The Gargoyle - Andrew Davidson

The Gargoyle - Andrew Davidson

When I started this book I really wasn't sure, I liked the writing style (in the first person) but I was sure that a wasn't going to like the main character - a drug addict, pornstar idiot. Very early on in the book (and I'm not giving anything away here), he is horribly burned in an accident and winds up in hospital. I think this was also part of my reservations about the book - the graphic descriptions of the burns and the methods of treatment were too detailed even for me (and I have read many forensic thrillers and love watching CSI).

I also worried that it was beginning much like the Thomas Covenant series by Stephen Donaldson (although I've only so far read the first I thought it was fantastic), and contained perhaps a little too much 'god bothering' for my liking.

But, I'm glad I stuck with it. Essentially it's a love story - but don't let that put you off. The characters and the timescales are not like anything I've read before, and it wasn't long before I had warmed to the characters - wanting to hear their stories. On a time scale of 700 years, it's fascinating - taking you from Iceland to the USA and back through the years. The vivid stories within the story are wonderful in themselves and actually deserve to be published alone.

I thing that amazed me most about the book was that it's Andrew Davidson's first novel - unfortunately for him he now how a lot to live up to! It's been wildly successful, I just hope someone doesn't try to ruin it by attempting to make a film of it.

Lent to me Liz.
5th - 11th January 2009