The Gargoyle discussion

I read this book shortly after it came out and loved it. It's written beautifully, with amazing imagery, shocking scenes...it's fresh and just magical. It breaks the rules of the traditional love story and portrays life in a gritty way. Just loved it but I have to say I was unsettled when I finished it. The way he was left. I don't know...did anyone else feel this? Thoughts?

I agree with you. It was by far one of the best books I've read in a long time and totally not what I would typically read, but the ending was, I don't know, maybe too real for the way the story was. Maybe I was hoping for some sort of miracle to go along with the fantastic ride the story takes you on.

I read it ages ago, too... Had an Advance Reader Copy. I remember loving it and got really swept up. I expected some answers at the end, but wasn't really all that bothered that I didn't get them... That said, I totally get the "unsettled" feeling...

I read this book when it first came out. I remember thinking that this was the best book I had read in a while and have been on the look out for more books from Davidson. I think his purpose was to leave us unsettled and he most definitely succeeded.

Jackleen wrote: "I read this book when it first came out. I remember thinking that this was the best book I had read in a while and have been on the look out for more books from Davidson. I think his purpose was ..."

I agree Jackleen. If anything, the story is memorable and pops up in my head often. As an author, you can't ask for a better reaction.

Esa wrote: "This book is on my shelf, so I'd better not hang around here too much, lest there be spoilers. :)"
I am a nurse and I was taking a course to work in the operating room while reading this book. Burn patient need frequent skin graphs and are often seen in the OR. Usually, the writer will get medical terms and techniques mostly right but there is always the "that's not really how it works" feeling when reading a book. In Gargoyle, the medical aspect was perfectly correct. In fact I probably did better in my course for having read the book.

I loved this book, too. The ending left me sad and a little confused even though I read through it multiple times. A guy wrote it and that's the only way I developed a sense of closure about a book I really loved. I'll just leave it at that.

Katherine wrote: "A guy wrote it and that's the only way I developed a sense of closure about a book I really loved."

Just stumbled across this discussion regarding "The Gargoyle", which I loved and found mesmerizing - I too felt somewhat unsettled, but I wondered if it was due in part to my questioning whether Marianne was deluded or if indeed her story(ies) was based in reality.

I wondered about Katherine's statement regarding - a guy wrote it - I wasn't really clear on why it made a difference...btw, I'm a woman.

It would be interesting if anyone felt the ending would have been different if a woman wrote it - would it have been an automatic happily ever after - would there still be some questions and uncertainty as to who or what Marianne is or was?

Any thoughts or reactions?

I am a woman, I read, and I write...I don't like happily every after all the time lol.

Okay, let me take a stab at this. I'm a writer so that might help you to understand where I'm coming from. This book has an emotional build to it. Marianne is there for him every step of the way. We don't know why, at first, why she cares about him, but we start to care and begin to figure out who she is and who she has been to him throughout his live(s). HE starts to figure it out. It would seem he even loves her. Spoiler alert. And then, at the end she just disappears into the ocean. She gave him back the will to live and his life, it seems; and I just didn't get a sense of emotional closure on his part. Maybe, even a page or two on how he misses her and how extraordinary she was and what she ultimately meant to him might have helped me out. Don't get me wrong; I still loved the book. KO

I loved this book, but have to point out - it isn't a romance...it is a fiction novel with romantic elements...if you were to give this to any romance readers, they would probably come back to you in disgust because it doesn't have the HEA/HFN that is required for a book to be designated a romance...its like Nicholas Sparks - fiction with romantic elements...

Okay, I wasn't able to infer any of that from your comment, so thank you - it certainly helps clarify.

For me, I saw it as their continual cycle of
meeting-->loving-->leaving - to begin it again in the next life (if she wasn't deluded). I admit it as been awhile since I read it, but for me it was in keeping with their eternal cosmic loop - also, I felt that he did feel she renewed his will to live and that he felt a sense of loss - or I could be remembering this all wrong and need to read it again. ;-D

I appreciate the clarification. It is an interesting book and I lent to a friend who has yet to return it. Hmmm, I better follow up on it.

Farrah, I don't like HEA all the time either and I certainly didn't mean to imply it was an automatic for all women - just throwing out questions to stimulate dialogue.

Thank you, Katherine and Farrah. I appreciate the responses.

Dee, you are absolutely correct that this isn't a romance novel - it is contemporary fiction. I sometimes wonder though if gender creates a bias or an expectation for a particular type of ending. I'm really not trying to generalize here - I am always interested when I read a novel as to how well the author developed the character's gender if it is different from their own.

