June 2009: The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

[Novel Tea Book Club]

Overall this novel was a huge success.

Members found the book to have an interesting story line dispersed with captivating stories. The writing in the novel was superb and infused with fascinating symbolism. Some members felt the book was a bit confusing at times in regards to the numerous literary references and complicated symbolism.

An excellent first novel by Andrew Davidson. We would definitely recommend this book to other book clubs and individuals.

Our rating: 4/5 stars.

Synopsis: At the start of Davidson's powerful debut, the unnamed narrator, a coke-addled pornographer, drives his car off a mountain road in a part of the country that's never specified. During his painful recovery from horrific burns suffered in the crash, the narrator plots to end his life after his release from the hospital. When a schizophrenic fellow patient, Marianne Engel, begins to visit him and describe her memories of their love affair in medieval Germany, the narrator is at first skeptical, but grows less so. Eventually, he abandons his elaborate suicide plan and envisions a life with Engel, a sculptress specializing in gargoyles. Davidson, in addition to making his flawed protagonist fully sympathetic, blends convincing historical detail with deeply felt emotion in both Engel's recollections of her past life with the narrator and her moving accounts of tragic love. Once launched into this intense tale of unconventional romance, few readers will want to put it down.

The Gargoyle