Helpful Score: 12
This is a good book, well written and a unique story. But having said that, it should carry a warning because the first 50 pages are intensely graphic in the description of a horrific accident and the painful suffering of the main character-as in TOO realistic! I nearly closed the book and walked away, so begin with caution! I made it through (with things I did not want in my head) but it does get better and it is an absorbing story that ties connections of lives and love through time. It is a bizarre story, and it left me pondering a few questions at the end, but it wraps up most things pretty nicely. It took awhile to read because it skips around to various characters in various periods in time that don't always appear to be connected throughout the book. Overall, it is a good read.
I could not put the book down. Had to find out if Marianne was schizophrenic or telling the truth. Enjoyed learning tid bits of history that I would never uncover myself. In the process learned the many processes the body must go through in order to survive a massive burn. Entertaining, highly imaginative, and informative all at once.
Helpful Score: 7
Its a novel of a disillusioned man who survives a horrific car accident with severe burns. As he recovers in the hospital, he starts a friendship with a woman who is (maybe? probably?) a schizophrenic that claims they've known each other for hundreds of years. While he learns how to live with the varying changes to his body, she tells him stories of their past life and several side stories meant to teach him important lessons on life and love.
Absolutely fascinating read. I loved the many layers to this book and how the side stories connected with the main plot. It's a harsh look at a drug addled young man who is existing, not living, and how his life is turned upside down and inside out. Loved, loved, loved it.
Absolutely fascinating read. I loved the many layers to this book and how the side stories connected with the main plot. It's a harsh look at a drug addled young man who is existing, not living, and how his life is turned upside down and inside out. Loved, loved, loved it.
Helpful Score: 6
This was a very interesting novel. It's about a man who gets severly burned in a car accident. The story details his recovery and his relationship with an unusual woman named Marianne Engel. He meets her while in the hospital and discovers that she is a psychiatric patient. She proceeds to tell him fascinating stories of when they first meet in the 14th century. According to her, her purpose is to create gargoyles (she carves them) and give them the extra hearts that she has.
It took me a while to get into this story, but I am so glad that I stuck with it. The description of his recovery was horrific. I would never have expected it to occur the way it did nor the length of time it would take. Marianne, however, was the shining star in this novel. She told her stories with such conviction, that it leaves the reader wondering if her tales could actually have happened. I would definitely recommend reading this.
It took me a while to get into this story, but I am so glad that I stuck with it. The description of his recovery was horrific. I would never have expected it to occur the way it did nor the length of time it would take. Marianne, however, was the shining star in this novel. She told her stories with such conviction, that it leaves the reader wondering if her tales could actually have happened. I would definitely recommend reading this.
Helpful Score: 6
This is a fantastic piece of literature that will be in your mind long after you finish it. So many layers of story telling thru so many eras you just cant put this book down!! I havent even said anything about the two main characters whose relationship is based on her helping him recover from horrific burns and she has a mental illness. You just have to read this book its soooo good!
Helpful Score: 5
This is a strange book. The Gargoyle is Andrew Davidson's first novel, and it shows in the pacing: some portions were emotionally riveting, but other sections were just boring. Also, the writing in particularly in the early chapters can be unnaturally dramatic. The Gargoyle tells the story of a drug-addicted porn star who suffers disfiguring burns as a result of a car accident. During his stay in the burn ward, he makes the acquaintance of Marianne Engel, a woman who claims that they were lovers in their past lives. Though considered mentally ill, Marianne is also a gifted sculptress who feels compelled to carve gargoyles from stone.
Most chapters focus on their relationship present and past, but there are a number of additional stories told by Marianne. At the time some of these stories seem irrelevent, but by the end the connections are clearer. Beware of the hardcover edition of this book - IMHO, the dust jacket tells too much of the story to come.
I cannot say that I enjoyed this book because the main character remains mostly despicable throughout, and there are lots of grisley burn treatment scenes. It is a unique book however, and Davidson is an author to watch.
Most chapters focus on their relationship present and past, but there are a number of additional stories told by Marianne. At the time some of these stories seem irrelevent, but by the end the connections are clearer. Beware of the hardcover edition of this book - IMHO, the dust jacket tells too much of the story to come.
I cannot say that I enjoyed this book because the main character remains mostly despicable throughout, and there are lots of grisley burn treatment scenes. It is a unique book however, and Davidson is an author to watch.