I loved it don't get me wrong, but it was contemporary fiction and not romance...not bias or anything - the RWA (romance writers of america) define a romance novel as having a HEA, so it is an expectation

I loved this book and beleive the author meant to leave the reader guessing at the end. We get to come up with different conclusions and run different scenarios through our minds. What a way to keep the reader engaged well after the last sentence.

I agree with you. The way it ended. It was just as if there was an empty hole left there. I finished it while I was flying home and the whole flight I kept wondering `Why?` I can`t say I really understood it, but I definatelly loved it. I gave it to my mom now. Hope she`ll understand it and than make some things clear to me.

Ana wrote: "I agree with you. The way it ended. It was just as if there was an empty hole left there. I finished it while I was flying home and the whole flight I kept wondering `Why?` I can`t say I really und..."

Thanks for your post~validates my feelings. I still think about The Gargoyle and it's been "months" since I read it. It's one of my top favorites.

I read this book awhile ago and was surprised at how much I loved it. In the beginning the main character was not someone I usually can connect with in a book. However, as it went on, I loved every page. I found the ending appropriate for the story. There are no easy answers. The main character was left unsettled, therefore, we should feel unsettled.
By the way, I have recommended this book to several people and they all loved it too.

I actually found it ok that she left, she had taught him to live and love despite flaws

Farrah wrote: "I read this book shortly after it came out and loved it. It's written beautifully, with amazing imagery, shocking scenes...it's fresh and just magical. It breaks the rules of the traditional love s..."

A friend loaned me a copy of this book and I absolutely loved it! Nice to read something fresh and original; fiction with an edge because it conveyed a certain dark reality instead of "in a perfect world" I think I understand though the point Katherine was making when she said "...a guy wrote it..." Men just seem to be able to accept and deal with issues like this in a concrete/practical way. However, it was being told partly from a male character's POV and he pretty much dealt with everything else in his life in the same manner so it fit perfectly. I do think the ending would have been different if a woman would have written it but then again the ENTIRE book would have been different. I was shocked at the brevity of the description of Marianne's death but really, thinking back on it, it fit perfectly with the tone and flow of the novel. Well done! I would definitely recommend this to my friends!

Danggirl wrote: "A friend loaned me a copy of this book and I absolutely loved it! Nice to read something fresh and original; fiction with an edge because it conveyed a certain dark reality instead of "in a perfect..."

@Danggirl - Thanks for the note/reference to what I was getting at...I still love this book and still think about it.

Best,

Katherine Owen

Smiles...this was a book I had no real desire to read. But, as bookseller, someone there had to. And, was my lucky day when I opened it. It is easily in the top five of my now 200 favorites.
It is a book that I cherish, and while I speak well of it, I recommend it to few. I will not hand it to the customer who craves whatever Patterson puts his name on, or the one who lives for the latest Danielle Steel I have, sorry to admit, used it as a measure of men I have dated. Yes, I should not be in the dating pool, and a good thing that is for I have more time to read.

Kat wrote: "Smiles...this was a book I had no real desire to read. But, as bookseller, someone there had to. And, was my lucky day when I opened it. It is easily in the top five of my now 200 favorites.
It is ..."

Kat, reading your post one thing doesn't make sense: if this book's amongst your favourites, why did you only give it 1 star? That's what we're supposed to use for really bad books (that I still finished...)

For a book so surreal the end was almost to real. An unsettling but very good ending...

I was unsettled but in a good way. This book rocked my world. I was like :O when I finished it.

I absolutely loved this book. I won't even try to trace the aspects I enjoyed so much about it, for I have read it quite a while ago. I don't think I would be able to recall what made it so addictive. And...like any drug, it seems impossible to detach from the whole experience; that is the reason for the "unsettled" feeling.

I have just remembered having read a review which revealed two acrostics that can be found by putting the first letter of each chapter together in order and then the last letter of each chapter, spelling out "All things in a single book bound by love" (from Dante's "Paradiso"), respectively a phrase in German which means “Love is as strong as death, Marianne”. I found this pretty interesting.

The only unsettling thing at the end for me, was that it was over. I loved it, couldn't put it down and was left thinking "oh no, what am I going to do now - come back!"

Stelly37 wrote: "The only unsettling thing at the end for me, was that it was over. I loved it, couldn't put it down and was left thinking "oh no, what am I going to do now - come back!""

I would have never done that to Marianne at the end. I would have stopped her! She could choose to see that as selfishness all she wants, I wouldn't care!