The Gargoyle

By: Andrew Davidson

Narrated by: 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.

Critic reviews

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

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