Helpful Score: 5
This book looks thick, but it really was a very easy read. I was most impressed by the amount of research that Davidson obviously put into this book (7 years from what it says on the back of the cover). This book was very well written and the stories weave in and out of the main story so well. I wouldn't recommend this book to just anyone, it is certainly for mature audiences. There is a lot of religious imagery, use of languages and history. I really enjoyed the book as a whole, although there were times when I wondered if I should really be enjoying a book that seems to have such a dark premise, but I did nonetheless (I even ordered Dante's Inferno from papwerbackswap.com since it was a reoccurring theme throughout the book). I've heard a couple people say that they were disappointed by the anticlimactic ending, I must say I felt the opposite. I really liked the almost calm way that the book slowly tied loose ends together and it felt very accepting to me. Once again, very well written and researched, interesting, but definitely for mature audiences.
Helpful Score: 5
I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book. Overall this book delivered a story that was much more than I as expecting and much broader. The research that had to have gone into this book is amazing and the story both sweet and bitter. I listened to this on audio book and it was a great story to listen to; it had a very lyrical quality to it and I think listening to it added to the beauty of the story.
The story starts out with the narrator telling about the car crash that left him recovering in the burn ward. From there we take part in his recovery in the burn ward, learn about his past, and meet Marianne, a woman from the psychiatric ward. Marianne befriends the narrator and aides in his recovery by recounting stories of friends in her past. Eventually the narrator leaves the burn ward and moves in with Marianne; they struggle both with the narrator's morphine addition and Marianne's psychosis. This is a quick synopsis; but the book is about so much more than that.
Let me start by saying I really loved and enjoyed this book. Let me also say that this is not a book for the faint at heart. The descriptions of what happens in a burn ward will have your stomach turning with nausea and your knees weak in sympathetic pain. The descriptions of the narrators' former career (as a porn star) may also be too much for some. I should also mention that the pace of this book is deliberate, it kindly of gently winds itself around you while slowly creating tension and making you wonder what will both happen to the narrator and to Marianne as she gives up her hearts to the gargoyles she carves.
The worst part of the book for me was the pace; sometimes I wished the book would pick it up a little bit but this was also part of the beauty of the book. This slower pace really conveyed how the narrator dealt with the expanses of time he spent recovering from his burns.
There were a number of things I absolutely loved about this book. Marianne for one. Marianne was such a gracious and interesting character. She had equal parts toughness, madness, wisdom, and vulnerability. Yet, she was so certain in her destiny.
I also loved the detail that the author put into certain aspects of the story. I enjoyed the detail about how burn victims recover, the detail spent on how people are diagnosed with schizophrenia or manic depression, and the detail on the history of Marianne's supposed abbey.
I loved Marianne's stories. Marianne's stories were like small novellas in and of themselves. The stories were creative, always bittersweet, and always filled with interesting historical detail. I, like the narrator, always looked forward to one of Marianne's new stories.
Best of all I loved the story itself. The narrator deals with so much pain and changes dramatically throughout the novel. He makes a comment at one point of how ironic it is that when he was beautiful he acted ugly and now that he is ugly he has learned how to be beautiful. The narrator and Marianne deliver a story of pain, hope and incredible history tinged with a bit of fantastical mystery.
All I can say is that whatever you think this book is from the synopsis; it will be different from what you think. It will be both more beautiful and more gruesome. If you start the book and are irritated with the pace; I can only suggest that you hang in there because the journey is worth it. I will definitely be checking out more of Davidson's book; even though this book was outside of what I normally read.
The story starts out with the narrator telling about the car crash that left him recovering in the burn ward. From there we take part in his recovery in the burn ward, learn about his past, and meet Marianne, a woman from the psychiatric ward. Marianne befriends the narrator and aides in his recovery by recounting stories of friends in her past. Eventually the narrator leaves the burn ward and moves in with Marianne; they struggle both with the narrator's morphine addition and Marianne's psychosis. This is a quick synopsis; but the book is about so much more than that.
Let me start by saying I really loved and enjoyed this book. Let me also say that this is not a book for the faint at heart. The descriptions of what happens in a burn ward will have your stomach turning with nausea and your knees weak in sympathetic pain. The descriptions of the narrators' former career (as a porn star) may also be too much for some. I should also mention that the pace of this book is deliberate, it kindly of gently winds itself around you while slowly creating tension and making you wonder what will both happen to the narrator and to Marianne as she gives up her hearts to the gargoyles she carves.
