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jamessmurthwaite's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
outoftheblue14's review against another edition
4.0
Accidents ambush the unsuspecting, often violently, just like love.
It was Good Friday and the stars were just starting to dissolve into the dawn. As I drove, I stroked the scar on my chest, by habit. My eyes were heavy and my vision unfocused, not surprising given that I'd spent the night hunched over a mirror snorting away the bars of white powder that kept my face trapped in the glass. I believed I was keening my reflexes. I was wrong.
The unnamed narrator of The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson is very comtemporary cynic, physically handsome and sexually adept, who dwells int he vacuum that is modern life. At the beginning of the book, he is driving when he sees a flight of arrows cross his vision. He has a grave car accident and escapes with terible burns all over his body. As he recovers in a burn ward, his only thought is committing a carefully planned suicide.
This until he meets Marianne Engel, a beautiful, but clearly unhinged sculptress of gargoyles who claims that they once were lovers in medieval Germany. Marianne entertains the narrator with great love stories set all over the world: unrequited gay love in Viking Iceland that ends in tragedy; the untimely water death of a husband in England and it's aftermath; a Japanese woman making the ultimate sacrifice not only for her lover but for her father; an Italian blacksmith who chooses a clean death versus the horrid one brought on by the plague that just killed his wife. And between all this, we get the story of a young Marianne, who in the fourteenth century becomes a skilled bookmaker and scribe at a famous monastery in Germany, and her true love, who shows up one day severely burnt after being struck with a flaming arrow.
The Gargoyle, while not the literary masterpiece that I expected after reading so many raving reviews, is a truly engrossing read. Rich in secondary stories and symbolism, it's a book not to be missed. Heavily recommended, though with the warning that there is quite a bit of graphic language and descriptions.
It was Good Friday and the stars were just starting to dissolve into the dawn. As I drove, I stroked the scar on my chest, by habit. My eyes were heavy and my vision unfocused, not surprising given that I'd spent the night hunched over a mirror snorting away the bars of white powder that kept my face trapped in the glass. I believed I was keening my reflexes. I was wrong.
The unnamed narrator of The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson is very comtemporary cynic, physically handsome and sexually adept, who dwells int he vacuum that is modern life. At the beginning of the book, he is driving when he sees a flight of arrows cross his vision. He has a grave car accident and escapes with terible burns all over his body. As he recovers in a burn ward, his only thought is committing a carefully planned suicide.
This until he meets Marianne Engel, a beautiful, but clearly unhinged sculptress of gargoyles who claims that they once were lovers in medieval Germany. Marianne entertains the narrator with great love stories set all over the world: unrequited gay love in Viking Iceland that ends in tragedy; the untimely water death of a husband in England and it's aftermath; a Japanese woman making the ultimate sacrifice not only for her lover but for her father; an Italian blacksmith who chooses a clean death versus the horrid one brought on by the plague that just killed his wife. And between all this, we get the story of a young Marianne, who in the fourteenth century becomes a skilled bookmaker and scribe at a famous monastery in Germany, and her true love, who shows up one day severely burnt after being struck with a flaming arrow.
The Gargoyle, while not the literary masterpiece that I expected after reading so many raving reviews, is a truly engrossing read. Rich in secondary stories and symbolism, it's a book not to be missed. Heavily recommended, though with the warning that there is quite a bit of graphic language and descriptions.
crafti_kate's review against another edition
5.0
I read the description of this book and I was fascinated by the concepts that seemed almost 'thrown together'. Although a bit apprehensive ( I thought it was going to be a Marmite book ) I delved in with my mind open and I'm SO glad I did.
The narrator has a fantastic sense of humour, and I greatly related him to my partner in many ways. One of the things that I loved about this book was the writing style and the scientific mind of the narrator. He delves into so many different subjects that aren't specifically related to the story at hand, or the book in general, but in such a way that you end up being able to relate to this man's strange idea of logistics and how subjects link together.
