The Gargoyle

This story was interestingly paced, at times it really flew and at others the pace was slow. I enjoyed the stories within the main story and was keen to see how the main plot would unfold. I found that in places the writing was a little too descriptive for my over-active imagination!!!!! I enjoyed the story and although I correctly predicted how it would end, I was slightly disappointed by the...more

This story was interestingly paced, at times it really flew and at others the pace was slow. I enjoyed the stories within the main story and was keen to see how the main plot would unfold. I found that in places the writing was a little too descriptive for my over-active imagination!!!!! I enjoyed the story and although I correctly predicted how it would end, I was slightly disappointed by the ending. However, overall I found this a very enjoyable read.   hide

The Gargoyle is an absolutely astounding novel. It's definitely not your usual romance novel. The imagination of the author brings his character, a former drug-addict, porn star and burn victim, into the world of a schizophrenic, who takes him on a journey through monastic life in fourteenth-century Germany and delves into romantic stories from around the world and throughout the...more

The Gargoyle is an absolutely astounding novel. It's definitely not your usual romance novel. The imagination of the author brings his character, a former drug-addict, porn star and burn victim, into the world of a schizophrenic, who takes him on a journey through monastic life in fourteenth-century Germany and delves into romantic stories from around the world and throughout the ages, while he is forced into opiate-induced dreamworlds, battles the snake in his spine, and ultimately travels through his own version of Dante's Inferno where he is reborn. The book covers so many genres it becomes impossible to categorize. Everything encountered, fantasy or fact, becomes as real as the scars and skin grafts in the burn ward.   hide

loved this book, the love stories were beautiful, also written by a canadian. wonderful! top 10

A wonderful book which starts with a terrible accident and leads us back into history so that a man can face a future. Loved the main characters, as flawed as they were. The concept that Marianne had lived for 700 years waiting to be reunited with her love was a nice touch.

I, occasionally, love reading books that challenge the mind. This is one of those. Seeing the title, one wouldn't think this is going to be a love story, but that is exactly what this is. It is truly a work of fiction, but a lovely read about redemption, love, and sacrifice. I found myself reading passages of this book to others and was consistently drawn into the love stories being told to...more

I, occasionally, love reading books that challenge the mind. This is one of those. Seeing the title, one wouldn't think this is going to be a love story, but that is exactly what this is. It is truly a work of fiction, but a lovely read about redemption, love, and sacrifice. I found myself reading passages of this book to others and was consistently drawn into the love stories being told to the main (unnamed) character. I highly recommend this book to all.   hide

The story is of a man severely burned from an accident in his vehicle and Marianne. There are various aspects of their lives that are revealed throughout the novel. As their time together progresses Marianne tells him stories of love and of their past lives. Marianne deals with several bouts of a mental disorder that isn’t exactly clear and because of it she has manic moments of carving...more

The story is of a man severely burned from an accident in his vehicle and Marianne. There are various aspects of their lives that are revealed throughout the novel. As their time together progresses Marianne tells him stories of love and of their past lives. Marianne deals with several bouts of a mental disorder that isn’t exactly clear and because of it she has manic moments of carving gargoyles. I will say that I rarely get so emotionally involved in books that I read but it an option while reading this one. The last 50 or so pages were difficult to read because of the welling of tears. I was actually quite shocked to that this happened because I cannot even remember the last time I became so emotionally involved in a book. But I would say it was a great aspect of this novel.   hide

**Spoiler Alert A divine marriage of contemporary and historical fiction The robust intensity and graphic imagery with which The Gargoyle began was so powerful that it incited corporeal revulsions of nausea and regurgitation. Determined not to give in to my weakness, I continued reading, though I had to continually remind myself that the terrifying scene playing out was the creation of an...more

**Spoiler Alert A divine marriage of contemporary and historical fiction The robust intensity and graphic imagery with which The Gargoyle began was so powerful that it incited corporeal revulsions of nausea and regurgitation. Determined not to give in to my weakness, I continued reading, though I had to continually remind myself that the terrifying scene playing out was the creation of an obviously brilliant imagination, as opposed to something that Andrew Davidson had actually experienced. We begin with a loveless orphan, who in his attempts to survive in the world alone, created a mini-empire in the pornography industry, on the back of the only thing that he could rely on; his beauty. In the first few pages we learn how his reckless life falls apart… or does it? After surviving a near-fatal car crash, due to hallucinations induced by drugs and alcohol, this unnamed anti-hero spends his days monstrously marred and permanently disfigured in the burn ward of the hospital, battling the ‘painsnake’ inhabiting his spine, and fantasizing over his eventual planned suicide. He is biding his time and calculating the most effective way to end it all, when suddenly his reality is turned upside down by a visit from a schizophrenic patient that has ventured out of the psychiatry wing. It was through this eccentric storyteller, Marianne Engel, that I became mystified by Davidson’s creativity. What at first seemed to be ridiculous delusions from an unstable woman soon became the interconnected tales that transport us to Germany in the 1300s, where the love affair between these diametrically opposing characters was said to have first began. As impossible as it is for our healing anti-hero to believe such fantastic stories, the genuine love and affection for Marianne, that he finds filling the void that has been his loveless existence, is enough to inspire a will to live that was once unimaginable. A lifetime spent using and seducing women, and a livelihood based on superficial beauty and degradation of the flesh was all but forgotten with his awakening to a life with true love. “What an unexpected reversal of fate: only after my skin was burned away did I finally become able to feel. Only after I was born into physical repulsiveness did I come to glimpse the possibilities of the heart: I accepted this atrocious face and abominable body because they were forcing me to overcome the limitations of who I am, while my previous body allowed me to hide them.” Love, spirituality, death and redemption are the predominant themes throughout the novel, not only through the main story, but also in the sub-stories of those that would eventually become our anti-hero’s protectors in his morphine-withdrawal journey through hell; the Japanese Buddhist, the Viking, the Italian ironworker, and the lady on the hill. My one wish is that I would have read Dante’s Inferno before reading this novel, because much of the latter part of the story draws parallels to this historical work of poetry. Although prior exposure to Inferno is not necessary for the comprehension of The Gargoyle, I fear that I may have missed out on some of the references or implicit meanings Davidson included, without having read it first. Check out more of my reviews at BookSnakeReviews   hide

wow... this book was completely different to what I expected... amazingly original, interesting plot and really memorable characters. It's not often i've come across a book that really makes you think... the development of the main character was done really well- and i think the best thing about the book is how its really down to the reader to decide what to make of the entire story

What a great book! A first person narrative of the main characters life after loosing much of his physical form to being burned alive in a fire. While in hospital however, he meets a schizophrenic (possibly schizo-affective) women who helps him rediscover himself. The book itself is essentially an ensemble of several stories, as the women listed above claims to have lived for...more

What a great book! A first person narrative of the main characters life after loosing much of his physical form to being burned alive in a fire. While in hospital however, he meets a schizophrenic (possibly schizo-affective) women who helps him rediscover himself. The book itself is essentially an ensemble of several stories, as the women listed above claims to have lived for about 700 years through various lives, which she proceeds to tell romatic summaries of each one to the main character. This was a really good book. Hard to put down. The prose was excellent, and not too overarching. Some scenes were amazingly detailed when they needed to be, and not so detailed when it wasn't required. I picked up the Canadian edition of this book, which had the naked back of a sexy young women with tattoos of a cross and angel wings on her back. Being a guy, it didn't much matter how the book actually was, because let's face it: baby got back. It turns out it's just a great book all around, which makes me quite glad.   hide