The worst part of the book for me was the pace; sometimes I wished the book would pick it up a little bit but this was also part of the beauty of the book. This slower pace really conveyed how the narrator dealt with the expanses of time he spent recovering from his burns.
There were a number of things I absolutely loved about this book. Marianne for one. Marianne was such a gracious and interesting character. She had equal parts toughness, madness, wisdom, and vulnerability. Yet, she was so certain in her destiny.
I also loved the detail that the author put into certain aspects of the story. I enjoyed the detail about how burn victims recover, the detail spent on how people are diagnosed with schizophrenia or manic depression, and the detail on the history of Marianne's supposed abbey.
I loved Marianne's stories. Marianne's stories were like small novellas in and of themselves. The stories were creative, always bittersweet, and always filled with interesting historical detail. I, like the narrator, always looked forward to one of Marianne's new stories.
Best of all I loved the story itself. The narrator deals with so much pain and changes dramatically throughout the novel. He makes a comment at one point of how ironic it is that when he was beautiful he acted ugly and now that he is ugly he has learned how to be beautiful. The narrator and Marianne deliver a story of pain, hope and incredible history tinged with a bit of fantastical mystery.
All I can say is that whatever you think this book is from the synopsis; it will be different from what you think. It will be both more beautiful and more gruesome. If you start the book and are irritated with the pace; I can only suggest that you hang in there because the journey is worth it. I will definitely be checking out more of Davidson's book; even though this book was outside of what I normally read.
Helpful Score: 4
High praise all-around on this one. Yes, the opening part of the novel was a little hard to take and gruesome with the book's narrator describing in detail what happens when flesh is burned. His comparison to putting your hand and then face on a red-hot stove burner definitely makes one want to cringe. As the book progresses we learn that the victim is a drug addict and pornographer and thus seemingly very unsympathetic. Then the narrator meets Marianne Engel, a perhaps psychotic woman who appears at his hospital bedside and starts telling him stories of his previous life as her lover in 14th century Europe and her life as a translator and scribe at a monastery in Germany. Of course the narrator feels that Marianne has serious mental issues, but he is entranced by her stories of their past and other stories of love from different ages including Medieval Japan and Viking-era Iceland. He eventually finds that he was lucky to have had the accident which led to his meeting and loving Marianne. Overall, this is a wonderful and powerful story of love. The reader is ultimately left to decide how much of Marianne's story is real and how much is illusion. This allegorical novel raises many questions about love, morality, and the meaning of life -- one of the best I've read so far this year!
Helpful Score: 3
My best friend Emmy and I went to the library and there on the shelf of recomends was this book. I wasn't all that interested in it but she decided to give it a try. As soon as she started reading it she wouldn't shut up about the book. lol.
The stories she was telling me from The Gargoyel were picking my interest and just like the nameless man tell you his story, I too wanted to hear more.
And so I reserved the book. It took me three days (because I work) to read it but each time I picked it up I couldn't and didn't want to put it down. I finished it on 12/31/11 at 11:14pm and held the book to my chest with nothing more to say except oh my god along with a few tears in my eyes.
There were times when reading this that I would fight back the tears when on my lunch break and times I wanted to scream at the charecters of the book. Mainly his family, but all in all Andrew Davidson did a remarkable job at making you feel as though you knew these people and an even more remarkable job of the science of the burn victem and what he was going through, as well the the technical names for procedures.
The 7 years research paid off as well as the historical research. This man wanted to deliver a well written, well researched and a emotional charecter drivin book to his audiance. He did just that and I will forever be greatful to my friend and to this man Andrew Davidson for that.
I am looking forward to the next book that he has up his sleeve.
The stories she was telling me from The Gargoyel were picking my interest and just like the nameless man tell you his story, I too wanted to hear more.
And so I reserved the book. It took me three days (because I work) to read it but each time I picked it up I couldn't and didn't want to put it down. I finished it on 12/31/11 at 11:14pm and held the book to my chest with nothing more to say except oh my god along with a few tears in my eyes.
