In this riveting, thought-provoking collection of short stories, young author Li Lei shows how the devil, far from being the menacing beast portrayed in mythology, manifests and speaks to us through the mundane and ordinary, the innocent and beautiful, and through human flaws that speak to our deepest vulnerabilities. Presenting a broad spectrum of stories ranging from the seemingly innocuous scene of children playing in the park, to the painful transformation of a human into a phoenix, to the wrinkles that trace the devil's mortality, The Devil Speaks illuminates the relationship between the wicked and the vulnerable--the devil and the human--in a way that is at once blisteringly surreal and deeply human.