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This is a story of love that transcends definition and time.
The unnamed narrator is a burn patient. In his past life he was beautiful and immoral. Now he is a monster in appearance.
In his ward, a striking young woman named Marianne Engel insists that he and she were once lovers in medieval Germany. It becomes clear that she is a psychiatric patient at the hospital, and schizophrenic. In a Scheherazade fashion, she tells stories of love from Iceland, Japan, Italy, and England, and also, of course ...more
The unnamed narrator is a burn patient. In his past life he was beautiful and immoral. Now he is a monster in appearance.
In his ward, a striking young woman named Marianne Engel insists that he and she were once lovers in medieval Germany. It becomes clear that she is a psychiatric patient at the hospital, and schizophrenic. In a Scheherazade fashion, she tells stories of love from Iceland, Japan, Italy, and England, and also, of course ...more
I was fortunate enough to receive this book to review via this site. It is a very attractive looking hardcover, with a dramatic dust jacket and black edged pages. The story inside, however, was mixed - like my feelings towards it. Some parts were so originally clever, I marvelled at the author's imagination. Others were so clichéd and saccharine sweet that I was ready to put the book down.
It is an unusual story, set partly in the present day, partly in the fourteenth century, and partly in a Dan ...more
It is an unusual story, set partly in the present day, partly in the fourteenth century, and partly in a Dan ...more
This novel came highly recommended so I thought I'd rush it to the head of the to-read pile.
The narrator is a thirty-something year old man (a professional pornographer) who was burned beyond recognition in a horrible car accident. The first couple of chapters are a little cringe-worthy and very graphic. Definitely not a pleasurable read for someone with either a phobia of fire/burns or broken glass (me).
As the narrator recuperates in hospital, a mysterious woman named Marianne Engel appeared ...more
The narrator is a thirty-something year old man (a professional pornographer) who was burned beyond recognition in a horrible car accident. The first couple of chapters are a little cringe-worthy and very graphic. Definitely not a pleasurable read for someone with either a phobia of fire/burns or broken glass (me).
As the narrator recuperates in hospital, a mysterious woman named Marianne Engel appeared ...more
The ultimate book about a love that lasts through many lifetimes. It is perfect for the cynic or the romantic. Its charm lies in the story of a man with a morally reprehensible past but is seemingly sane and a woman who appears mentally ill but has more than enough love to share, and the question that lingered for me until the end was whether they could save each other.
Whoa. Fantastic read. I loved the characters and their quirks, the stories within the story, the tenderness. Parts were a little too descriptive and made me uncomfortable - the pain of his recovery.
The only problem I have is the picture on the cover~it is so NOT Marianne Engel!
The only problem I have is the picture on the cover~it is so NOT Marianne Engel!
Wow! The writing in this book is truly amazing. The story is about this man who is in a car accident and is burned very severely. While he recuperates, this mentally disturbed woman starts visiting him. She begins telling him stories of her life. Her life in the 13th century. And he was supposedly there too. These stories are just as fun as the main plot. The author’s imagination is extravagant. I was in awe as I turned every page. The darkness and the depth of the book made for a slow read. And
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Work in progress...
Sometimes you do not choose the book, but the book chooses you. This is the case with me and the Gargoyle, of which I recently won a copy in a Goodreads competition.
I have to admit, I entered the competition, because I thought the book's cover looked funky. When it arrived, I had another look at the synopsis and decided to read something else. Then life got busy, other books got in the way and my copy of the Gargoyle continued its long and lonely wait on the shelf...
Yesterday ...more
Sometimes you do not choose the book, but the book chooses you. This is the case with me and the Gargoyle, of which I recently won a copy in a Goodreads competition.
I have to admit, I entered the competition, because I thought the book's cover looked funky. When it arrived, I had another look at the synopsis and decided to read something else. Then life got busy, other books got in the way and my copy of the Gargoyle continued its long and lonely wait on the shelf...
Yesterday ...more
I picked this book up upon recommendation from a friend on Thursday and just finished it tonight (3 days later). It's compellingly readable with interesting characters and it is not one of those books that wraps up in a tidy bow at the end (a common complaint for me). While I did enjoy it, I felt that it could have been a fantastic book, and it was really going in the right direction until the last 20 or so pages. With a different ending and another run through the editor's eagle eye, this could
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I'm feeling a little torn on this. Maybe 2 1/2 stars is best. For most of the book I was really just waiting for it to end but then when it did I found that I enjoyed it more in retrospect then I did at the time.
I was annoyed by a lot of the book, by the main character and by Marianne Engel (and the fact that he always called her that-never just Marianne!) With some things I felt like the author was using a sledgehammer to make his point. I get that there should be repetition in symbols and the ...more
I was annoyed by a lot of the book, by the main character and by Marianne Engel (and the fact that he always called her that-never just Marianne!) With some things I felt like the author was using a sledgehammer to make his point. I get that there should be repetition in symbols and the ...more
Definitely written with a male reader in mind. Davidson definitely did his research, but he's really aiming for the gross-out factor...and I don't feel like he incorporated the extreme medical detail well into the story. I feel like he did the research and then just inserted it in a terribly uncreative way so everyone knew all the gory details of treating burn victims and what the porno field is like.
UPDATES:
Way too long for my taste. Felt Ho-hum at the end...glad I did this as an audio, b/c eve ...more
UPDATES:
Way too long for my taste. Felt Ho-hum at the end...glad I did this as an audio, b/c eve ...more
Nov 06, 2009
Sunflower
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction-read-2009,
historical-fiction
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I did not really enjoy reading this. It started out very interesting as it began when the author found himself in shambles. But digressing to far-fetched stories told by a schizophrenic was just too much for me. Maybe I just didn't get the point of the story.
On a different note, I love the idea of large angel wings tattooed on one's back. ...more
On a different note, I love the idea of large angel wings tattooed on one's back. ...more
Amazing! I was surprised to have liked this book. I really enjoyed the past and present stories intertwining.
Jan 25, 2009
Natalya
marked it as to-read
Jun 16, 2009
Cathy
added it
Oct 13, 2009
Leigh Ann
marked it as to-read
Nov 17, 2009
Katie
marked it as to-read
Jan 02, 2010
Mita
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
read-in-2010
