Review ~ The Gargoyle

Title: The Gargoyle
Author: Andrew Davidson
Publisher: Anchor

Reading Level: Adult
Rating: Undetermined - read on
Summary: 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. After a horrible accident, a 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.

Review: Ok, I understand that the point of reviewing books is to actually read the books and then review them. However, I just could not finish this one. After seeing it bookmarked on Target's book club, checking the reviews and then reading the summary, I was completely intrigued by this novel. And as it opens, the action begins immediately with the retelling by a narrator who seems real with a sarcastic and yet saddened edge. I felt it would be promising, until he dove into his past. It seemed understandable for this narrator to have had a bad childhood and even kept me for a bit after finding out that he had landed himself into the pornography field. However, as he dove deeper into his past, I found the specific detailing of his business to be, well, quite cheap and unnecessary. Foul language began creeping into his descriptions and the writing itself fell a bit flat. There is a time, a place and a method for handling issues and language such as this in writing and personally, I didn't care for the way in which Davidson addressed them, which really upset me since the storyline itself seems so interesting. After trying more than a handful of times, I put the novel down, which would put me in a great minority if you check the reviews on Amazon. So, I cannot give a full review of this novel, however, by reading what I've said here, I've either saved you a trip or piqued your interest.

Again, I'm sorry that I did not continue as so many say the love story in the piece is just beautiful. Anyone else read this book? Have I given up too early?