There were times when reading this that I would fight back the tears when on my lunch break and times I wanted to scream at the charecters of the book. Mainly his family, but all in all Andrew Davidson did a remarkable job at making you feel as though you knew these people and an even more remarkable job of the science of the burn victem and what he was going through, as well the the technical names for procedures.
The 7 years research paid off as well as the historical research. This man wanted to deliver a well written, well researched and a emotional charecter drivin book to his audiance. He did just that and I will forever be greatful to my friend and to this man Andrew Davidson for that.
I am looking forward to the next book that he has up his sleeve.
Helpful Score: 3
This is one of the most deeply moving books that I have read in quite some time. The story is about all types of love and may even have you questioning reality. The little stories told by Marianne (one of the characters) are like short stories in an of themselves and the story of the past lives of the two main characters were artfully intertwined so that I had to stop myself from skipping chapters just to find out what would happen next.
Helpful Score: 3
When I began this book I could not figure out what would have made me decide to read it. It is extremely graphic in it's descriptions and I would not normally choose a book starting with such vulgar content, but I am SO glad that I kept reading!!
I found myself wanting to hear more stories as one character (Marianne) was introduced and began telling them. I was captivated and it was hard to put this down when I needed to.
A very interesting love story that spans lifetimes and geographical boundaries.
I found myself wanting to hear more stories as one character (Marianne) was introduced and began telling them. I was captivated and it was hard to put this down when I needed to.
A very interesting love story that spans lifetimes and geographical boundaries.
Helpful Score: 3
I enjoyed this book, in the end. I found it difficult to start with because the first few chapters are pretty graphic and disturbing, but once I made it past those, the story is very engaging. Davidson is a passionate writer with unique characters. My book club read this and we all enjoyed the four lovers' tales. A good book for discussion because of the variety of themes presented. It's well-written and masterfully crafted. A suggestion is to be familiar with Dante's "Inferno", as Davidson alludes to the book often. I enjoyed it without being familiar, so it's not necessary. Enjoy!
Helpful Score: 3
This book was just sort of meh for me. A quick throwaway read that a year from now I'll remember having read, but not what it was about. The premise is interesting enough and the first half was decent, but the story took too long to get there. So much of the middle of it could have been left out with the story remaining intact and none of the characters existing in the present seemed to have any dimension. I wasn't big on the hollow godliness, the awkward, mood-breaking pop culture references, the wholly unnecessary bits of esoteric pretentiousness thrown in for added measure (Marcello's oboe concerto? Really?), the shallow lessons on tolerance, the annoyingly condescending tone suggesting that none of us have read Dante's Inferno or the dull chastity of the whole endeavour. For a love story, this read an awful lot like every sex dream I had before I lost my virginity...the implication is there, but with no actual experience to see it through, there's no real action. The imagery of it all was truly beautiful, but it was just a beautiful mirage; there was nothing of substance.
I have to admit that I was disappointed because it came so highly recommended and lots of people seem to genuinely enjoy it, but it just wasn't for me. For lack of a better word, the book lacked fire.
It's not a bad book, it's just not a very good one.
I have to admit that I was disappointed because it came so highly recommended and lots of people seem to genuinely enjoy it, but it just wasn't for me. For lack of a better word, the book lacked fire.
It's not a bad book, it's just not a very good one.
Helpful Score: 3
Wow-gripping novel that I couldn't put down. A real page turner. Graphic and descriptive. Leaves you pondering love, life, death and hell.
Helpful Score: 2
Okay...so this book was really very good. BUT, I gotta tell you, its so intense and overpowering, I sometimes felt like looking up from the pages and taking a deep breath. I havent read a book that made me feel like that since I read Anne Rices Violin way back when.
The plot? A very narcissistic male porn star narrates this tale, that starts with the moment his car careens over an edge and erupts into flames, burning him beyond recognition. Its first person, which adds to the sense of being completely overwhelmed by the emotions hes going through. Hes a cynic, and before his accident, was beautiful and rich and sexually adept, even if he was still a cynic inside. After the accident, he figures hes got nothing left to live for, and plans to survive his stay in the burn ward, living only for the time when he can leave the ward and commit a very carefully planned suicide. Its what he lives for, because he figures hes got nothing else.
And then, Marianne walks into his room. She tells him that theyd been lovers in medieval Germany and many other lifetimes before that as well. She tells him shes been alive for 700 years. She starts telling him stories...their stories. And really, thats only the beginning.
