The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I never realized how faithful the film adhered to the novel. Blatty had a great ear for dialogue, and much of the conversations are intact in the movie. I can see why he won an Oscar for the screenplay. The bonus was a few anecdotal paragraphs of authenticated possessions from history--which made for fun Wikipedia asides. What the book conveys better than the film, however, is the metaphor of inner demons in our lives that constantly challenge our worth. We must do the consecrated work of continuing to believe in ourselves, despite evidence to the contrary. Even though life is filled with banality, despair, and sorrow, there's a harder path upward to joy and redemption.

Just noticed I finished this on the anniversary of WP Blatty's death. Weird.



View all my reviews