The Gargoyle

I just finished Andrew Davidson's The Gargoyle. Right away I loved it! I loved the cynicism of the narrator, the biblical immagery, the constant mention of Dante's Divine Comdey and the rich descriptions. The first half of the book is amazing, untouchable. The narrator/protagonist is never named but he describes his difficult childhood, his rise in the porn industry, and his accident/rehabilitation in full detail. I loved how he was a complete asshole even though he was burnt to a crisp. I loved how Davidson would drop little hints here and there that maybe just maybe Marianne Engel's story was true. However, I feel that the story turned from Amazing to Good when he came home from the hospital, and Good to Average towards the end.

As much as I want to love this book in its entirety...I can like it but I can't say that I love it. The beginning I absolutely love. The middle with Marianne's story of how they first met in 14th century Germany I really enjoyed, but towards the end when Marianne was going nuts with the stone carving, it kind of lost steam, and then you just hit this brick wall and you say to yourself "did that just happen? wait let me read that again...Oh, ok." An event that should have been more dramatic, more significant, more memorable, well it was kind of a let down on Davidson's part.

He started off so well, he had this amazing idea, of a love story lasting for over 700 years and towards the end it fell flat. As Marianne Engel became more and more eccentric I found it harder and harder to believe in her character. Plus I think I was more enamoured with the idea of their everlasting love than what was presented in the book. Its just my personal opinion in that if you're going to reveal the mysteries you've been building up in your book then reveal them, don't half ass it, and then have your character hang up on uncovering an amazing piece of human history. Reveal it or leave it a mystery.

Don't get me wrong, this was an enjoyable read, and I cannot belive that this is Davidson's first novel, because, he seems like a seasoned veteran but there's a point in the book where you start to notice that the author had a deadline to make, and while the beginning is completely mezmerizing and original, the end feels a bit rushed, and I do feel a bit cheated, since I feel the things that were promised by the beginning were not delivered at the end.

3/4