Normally I get a little frustrated when you can read one paragraph from one tense and then read the next from another, however, the way that Andrew Davidson has written it is so seamless that it flows like you're remembering these images yourself.
The story is awesome and the characters perfectly suited to this wacky, almost 'make believe' setting. I really felt like I was in the room, listening to Marianne tell her stories of love and woe.
This is a book that, once read, will stay with you for a long time.
The Gargoyle is beautiful in it's gruesomeness and I loved every page of it.
The narrator has a fantastic sense of humour, and I greatly related him to my partner in many ways. One of the things that I loved about this book was the writing style and the scientific mind of the narrator. He delves into so many different subjects that aren't specifically related to the story at hand, or the book in general, but in such a way that you end up being able to relate to this man's strange idea of logistics and how subjects link together.
Normally I get a little frustrated when you can read one paragraph from one tense and then read the next from another, however, the way that Andrew Davidson has written it is so seamless that it flows like you're remembering these images yourself.
The story is awesome and the characters perfectly suited to this wacky, almost 'make believe' setting. I really felt like I was in the room, listening to Marianne tell her stories of love and woe.
This is a book that, once read, will stay with you for a long time.
The Gargoyle is beautiful in it's gruesomeness and I loved every page of it.
awgetgey's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kcoleman's review against another edition
4.0
I think this is a great book, in the begining I was not sure I would like the book due to the Main Characters issues and his recovery, but it turned out to be a great book!
mrs_tea's review against another edition
3.0
I was hoping for more out of this book. Davidson pulled me in so quickly in the first page turns that I was hooked, but as the story progressed I started to worry that I wasn't getting the story I thought I signed up for. I was excited when it was a flashback/story chapter, as this is where Davidson truly shone, however the main characters and their story felt somewhat forced.
lyleb's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
usnebojemesa's review against another edition
4.0
I fell deeply in love with this book. Marianne's excentric stories, her life, the terrible accident of the main character... it just amazing!
novabird's review against another edition
4.0
Saint Tinkerbelle f’ed with my mind with all that damn metaphysical/religious/cultish fairy dust, similar to how the bitch snake inhabited the unnamed burned man’s mind and spine. Religion is the opium of the people. Yet for some reason, I found that I became quickly addicted to, “The Gargoyle,” and I was able for the most part to just go with the flow with this fantasy by simply enjoying the excellent visceral writing style of Davidson. I know that if I start to analyze this book, it will lose its some of its magic for me, but I have to do so and go cold turkey.
I have only four moderate misgivings about, “The Gargoyle:”
First of all, was Marianne Engel ever incarnated as Marquis de Sade? Engel takes the Christian ethics behind pain too far, “I came to see your suffering. ... I envy all suffering, because suffering is necessary to become spiritually beautiful. It brings one closer to Christ. Those who suffer are the elect of God.” And, “That which is painful sharpens one's love.” Don’t get me wrong, I understand the necessity of pain in order to prevent injury, to instill health and to deter from wrong choices and even to better appreciate when one is pain-free. However, I do separate the boundaries between pain and pleasure quite clearly. Unlike Marianne who says, “If I get sick, I will rejoice because God has remembered me.” Like the burned man, I am “glad to be removed from this conversation.”
The most unbelievable part of the novel is the
Not too sure how some of Engel’s 1,000 hearts were redeemed previously in her 700 year history and I am even less certain how one can expend one’s heart in sculpting, even if “monsters are divine portents.”
The ending with Marianne
What remains is an amazing tale of combined belief systems that has a permanent sprinkling of gold dust that will remain long in memory, like a myth, a legend. It makes me want to read Marquis de Sade and the Inferno and any book that gently pushes me towards that which I am uncomfortable with is a winner with me.
