The Gargoyle features a gripping plotline that transcends through time, unforgettable characters that are anything but normal, and a metaphorical message that exceeds all expectations.
The Unusual Suspects
One of the most gripping things about this book is the narrator/protagonist who is a lethal fusion of a former drug addict-porn star who now dabbles in producing adult films. He is anything but likeable with his bitter sarcasm and rude nature. However, somehow, Davidson manages to turn this unlikely hero into a redeemable and relatable character.
Then there is Marianne Engel, the destiny-ridden schizophrenic who carves gargoyles out of stone, creating beauty out of something dark and awful. She is clearly crazy yet undeniable fascinating. The nameless narrator and Marianne end up merged in a world of past and present that is so rhythmic that it’s hard to stop reading.
The Crash and the Aftermath
The story begins with an unexpected car crash that leaves the nameless hero in hospital covered in mild to severe burns. He is hideous and unrecognisable, left to perish in his own self-loathing. It is in the hospital where the narrator meets Marianne, who firmly believes they have met before in a previous existence. Marianne’s vivid stories of previous lifetimes are craftily woven into the present relationship between Marianne and the narrator. A
s the narrator begins to recover, Marianne opens both the reader’s and the narrator’s eyes to a world of extraordinary beauty and life where there was seemingly neither. Paralleled to her talent of crafting gargoyles, Marianne’s strange gift will have readers questioning their own ideas about beauty, life and love.
The novel is complex to say the least, filled with poetic imagery and inventive stories that filter in and out of several worlds. However, Davidson’s creative genius clearly flows throughout the novel, as each page is as gripping as the next. The Gargoyle has been called “sweeping, wholly implausible, unapologetically melodramatic and absolutely absorbing” in the Globe and Mail and “engrossing and gruesome” by the Washington Post. In any case, it’s a must-read for any book lover.
Davidson’s Author Quest
Even the journey to write The Gargoyle has been an epic one. Davidson, who graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1995, spent seven years researching, writing and perfecting his first novel. When he was not writing, he was teaching English overseas in Japan and writing for an online company. His 150,000-word novel was at one stage over 1 million words and took him through a world of self-discovery and change to finally figure out what he was trying to write about.
The Gargoyle went through a publishing bidding war that ended with DoubleDay paying a whopping $1.25 million for the rights, an incredible feat for a first time author. Davidson’s hard work and dedication has earned him International bestseller status and millions of cult followers excited for what’s to come.
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