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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
Masterful suspense, but I hate 2 hour long chapters.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Iconic religious horror. I first read this when I was a teenager, now 30 years later, listened to the author read it. If you ever need a reason not to play with a talking board, this it it!
Once again I don't remember much about the movie since over a decade has passed since I watched it, but I can say that once again I feel like the book is better than the movie. I remember that the movie was really focused on the supernatural themes while the book not so much, which as someone who isn't a fan of supernatural I really really liked.
The good:
I liked the realistic approach and the neuropsychological approach it had. For over half of the book we still not into the supernatural elements of what is happening. Instead of jumping straight into the demon possession, it slowly builds the story psychologically. Great choice if you ask me. Rare to happen but I actually liked some of the characters, the police guy and Karl. Father Karras was also an interesting character. A man who battles with his faith basically and a psychiatrist at that!!! Now I wasn't familiar with the religion (Jesuits) that was presented so I had once again to google stuff, in my defence I am not familiar with Catholicism so it was interesting to search and find that Catholicism has a bunch of other ''faiths'' inside. I also liked the sick descriptions, unsettling and disturbing one's which he wrote them well, he balanced them because they weren't constant, it wasn't one after the other then again the same circle, which I have seen some thriller books doing it. The story closed beautifully with a great ending!
The bad:
In the beginning for the very few first pages I was rolling my eyes, it felt like the author was trying a bit too hard to sound literary, when he couldn't pull it off. Thankfully after the first few pages he sticks with simple prose.
Uhm yeah another thing that hasn't to do with the book per say but how delusional the author(negative for me at least) was that apparently the author was trying to approach people to believe in something and he was shocked to found out that church/religion people didn't see it, well I think he is delusional to believe with some of the things he writes any religion would be ''oh a great literary pick to approach people to believe in a higher existence''. First of all the book has some graphic disturbing scenes that I doubt someone strongly religious would be able to pass through casually, second of all the only way someone would be able to turn ''religious'' based on this book is mainly through fear, I don't know about Catholicism but you don't approach religion by fear. They did that for centuries when church was a huge political power and they did it exactly for that, political reason. I am pretty sure that in the late 20th century every religion who respects itself(I hope there are more than few) would find this offensive.
Would I recommend it? For thrillers/horrors it depends to the person, I know some people who would enjoy it but I also know some people that would feel like throwing it into the trash. Overall I personally liked it, I found it interesting, I liked the approach, I liked the writing besides the beginning, I liked some of the characters which is rare and I liked the ending!!!
The good:
I liked the realistic approach and the neuropsychological approach it had. For over half of the book we still not into the supernatural elements of what is happening. Instead of jumping straight into the demon possession, it slowly builds the story psychologically. Great choice if you ask me. Rare to happen but I actually liked some of the characters, the police guy and Karl. Father Karras was also an interesting character. A man who battles with his faith basically and a psychiatrist at that!!! Now I wasn't familiar with the religion (Jesuits) that was presented so I had once again to google stuff, in my defence I am not familiar with Catholicism so it was interesting to search and find that Catholicism has a bunch of other ''faiths'' inside. I also liked the sick descriptions, unsettling and disturbing one's which he wrote them well, he balanced them because they weren't constant, it wasn't one after the other then again the same circle, which I have seen some thriller books doing it. The story closed beautifully with a great ending!
The bad:
In the beginning for the very few first pages I was rolling my eyes, it felt like the author was trying a bit too hard to sound literary, when he couldn't pull it off. Thankfully after the first few pages he sticks with simple prose.
Uhm yeah another thing that hasn't to do with the book per say but how delusional the author(negative for me at least) was that apparently the author was trying to approach people to believe in something and he was shocked to found out that church/religion people didn't see it, well I think he is delusional to believe with some of the things he writes any religion would be ''oh a great literary pick to approach people to believe in a higher existence''. First of all the book has some graphic disturbing scenes that I doubt someone strongly religious would be able to pass through casually, second of all the only way someone would be able to turn ''religious'' based on this book is mainly through fear, I don't know about Catholicism but you don't approach religion by fear. They did that for centuries when church was a huge political power and they did it exactly for that, political reason. I am pretty sure that in the late 20th century every religion who respects itself(I hope there are more than few) would find this offensive.
