is basically a retelling of The first part of the Biblical Book of Genesis with an emphasis on the Devil as the main protagonist. While the ideas presented are interesting, I’m not sure they wholly represent the Gnostic ideas of the “Garden of Eden” events as seen in books like The Testimony of Truth or The Apocalypse of Adam which are historical texts detailing the same story, but actually written by The Gnostics. However, many old biblical texts are basically religious fan-fiction in their own right – designed to tell an allegory within the context of a set of known characters. This is, of course, something Biblical literalists don’t want to hear, but I digress.

My qualms aside, this is a solid book, and I liked what the text was trying to do here. The dialog definitely grounds the characters, and gives you sympathy for a character that is largely seen as very misunderstood for a multitude of reasons. All-in-all, I liked this and would like to read more by the author. And of course I’d like to learn more about his troubles, and am glad he is finally getting his work out there.

I liked the philosophical background of this book more. Almost every sentence has a deep meaning. This makes you think about good, evil, life, death, love, world, heaven, hell, destiny, god, devil and the nature of being human.
The book, as I understand it, is looking for an answer to this question that the Gnostics ask..
"If God is this good why is there so much evil in the world??"
The success of the book is to give many specific answers to this question from the angels' and the devil's point of view in a Gnostic framework.
If you are not interested in philosophy, I think this book will give you very little and this could be a flaw..

This was definitely interesting and insightful, It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, so at first I felt a bit disappointed, but once I kept reading; I was fully intrigued. There were some good questions answered and the author’s though process was wonderful to read.

The writing didn’t 100% jive with me, but that’s honestly just a me thing so I don’t hold it against the book. I would still recommend.

Absolutely brilliant. I do agree that it was a wee bit verbose in places, but otherwise, funny as hell. ( No pun intended)😂 a great writer who will indeed go far I believe. Look forward to more by this writer.

The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Heaven According to The Devil was received direct from the publisher and I chose to write a review. The book title piqued my interest as it sounded like "something new." This it was as I had never read anything like it. The book was fairly short, rarely too verbose, like books tend to be nowadays and it had its comedy moments. I recommend it to anyone who wishes to read comedy loosely based on Biblical happenings.

4 Stars

The writer claims to have been oppressed due to his heterodox beliefs, though it is not stated where he hails from - it would be difficult to imagine a Western country being unduly offended by this.

This appears to be a rather irreverent - and somewhat loosely interpreted - take on the Gnostic perspective that there was trouble in Paradise way before either Adam and Eve were created. God and his minions of angels seem to bicker a lot, as later on does Eve with Adam, even before Earth was created following any kind of catastrophic Fall into Matter,with the character Demiurge almost created as an afterthought, after Eve's bite from *that* apple.

The original sin is actually God's, this being that of Pride as he creates Adam, and the Devil wants no part of that. This is partly why he is so keen for Eve to attain higher awareness, although Adam to begin with is difficult to tempt in turn, not being especially impressed by her.

The Gnostic message comes across as being somewhat muddled in places, but
the silly arguing and discontents from the cast of both angelic and human characters do invoke some sympathy for the devil and his mission : humans deserve better than that.

The humour, particularly regarding Eve's unsuccessful attempts to get Adam to like her may not be to everyone's taste, it this should still be entertaining for anyone who questions the received wisdom of more orthodox authorities.

First off, I have to say that I'm utterly in awe with the writer. The hardships he's had to face because of his religious views & the way he's been boycotted from the literary world is extremely upsetting.

Therefore I really wanted to like this book. The concept was thoroughly intriguing. I found Bedrettin's thought process utterly fascinating. His views on love in particular were absolutely ground-breaking.

However, I couldn't stand the writing. Dry humour mixed with misogyny really ruined the book. I enjoy mythological fiction yet I found this book to be too burdensome. Many biblical references were drawn without providing adequate references. The writing was sporadic, jumbled & tiresome.

That being said, I'm still looking forward to reading some other work of this writer. I think he has originality of thought & I'm hoping that this one book won't discourage me (or others who might not have enjoyed this book) from giving him another shot.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Heaven According to The Devil by Bedrettin Simsek is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary.
I found this a refreshing and fun satire on the Gnostic books. This is the Devil's version of creation and Adam and Eve.
It is a bit long winded in a few places but the verbiage is spot on!
Here is a section where Adam is being introduced to Eve but the devil gave Eve a mirror to hold.
"The look on Adam's face wasn't very promising either. Because he resented the fact that Eve looked in the mirror before looking at him.
"Will she always keep me waiting like this? Will she always be late?" he asked with discontent.""
I think men are still asking that question!
It's sprinkled with dry humor and plenty of wit throughout the book. I found it quite clever! It's a short but good read!

Revisitation of the first part of Genesis by what is described in the translator's preface as a cursed writer... and dead, although in reality he seems very much alive. Having said that, the idea of offering a version of the narrative common to the three 'revealed religions' in which the devil loses his status as God's beloved angel because he sees the creator's pride embodied in the animality of creation, and thus refuses to bow before Adam, while he does so before Eve, to whom he offers the fruit of the tree of knowledge (gnosis) and for whom he invents human love, is very intriguing. However, a certain heaviness in the narrative, further burdened by the translation, makes for rather tiring reading.

The creation and fall of Adam and Eve from the Devils POV.
Well-written and researched. Unfortunately I didn’t click with the humour so it just felt like a lot of biblical references with a bit of context thrown in.
Not my personal style but others may enjoy it.

The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Heaven According to The Devil by Bedrettin Simsek is a funny-fantasy story about Adam and Eve, the creation of the earth, hell, and angels; different and ironic from other stories because this time has been told by the devil's book. Devil tells us the truth from his perspective and his bold role in creation. He has all answers to the unanswered questions.

"Even when there is only one woman in the universe, men cannot be trusted."

Thanks to Netgalley, I have given an honest review of The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Heaven According to The Devil by Bedrettin Simsek.

Thought I'd try something out of normal genre..... absolutely loved it sooo funny. Would highly recommend this if your considering getting this just do it you wont be disappointed!