Marianne is part Scheherazade, part fanatic, part lover, part crazy...but all of those parts are so beautifully and wonderfully described. This is a very deep, moving book. Its not easy to get through, since the narrator goes into quite graphic detail about what happens to him in the burn ward, but its good. Really good. There was an intense satisfaction when I finished it. And, to be truthful, even the darker parts with the graphic, sometimes gruesome detail about his wounds and what he goes through, those are told in such a way, that you really get his voice - his cynicism, and in some parts, I definitely got his self-depreciating humor. And that made it a little easier to read through those parts (but I still winced). STILL...its definitely worth reading. Definitely.
The plot? A very narcissistic male porn star narrates this tale, that starts with the moment his car careens over an edge and erupts into flames, burning him beyond recognition. Its first person, which adds to the sense of being completely overwhelmed by the emotions hes going through. Hes a cynic, and before his accident, was beautiful and rich and sexually adept, even if he was still a cynic inside. After the accident, he figures hes got nothing left to live for, and plans to survive his stay in the burn ward, living only for the time when he can leave the ward and commit a very carefully planned suicide. Its what he lives for, because he figures hes got nothing else.
And then, Marianne walks into his room. She tells him that theyd been lovers in medieval Germany and many other lifetimes before that as well. She tells him shes been alive for 700 years. She starts telling him stories...their stories. And really, thats only the beginning.
Marianne is part Scheherazade, part fanatic, part lover, part crazy...but all of those parts are so beautifully and wonderfully described. This is a very deep, moving book. Its not easy to get through, since the narrator goes into quite graphic detail about what happens to him in the burn ward, but its good. Really good. There was an intense satisfaction when I finished it. And, to be truthful, even the darker parts with the graphic, sometimes gruesome detail about his wounds and what he goes through, those are told in such a way, that you really get his voice - his cynicism, and in some parts, I definitely got his self-depreciating humor. And that made it a little easier to read through those parts (but I still winced). STILL...its definitely worth reading. Definitely.
Helpful Score: 2
IF you can get past the exceedingly gruesome and detailed descriptions of the main character's horrific car crash and subsequent injuries/burns (and treatment thereof), this book is engrossing and fascinating. It exceeded my expectations and I would highly recommend it (but with strong warnings -- not for the faint of heart; I ended up skimming over some of the most disturbing parts myself).
Helpful Score: 2
It was very different, that is for sure! I still can't decide if I liked it or not. Kind of weird. It did keep my interest, though.
Helpful Score: 2
When I purchased this book I did so on a whim. It was not the book I expected it to be and I was so pleasantly surprised. It's an unlikely love story with fables and history and tragedy interwoven into something incredibly beautiful. I couldn't put it down. A tribute to the human spirit and finding love in the most unlikely places.
Dark and different. Held my interest to the end. Great fiction!
If you can get beyond the first 100 pages which is sometimes gory and a little r-rated, the rest of the book is very interesting. There is a parallel both implicit and implied between this book and Dante's Inferno. A different book from what I'm used to but definitely intriguing.
Helpful Score: 2
What a page turner! The author did a fantastic job drawing you in. I would not have read this book based on the synopsis, but it was recommended to me. One of the best books I've read this year!
Wow! When I first started this book I wasn't sure I would be able to get through it because the first chapters are pretty descriptive and not too pleasant to read but once I got beyond that I found the story truly astonishing and I would definitely recommend this book to my friends.
Helpful Score: 2
Just finished reading this wonderful novel. High praise all-around on this one. Yes, the opening part of the novel was a little hard to take and gruesome with the book's narrator describing in detail what happens when flesh is burned. His comparison to putting your hand and then face on a red-hot stove burner definitely makes one want to cringe. As the book progresses we learn that the victim is a drug addict and pornographer and thus seemingly very unsympathetic. Then the narrator meets Marianne Engel, a perhaps psychotic woman who appears at his hospital bedside and starts telling him stories of his previous life as her lover in 14th century Europe and her life as a translator and scribe at a monastery in Germany. Of course the narrator feels that Marianne has serious mental issues, but he is entranced by her stories of their past and other stories of love from different ages including Medieval Japan and Viking-era Iceland. He eventually finds that he was lucky to have had the accident which led to his meeting and loving Marianne. Overall, this is a wonderful and powerful story of love. The reader is ultimately left to decide how much of Marianne's story is real and how much is illusion. This allegorical novel raises many questions about love, morality, and the meaning of life -- one of the best I've read so far this year!
