The Gargoyle

De: Andrew Davidson

Narrado por: Lincoln Hoppe

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 twenty-seven 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.

Reseñas de la Crítica

Advance Praise for The Gargoyle


“I was blown away by Andrew Davidson's The Gargoyle. It reminded me of Life of Pi, with its unanswered (and unanswerable) contradictions. A hypnotic, horrifying, astonishing novel that manages, against all odds, to be redemptive."
—Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants


“The Gargoyle is purely and simply an amazement, a riot, a blast. It's hard to believe that this is Andrew Davidson's first novel: He barrels out of the chute with the narrative brio and confidence, not to mention the courage, of a seasoned master. This book plucks the reader off the ground and whirls her through the air until she shouts from sheer abandonment and joy. What a great, grand treat.”
—Peter Straub

Incredible One Time Author

Can you believe that this author wrote one, and only one, book? How could someone who is so incredibly talented, who writes with such clarity, depth, and detail create this one story and be done? Take the time to listen to this story which involves past and present stories, stories that overlap time, location, and lives of many and few people. simultaneously. Although there is a love story (many intertwined, in fact) there is so much more to this story the will pique your interest in history, language, food, and friendships.

Very well done.

I have loved this book ever since I first read it, and the narrator more than does it justice. He captures the tone of the book and all the characters perfectly. I would highly recommend this to anyone.

The absolute best story (stories)

1 of the absolute best story I've ever heard. I read the book years ago and came across the audible and the narrator was SO perfect. Still cry and cringe and feel enlightened. Love this story.

Excellent

It was a good interesting book. Great performance. Kept me entertained and wondering what would happen next

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.