Would I recommend it? For thrillers/horrors it depends to the person, I know some people who would enjoy it but I also know some people that would feel like throwing it into the trash. Overall I personally liked it, I found it interesting, I liked the approach, I liked the writing besides the beginning, I liked some of the characters which is rare and I liked the ending!!!
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There were some moments in this book where I was really like WOAH okay need to take a break because the descriptions were so visceral. Only about the last 50 pages are the actual possession attempt where it wraps everything together. Thought it would be different than that. And the ending is a bit confusing and did not go how I expected at all!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Sexual content, Excrement, Vomit, Murder
dark
tense
The story of Thr Exorcist is familiar to anyone who’s seen the film, but the book goes into a lot more depth and reading it was so much more immersive.
The prologue shows a Jesuit priest, Father Merrin, as he uncovers a mysterious statuette on an archaeological dig in Iraq. The statuette emanates evil and gives Father Merrin a serious case of the heebie jeebies. Then the action switches to Hollywood, where Chris MacNeil, an actress, lives with her twelve-year-old daughter, Regan.
At the start of the novel, Regan is a normal, happy little girl, but soon she starts to exhibit some worrying behaviour. She becomes violent, abusive, and seems to have been taken over by a different personality. At first, Chris consults her doctor, but she is soon referred to psychiatrists and then, in desperation, turns to a local Jesuit priest - Father Karras - and implores him to perform an exorcism.
I can only imagine the sort of furore that this novel and subsequent film would have created in the early 1970s, because it really is very graphic, even by today’s standards. The author does well to convince the reader that this is a genuine case of possession, but he also leaves open the possibility that it could just be a mental illness with no supernatural element, allowing the reader to make up their own mind.
The real strength of the novel is not in the graphic head-turning, projectile-vomiting histrionics though, it’s in the characters – particularly those of Chris and Father Karras. It looks at the agonies a mother feels when her daughter is in trouble and she doesn’t know how to help her, and the feelings of guilt and despair she experiences. Father Karras is a fascinating character- a priest assailed by all the human frailties. He has doubts in his faith, he finds it hard to control his emotions, and he struggles to contain his anger against Regan’s demon.
The Exorcist was a lot better than I was expecting, with so much more to offer than just shocks and graphic horror. There is a sequel out there somewhere, so I may well give that a read too.
The prologue shows a Jesuit priest, Father Merrin, as he uncovers a mysterious statuette on an archaeological dig in Iraq. The statuette emanates evil and gives Father Merrin a serious case of the heebie jeebies. Then the action switches to Hollywood, where Chris MacNeil, an actress, lives with her twelve-year-old daughter, Regan.
At the start of the novel, Regan is a normal, happy little girl, but soon she starts to exhibit some worrying behaviour. She becomes violent, abusive, and seems to have been taken over by a different personality. At first, Chris consults her doctor, but she is soon referred to psychiatrists and then, in desperation, turns to a local Jesuit priest - Father Karras - and implores him to perform an exorcism.
I can only imagine the sort of furore that this novel and subsequent film would have created in the early 1970s, because it really is very graphic, even by today’s standards. The author does well to convince the reader that this is a genuine case of possession, but he also leaves open the possibility that it could just be a mental illness with no supernatural element, allowing the reader to make up their own mind.
The real strength of the novel is not in the graphic head-turning, projectile-vomiting histrionics though, it’s in the characters – particularly those of Chris and Father Karras. It looks at the agonies a mother feels when her daughter is in trouble and she doesn’t know how to help her, and the feelings of guilt and despair she experiences. Father Karras is a fascinating character- a priest assailed by all the human frailties. He has doubts in his faith, he finds it hard to control his emotions, and he struggles to contain his anger against Regan’s demon.
The Exorcist was a lot better than I was expecting, with so much more to offer than just shocks and graphic horror. There is a sequel out there somewhere, so I may well give that a read too.