Helpful Score: 2
I really enjoyed this book. It's a refreshing change from the crime fiction novels that I seem to gravitate towards. A man is burned and horribly disfigured after a car crash. While he is recovering in the burn unit, he meets a woman who is a sculptress and whom he believes is mentally unstable. She tells him that this is the third time he was burned and she was with him in the past - starting in the 1300's. It's going to be hard to pick a book to read after this one. It was so different - in a very good way.
Helpful Score: 1
It really sucks you into the story, very captivating... believable story!
Helpful Score: 1
Not my favorite book. Good thing was that it wasn't slow or boring, so I didn't struggle to get through it, but I did struggle relating to the story. Perhaps my struggle has to do with a lack of religious faith, or maybe it was just the story itself, but either way I am not crazy about this book.
Helpful Score: 1
I loved this book - from the physical beauty of the book itself (they did an amazing job with the cover!) to the even more beautiful words withing. The story was so beautifully sad ... I enjoyed reading it, but am so very sad to finish it... It's hard to believe that this is a debut novel! It is so polished... I can't wait to read whatever he publishes next! I just loved this book!
Helpful Score: 1
This book was just sort of meh for me. A quick throwaway read that a year from now I'll remember having read, but not what it was about. The premise is interesting enough and the first half was decent, but the story took too long to get there. So much of the middle of it could have been left out with the story remaining intact and none of the characters existing in the present seemed to have any dimension. I wasn't big on the hollow godliness, the awkward, mood-breaking pop culture references, the wholly unnecessary bits of esoteric pretentiousness thrown in for added measure (Marcello's oboe concerto? Really?), the shallow lessons on tolerance, the annoyingly condescending tone suggesting that none of us have read Dante's Inferno or the dull chastity of the whole endeavour. For a love story, this read an awful lot like every sex dream I had before I lost my virginity...the implication is there, but with no actual experience to see it through, there's no real action. The imagery of it all was truly beautiful, but it was just a beautiful mirage; there was nothing of substance.
I have to admit that I was disappointed because it came so highly recommended and lots of people seem to genuinely enjoy it, but it just wasn't for me. For lack of a better word, the book lacked fire.
It's not a bad book, it's just not a very good one.
I have to admit that I was disappointed because it came so highly recommended and lots of people seem to genuinely enjoy it, but it just wasn't for me. For lack of a better word, the book lacked fire.
It's not a bad book, it's just not a very good one.
Helpful Score: 1
An excellent read, I highly recommend. The writer is able to move the reader elegantly between current day and medieval times. I had just started watching Dexter when I read this and kept envisioning one of the characters (Lila from Season 2) as the female protagonist in this book. And if they make a movie - I will have to insist that they cast her! I really enjoyed the way the writer portrayed the main character in this book. I still wonder about the ending and different parts of the story, so I will almost certainly have to read this one again - it's that good. It's a wonderful story of one man's spiritual journey.
If you were to only read one book the rest of your life, I would recommend this one. It has everything that you could want in a book. Love, life, stife, pain, healing, and religion.
The Narrator begins his story, telling about his life as he became and lived as a burn patient in painful detail. The hell that his life had become until a unexpected and very strange..maybe mentally ill...woman came into his life. And he began to live, through her stories. Through the romance and the horror of what was.
This book is amazing, but I will admit it is a hard read but well worth it if you take your time and savor the writing.
The Narrator begins his story, telling about his life as he became and lived as a burn patient in painful detail. The hell that his life had become until a unexpected and very strange..maybe mentally ill...woman came into his life. And he began to live, through her stories. Through the romance and the horror of what was.
This book is amazing, but I will admit it is a hard read but well worth it if you take your time and savor the writing.
Helpful Score: 1
What can I add to an already long list of glowing reviews? How about that I consider this to be far more than just a book - this piece of literature is a work of art and I'm so very glad I read it. For Andrew Davidson, this is going to be a tough act to follow! Please everyone, by all means DO read this book. Your heart will cry for happiness when you do. I wish I could give it far more than just five stars.
Helpful Score: 1
Fabulous achievement for a first novel. Gripping from the start. Interwoven stories from a burn patient in modern USA, to nun and mercenary in medieval Europe, and back again.
