An extraordinary debut novel of love that survives the fires of hell and transcends the boundaries of time The narrator of "The Gargoyle "is a very contemporary cynic, physically beautiful and sexually adept, who dwells in the moral vacuum that is modern life. As the book opens, he is driving along a dark road when he is distracted by what seems to be a flight of arrows. He crashes into a ravine and suffers horrible burns over much of his body. As he recovers in a burn ward, undergoing the tortures of the damned, he awaits ...
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An extraordinary debut novel of love that survives the fires of hell and transcends the boundaries of time The narrator of "The Gargoyle "is a very contemporary cynic, physically beautiful and sexually adept, who dwells in the moral vacuum that is modern life. As the book opens, he is driving along a dark road when he is distracted by what seems to be a flight of arrows. He crashes into a ravine and suffers horrible burns over much of his body. As he recovers in a burn ward, undergoing the tortures of the damned, he awaits the day when he can leave the hospital and commit carefully planned suicide--for he is now a monster in appearance as well as in soul. A beautiful and compelling, but clearly unhinged, sculptress of gargoyles by the name of Marianne Engel appears at the foot of his bed and insists that they were once lovers in medieval Germany. In her telling, he was a badly injured mercenary and she was a nun and scribe in the famed monastery of Engelthal who nursed him back to health. As she spins their tale in Scheherazade fashion and relates equally mesmerizing stories of deathless love in Japan, Iceland, Italy, and England, he finds himself drawn back to life--and, finally, in love. He is released into Marianne's care and takes up residence in her huge stone house. But all is not well. For one thing, the pull of his past sins becomes ever more powerful as the morphine he is prescribed becomes ever more addictive. For another, Marianne receives word from God that she has only twenty-seven sculptures left to complete--and her time on earth will be finished. Already an international literary sensation, "the Gargoyle" is an "Inferno" for our time. It will have you believing in the impossible.
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Good. 16 AUDIO CDs in the clamshell case withdrawn from the library collection published by Books on Tape. Some library marking and sticker to the box. We will polish each of the Audio CDs individually for quality of sound. Enjoy this AUDIO CD performance.
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Good. 16 AUDIO CDs withdrawn from the library collection. Library sticker and stamp. We will take care to polish the Audio CDs for a clear listening experience. Enjoy this reliable AUDIO CD performance.
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Good in good dust jacket. Audience: General/trade. sceneAUDIO CDs withdrawn from the library. We will polish each CD, for your satisfaction, to achieve a worthwhile set. Clean CDs help ensure a smooth listening experience. Enjoy this Audio CD performance.
This book is stunning! I could not put it down from the first page.
Andrew Davidson's writing hooks you in with graphic details about sex, drugs, and the illicit lifestyle the narrator lives until a fiery accident takes it all from him.
Very few people know about the world in which he lives, and that is what makes this book so enthralling. It's the curiousity that drives the reader to continue.
I recommend this book to everyone and no one has been disappointed so far.
Libby
Sep 10, 2009
Gargoyle
Very graphic, some of the bookclub had a hard time with the burn description. It showed the contrast between good and evil. The fantasy of Marianne was entertaining. I am usually turned off by bad language and sex but this had content to the story and I suffered through it. I would only recommend it to mature adults. Surprised this detailed book was writen from a first timer.
Shelbycat
Oct 27, 2008
Amazing first novel ...
Now i must admit that reading the blurb for this book i was a little put off and i probably wouldn't have picked it up and bought it full price in a shop. However, having read it i can't recommend it highly enough, it really was amazing especially since it's a first novel.
Firstly i have to say i really liked the little stories told throughout the book, they were like little short stories within the larger book. Every time we started a new short story i settled down and knew i was going to enjoy it as a story on its own and as part of the larger book. Some of the stories made me cry and some of them made me a little angry, but not one would i have missed.
I have to say i didn't really appreciate the latter section of the book when we went through a Dante-esque moment, i felt this was highly contrived. However, i got through it and made it to the end of the book, which was very poignant as would be expected by anyone reading the rest of the book.
Anyway, i really loved this book and would highly recommend it to anyone else, in fact i might very well loan it to my neighbour.
italiagirl
Oct 19, 2008
Bravo!
This is the first book I've read in a very long time that I have been unable to put down. It grabs you from the first chapter and doesn't disappoint. I was astonished to find this was a debut novel! Bravo Mr. Davidson!
