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The Gargoyle

Posted on 15. Oct, 2009 by Rachael in Reviews

Andrew Davidson (paperback version)

If I were to ask you for a list of overly used clichés or truism, I think it is fair to say that ‘never judge a book by its cover’ is going to be up there in the top ten. We like it because it’s good advice and works for us on so many levels.

One of the few levels it doesn’t really work with though is with BOOKS. We do judge by the cover – we have to, it’s initially all we have to go on. Because to throw another cliché in ‘first impressions count’! Had I poured my heart, soul and time into a literary piece, you can bet your granny that I’m going to give my all into making sure the cover of my book shouts across the room at you, draws you in to buy and tells my story within those few seconds it takes for your mind’s eye to make a judgement.

Bearing all the above in mind – upon first seeing the cover of The Gargoyle my subconscious has already told me that I lurrrrrve this book! It has become a huge glass of Chateauneuf-du-pape, it’s curled up in a worn leather winged Chesterfield chair and it’s a warm glow on my face from a roaring log fire. Yes…all this is conjured up from the depth of rich red and golden colours on the cover, and the black-stained edges or the book’s leaves.

With a closer look I’m thrilled with the promise of depth and the possibility of a challenge. Strewn across a flame engulfed heart-shape are the words of Eckhart von Hochheim (German theologian, philosopher and mystic): “Love is as strong as death, as hard as hell”.
Not only is the heart one that is burning, it also contains a thunder bolt and the image of a gruesome gargoyle.

Oh yes please. Love, hell –fire and gruesomeness, I’m hooked already.

You already know that I’ve set myself up for a fall, don’t you?

Smack-bang-wallop my comfy chair is turned up-side-down, and my precious wine has been spilt. I’m rolling down a cliff side in a burning car…..

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Except of course it’s not me it is the book’s primary narrator. Page one and the book is right in the throes of a disaster waiting to happen. Quite frankly, I like to get to know the ‘hero’ of a book before any big drama occurs. I want to get to grips with how I feel about him; whether I want to invest any compassion into him. Yet here is the wonder of reading someone else’s book, they don’t write how you would, they structure things differently and use words that aren’t in your vocabulary.

I initially just don’t ‘click’ with him. I must add that this has nothing to do with the hideous amount of ‘recreational’ toxins he has consumed before getting into his car, or the bottle of bourbon he’s swigging from as he’s driving.

The inevitable happens – he crashes his four wheel time-bomb. This is no minor bump, the vehicle is plummeting down a mountainside. It’s not looking good for our man. At this point I’m just really glad that some innocent, sober, bystander isn’t involved. (All this whilst despising myself for coming across like some do-gooder Esther Rantzen – Mrs Rantzen I am NOT).

The car catches fire and so does he, aided and abetted by the aforementioned bourbon! What follows is a graphic, almost scientific description of what happens to the human body when set alight. If this were on television I’d have my hands firmly placed over my eyes – with the odd gratifying peak through my fingers.

I have to read on now, because this book doesn’t seem to be doing ‘what it says on the tin.’ I was promised love – a “journey (that) will have you believing in the impossible.” But my ‘hero’ is toast!

Dear Sparkle Bookies, please read on – this book very quickly becomes everything you want it to be and more than you could have imagined. I can’t wait to discuss the in-and-outs of it with you.

It has everything from social misfits to medical drama, beautiful medieval fairytales to messed-up childhoods in modern social care. “The Gargoyle” doesn’t fit into any category, that’s what makes it so great. You’ll grow to like our ‘hero’ – but I like the ‘heroine’ more!

And finally (this is not a ‘spoiler’)….somewhere within this book you’ll get the early-promised love!

Tags: Andrew Davidson, the Gargoyle