Helpful Score: 1
I had a really hard time with this book. I didn't get very far into it before I had to set it aside, and in fact, it ended up listed here in the long run. I don't think of myself as easily thrown or grossed out, but the beginning of the book did me in. I have worked in trauma centers, and in burn units, so I have seen some really terrible things in my life. Perhaps that is why I chose not to continue reading this book. There are so many good books out there that I did not feel I needed to try to drag myself through the horrors the central character endured just to finish it.
You know a book is good when you are crying so much you don't realize it until someone hands you tissue. A beautiful story about love & loss. There are tales within this story, to tie it all together. I was unprepared to love this book so much, I don't want to release it into the system.
This is the story of a beautiful man who ends up burned and broken by a car accident. A mysterious women shows up at his bedside, declaring they have been lovers for many centuries, She tells stories of their previous life while he heals. But is she crazy-or do our souls really find our true loves over & over thru time?
This is the story of a beautiful man who ends up burned and broken by a car accident. A mysterious women shows up at his bedside, declaring they have been lovers for many centuries, She tells stories of their previous life while he heals. But is she crazy-or do our souls really find our true loves over & over thru time?
Well I kinda knew this wasn't my type of book but gargoyles fascinate me so I picked it up. The book is about a man who is wasted and drunk and drives his vehicle off a cliff and both he and the car burst into flames. He is burned beyond repair though the hospital does all it can to save him. I got as far as page 66 before giving up. Up to this point, the patients name isn't spoken so I have no idea who he was other than a pornagrapher. The book is a stream of consciousness (or unconsciousness) of irrelevant facts and his childhood.
The descriptions of the burns and treatment were disgusting beyond measure. I just couldn't figure out why the hospital was performing such heroic measures to save his life when he wasn't really going to have a life at all. I honestly just got disgusted by the whole thing and gave up. I'm sure there is some literary genius here but so not my thing. Oh well, I gave it a try.
The descriptions of the burns and treatment were disgusting beyond measure. I just couldn't figure out why the hospital was performing such heroic measures to save his life when he wasn't really going to have a life at all. I honestly just got disgusted by the whole thing and gave up. I'm sure there is some literary genius here but so not my thing. Oh well, I gave it a try.
Excellent account of undying love, the hell life can be, and redemption.
Entertaining story containing several smaller stories within, fortunately all entertaining, themselves. This gives a lot of great information about translations in German, scriptoriums, Vikings, and a host of other things. In addition, you'll gain the knowledge of what a gargoyle truly is (hint: not the common belief - yes, I checked up on this). There is a lot going on in this novel and you have to keep up.
I will warn you, though, that there are some disgusting things discussed in this book.
I will warn you, though, that there are some disgusting things discussed in this book.
A friend lone me this book. It was one of her recommended books. More of a must read. So I read it and wow. A very manly book. The burnt victim that dont have no name tells a story his mental illness and porn addiction. He goes very detail and metphor. I never read a author that write so intrigue. Once you start reading. You cant put it down.
Omg...you must read this book. It's like nothing I've ever read!
Fantastic and highly unusual book--kept thinking 'how in the world did he think this up?' Don't miss this one.
I'm a fan of gothic literature, so I figured this was right up my alley.....hmmmm. Not so much. When it says the book is gruesome, that is definitely the truth. And trust me, the character's car crash and time in the burn ward is mild compared to what comes later in the book. Around the end of the book he goes into some weirdo Dantesque hallucination crap and it just ends up reading more like some crummy fantasy book. I did find it interesting that at the end, the author lists some of his favorite reading and includes some of my faves: Shadow of the Wind, The Thirteenth Tale, The Name of the Rose......unfortunately Davidson's novel is way too graphic to be considered in the same class with these other books. Just my opinion, though.
I found this book quite interesting and easy to read. The author has broken the story down into easily digestible chunks. The story itself is very good and the narrative way it is told makes for a good read.
This was not a book that I would normally have read. It started off a bit strange for me, I wasn't sure I would finish it. But somehow it kept my attention. In the end it wasn't a bad book - I would recommend it to specific readers.
I don't know what possessed me to pick up this book at Barnes & Noble. An absolute worthless POS. The cover description must've been totally different than the story cuz I only got through the first through 70 something pages before I finally gave up! Ugh. Can you tell I hated it?!