I have only four moderate misgivings about, “The Gargoyle:”
First of all, was Marianne Engel ever incarnated as Marquis de Sade? Engel takes the Christian ethics behind pain too far, “I came to see your suffering. ... I envy all suffering, because suffering is necessary to become spiritually beautiful. It brings one closer to Christ. Those who suffer are the elect of God.” And, “That which is painful sharpens one's love.” Don’t get me wrong, I understand the necessity of pain in order to prevent injury, to instill health and to deter from wrong choices and even to better appreciate when one is pain-free. However, I do separate the boundaries between pain and pleasure quite clearly. Unlike Marianne who says, “If I get sick, I will rejoice because God has remembered me.” Like the burned man, I am “glad to be removed from this conversation.”
The most unbelievable part of the novel is the
Spoiler
divine anti-pregnancy that Marianne experiences. Once pregnant one cannot be made un-pregnant, even if a woman miscarries or has an abortion, she was once pregnant, and this is one idea that should have been edited out.Not too sure how some of Engel’s 1,000 hearts were redeemed previously in her 700 year history and I am even less certain how one can expend one’s heart in sculpting, even if “monsters are divine portents.”
The ending with Marianne
Spoiler
committing suicide runs contrary to the burned man’s experience of hell. As well he does not choose this as option to foreshorten his life in order to be with Marianne all that more sooner.What remains is an amazing tale of combined belief systems that has a permanent sprinkling of gold dust that will remain long in memory, like a myth, a legend. It makes me want to read Marquis de Sade and the Inferno and any book that gently pushes me towards that which I am uncomfortable with is a winner with me.
abbywebb's review against another edition
3.0
I know many people will be disappointed with the lack of stars in which I attribute to this book.
It's not that Davidson's first novel was bad or anything. I just don't think I had a lot of the background knowledge that would be useful when reading this book. If you plan on reading this book in the near future, I would suggest either first reading or at least researching Dante's Inferno as this plays a major role in The Gargoyle. Also, there are a lot of biblical references, to which I have no knowledge whatsoever.
It remains evident to the reader that Davidson did a ton of research to write this book, and on a wide variety of topics. I commend him with his dedication to not only research all these unknown areas, but to also sit down and write a book about it.
He did a good job of bouncing back between the past and present stories, although I am not entirely sure of why some of the stories were included. Like many books that I have read of late, this one did not capture me until the end, and even then, I wouldn't necessarily say that I was "captured." I feel bad to say that as Davidson currently lives in my hometown and what if I run into him at Safeway or Chapters one day when I am visiting? How awkward.
Anyway, I recommend this book to bookish readers who do not mind devouring some heavy literature. When reading this book, I was reminded of several other books, including [b:The English Patient|11713|The English Patient|Michael Ondaatje|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166485607s/11713.jpg|3009869] and [b:Outlander|10964|Outlander (Outlander, #1)|Diana Gabaldon|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41PXCSX5AKL._SL75_.jpg|2489796]. Although this book is completely different from those two, you may enjoy this one if you liked those ones.
It's not that Davidson's first novel was bad or anything. I just don't think I had a lot of the background knowledge that would be useful when reading this book. If you plan on reading this book in the near future, I would suggest either first reading or at least researching Dante's Inferno as this plays a major role in The Gargoyle. Also, there are a lot of biblical references, to which I have no knowledge whatsoever.
It remains evident to the reader that Davidson did a ton of research to write this book, and on a wide variety of topics. I commend him with his dedication to not only research all these unknown areas, but to also sit down and write a book about it.
He did a good job of bouncing back between the past and present stories, although I am not entirely sure of why some of the stories were included. Like many books that I have read of late, this one did not capture me until the end, and even then, I wouldn't necessarily say that I was "captured." I feel bad to say that as Davidson currently lives in my hometown and what if I run into him at Safeway or Chapters one day when I am visiting? How awkward.
Anyway, I recommend this book to bookish readers who do not mind devouring some heavy literature. When reading this book, I was reminded of several other books, including [b:The English Patient|11713|The English Patient|Michael Ondaatje|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166485607s/11713.jpg|3009869] and [b:Outlander|10964|Outlander (Outlander, #1)|Diana Gabaldon|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41PXCSX5AKL._SL75_.jpg|2489796]. Although this book is completely different from those two, you may enjoy this one if you liked those ones.