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

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

A marvel

An incredible reading of an incredible book. The VA was awesome in this story . I will definitely listen again and again

Very different love story

Gargoyle is the love story of a man (whose name we never learn), terribly disfigured in an auto accident and resultant fire, and the woman, Maryanne, who befriends him and who may (or may not) be schizophrenic. Maryanne believes they were lovers in a long-ago past life and possibly throughout the ages until the present. The very best parts of the story concerned their long history together. She believes they are simply continuing where they left off, and you, like me, may end up believing that, too. I'm not at all attracted to the typical romance novel where boy meets girl, romance sizzles, they fight, solve mysteries, bite people's necks, (whatever) but finally live happily ever-after. Gargoyle was nothing like this. It was very well-written and read, intense, thought-provoking, funny at times, sad at times. I loved it!

Be still my heart!

Absolutely beautifully written and narrated! My heart will never be the same. Best love story I've read in years. So deep that it not only devoured my heart but my soul, as well. Bravo!

The ending made the book

I liked the book and how the writer could paint pictures with words, but wasn't fully enthralled until the last little bit.

Captivating, one of a kind

I'm not a review writer but this is now my new favorite book. A great story, well told.