Devil in a Coma
Published on 12. March 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
160 pages
978-1-3996-3638-4 (ISBN)
Description
FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SING BACKWARDS AND WEEP
'Expressionistic and visceral . . . exhilarating and unexpectedly funny' i PAPER
'Compelling' MOJO
'Shades of humour illuminate the dark judiciously' RECORD COLLECTOR
Poetic, raw, hallucinogenic and darkly witty, Devil in a Coma charts Mark Lanegan's terrifying, mind-expanding experience of acute illness and the confrontation it forces with mortality itself.
Struck down by Covid-19, drifting in and out of a coma, unable to walk and given little hope of survival, these diaries see Lanegan assaulted by nightmares, visions and regrets about an existence lived on the edge of chaos and disorder. In arresting prose and at times transcendent poetry, Devil in a Coma is one man's intimate reckoning with a lifetime spent cheating death.
'Expressionistic and visceral . . . exhilarating and unexpectedly funny' i PAPER
'Compelling' MOJO
'Shades of humour illuminate the dark judiciously' RECORD COLLECTOR
Poetic, raw, hallucinogenic and darkly witty, Devil in a Coma charts Mark Lanegan's terrifying, mind-expanding experience of acute illness and the confrontation it forces with mortality itself.
Struck down by Covid-19, drifting in and out of a coma, unable to walk and given little hope of survival, these diaries see Lanegan assaulted by nightmares, visions and regrets about an existence lived on the edge of chaos and disorder. In arresting prose and at times transcendent poetry, Devil in a Coma is one man's intimate reckoning with a lifetime spent cheating death.
Reviews / Votes
Devil in a Coma offers a pleasingly bitter counterpoint to the clap-for-carers mood of the times * Uncut * Compelling . . . When he eventually does sing again, Mark Lanegan has the record of a lifetime to make * Mojo * Devil in a Coma is fired by Lanegan's expressionistic prose and visceral poetry . . . his writing is exhilarating and unexpectedly funny * i newspaper * This slight but weighty volume only adds to the man's muscular and vivid - in every sense of the word - body of work -- Kitty Empire * Observer * Lanegan doesn't tread softly or treat himself easily. Maintaining the commitment to the unvarnished truth of Sing Backwards..., he presents himself as a nightmare hospital patient and a flawed human being. But shades of humour illuminate the darkness judiciously * Record Collector * Shades of humour illuminate the dark judiciously. -- Kevin Harley * Record Collector * This latest title is a must-have for Lanegan fans, or anyone left hungry for more of his pitch-black wit -- DAVID NOBAKHT * Buzz Mag *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Orion Publishing Co
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 125 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
146 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-3996-3638-4 (9781399636384)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Mark Lanegan's singular body of work encompasses dozens of albums both solo and collaborative and his memoir Sing Backwards and Weep was a Sunday Times bestseller and Rough Trade Book of the Year. He died aged 56 in 2022.