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dejaelizabeth 's review for:
The Exorcist
by William Peter Blatty
dark
sad
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:
No
As a horror lover, I felt the need to add this classic to my "read" list. The first half of the book is quite slow and didn't really capture me. We start by meeting successful actress Chris, and her 11 year old daughter Reagan. I appreciated the author taking the time to characterize Reagan as a sweet loving little girl and portraying her mother's love for her. While most of this was told to us and not shown, it does make what follows more shocking. Reagan's symptoms worsen and culminate with her urinating in from of all her mother's party guests. Chris uses her money and influence to access all the doctors and test to try and help her daughter, but it is frustratingly unsucessful. I enjoyed the battle of scientific/logical explanations versus those that are paramoral and faith based. Things don't really pick up until the story shifts to Father Karras, who as a physchiatrist who is struggling with his own faltering faith - embodies this battle in one character. Karras attempts to collect evidence to request an exorcism from the church. This section dragged a bit and was a bit unbelievable to me. Based on the severity of the symptoms we've seen described, I don't see how any doctor or priest could doubt the reality of her condition. Things really pick up when Father Merrin is brought in to perform the exorcism. While the prose throughout was very straightforward and generally unemotional, I was captured by the atmosphere described in this section of the book. Perhaps my favorite moment is the conversation between Karras and Merrin about possession and humanity. Overall, I can see why this book had such an impact of horror. It was shocking, thought provoking, and tapped into very visceral fears and emotions.