The Gargoyle

By: Andrew Davidson

Narrated by: Lincoln Hoppe

Length: 19 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

An extraordinary debut novel of love that survives the fires of hell and transcends the boundaries of time.

The narrator of The Gargoyle is a very contemporary cynic, physically beautiful and sexually adept, who dwells in the moral vacuum that is modern life. As the book opens, he is driving along a dark road when he is distracted by what seems to be a flight of arrows. He crashes into a ravine and suffers horrible burns over much of his body. As he recovers in a burn ward, undergoing the tortures of the damned, he awaits the day when he can leave the hospital and commit carefully planned suicide - for he is now a monster in appearance as well as in soul.

A beautiful and compelling, but clearly unhinged, sculptress of gargoyles by the name of Marianne Engel appears at the foot of his bed and insists that they were once lovers in medieval Germany. In her telling, he was a badly injured mercenary and she was a nun and scribe in the famed monastery of Engelthal who nursed him back to health. As she spins their tale in Scheherazade fashion and relates equally mesmerizing stories of deathless love in Japan, Iceland, Italy, and England, he finds himself drawn back to life - and, finally, in love. He is released into Marianne's care and takes up residence in her huge stone house.

But all is not well. For one thing, the pull of his past sins becomes ever more powerful as the morphine he is prescribed becomes ever more addictive. For another, Marianne receives word from God that she has only 27 sculptures left to complete - and her time on earth will be finished.

Already an international literary sensation, The Gargoyle is an Inferno for our time. It will have you believing in the impossible.

©2008 Andrew Davidson (P)2008 Random House, Inc.

Hell is a choice

This is my 154th review. In all the books I have reviewed no matter how well I liked them I did find something to criticize. Let me say for the first time, that I found nothing to criticize in this novel. This is great writing and has great characters. I understand this is a debut novel. If so, you will want to get the book. It is going to be worth a lot of money some day.

Warning: There is a lot here about burn victims. The first two chapters which take approx. two hours to listen, are a graphic detail description of the main characters' accident and his burns. As I drove my face was in a constant grimace, because of the painful description of his burns and the description of burn treatment. Yet the writing is so good, I could not stop listening.

A few reviews ago I criticized a book for not having a plot or quest or goal. This reads like a biography, has no quest or goals, yet it is a great read. My words can not describe how good Davidson's words are.

If you liked "A Thousand Splendid Suns", " Outlander" or books period, you will like this novel.

Catholic Angst and Redemption

The writing was pretty descriptive rather like a feast of words. The other stories within this story were wrought together very well.

I did get a bit impatient with the way it dragged on, especially with the main supporting story about the nun and the mercenary.

I would give it 5 stars but then I do not like tragedies; I thought the ending was just hopelessly twisted. Is it just me or do the tragedies win the most awards?

Excellent Visionary Fiction

Imaginative, brutal in places, and well worth reading. Complex characters that come together in a most untraditional romance that spans centuries.

If you listen to one book, listen to this one!

This book is so thought provoking.
The main character is burned horribly. During his recovery, he meets a very mysterious woman who tells him some of the most unbelievable stories of her life and the lives of others.
The authors ability to weave an intricate tale of intertwining and captivating stories, is the best that I've ever listened to.
The narration is perfect. All of the many voices and even the foreign languages are absolutely flawless.
This is, by far the best book I have ever listened to.
My only wish, is for the author will continue writing.
#thoughtprovoking #alltimefavorite #NarrationPerfection #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

Fantastic

The first parts of the book are tough to get through, but the rest is fantastic! Give it time. You won't be disappointed

Engrossing, Unusual, and well written

This was a "wild card" download for me. The title has been languishing in my wish list for some time and the premise looked interesting. I found the story,( which is really a collection of stories woven together), fascinating and frequently very moving. I appreciated the different messages- of tolerance, redemption, human fraility, loyalty, forgiveness but the deeper themes don't detract from an all around good read. If you are looking for something completely different, here's your book.

Wonderful story line, very well written.

Once had a Lit teacher tell me every story line had been written....
well he was wrong...this was really a new one and very well done indeed

Could have done without numerous love stories.

Wow, very long story. I could have definitely done without so many background love stories that were told by his friend, Marianne Engel. Some other reviewers, however, absolutely loved those stories and how they were interweaved with the main story. There were just too many of them for me.

Some of the burn ward details were disgusting to me but definitely necessary to understand what the main character was going through. It was very enjoyable to see him survive, begin to recuperate, and become a different person than he was in the beginning of the story.

I liked the story a lot, but felt it was a bit long. I will definitely considering reading another book by the author, Andrew Davidson. The narrator read a bit too slowly but still did a good job.

Fantastic

What an interesting, complex and fantastical book. Truly enjoyed it and would read again. Highly recommend.

my favorite novel ever!

Okay okay the first 100 pages are brutal, but after that it comes together. This is my favorite book ever!!! it took the author 7 years of research to write this book! everyone I have recommended it to has loved it.