The Gargoyle
It is a common thing for me to choose to read an author’s first novel, and this book is no exception. I recently read the novel “The Gargoyle” by Andrew Davidson and oddly enough this is one of the books you can judge by its cover. If it hadn’t been for the cover art I may not have taken off the shelf, it stood out to me because it shows large angel wings tattooed onto a woman’s back, and body art is a huge interest of mine. And then when I started into it I found out that the books was full of ideas to interest me, so I was absolutely right to purchase it based on the cover.
I should note that I love publishers who really try to do something with the outer portions of a book. While it is the writing that will hold the precedence in the end since new editions will most likely be published in the future, I can still appreciate a beautiful design. The cover is telling you some of the story on its own, but you wouldn’t know it at first glance, as you read more into the story if you close the novel and look at the cover again you will see the symbolism that relates to the story. On the dust cover there is also a cut out of a flaming heart, and when you remove it, encircling the heart it reads “All things in a single book bound by love.” If the cover hasn’t gotten your attention yet, let’s get into the story a bit!
I am impressed that “The Gargoyle” is Andrew Davidson’s first novel, he shows no lack of confidence and commands respect for his work. He developed strong, memorable characters and a driving and yet complex plot. There are elements of grotesque, fantasy, romance and a strong sense of realism along with all that which makes you believe that the fantastical plot elements could be true. “The Gargoyle” tugged at my heart strings, made my stomach turn, and made me think and reflect on my own life. I really don’t want to give away any of the plot, but I would love to intrigue you because it really does have a lot to offer. You can read into it as a love story, but the story is also one of addiction and the struggles that come along with it. It can be read as a fantasy, but the realism is too strong to dismiss. The narrator communicates directly with you, the reader, as an active participant in the story he is telling. He helps you to tie together themes and if at anytime you reach the point of feeling it is hard to believe he works with you to help try and find the meaning. It is a really interesting tactic to keep the reader completely tied up in the story. With all of these tools and dichotomies it really does take a talented writer to work all of these plot lines into an intertwining and smoothly communicating story, Davidson definitely shows the needed talent for creating fluidity between narratives.
I must also credit Davidson on the extensive research he must have completed before even beginning to write his novel. But it is the research that allows for the realism. I would love to go into all the details but I will just glance over a few because I do not want to divulge any of the plot! The extensive research gone into treating extensive burns, the origin of ancient texts, the lives of artists and most interesting to me the idea behind the giving of hearts in creating gargoyles and grotesques in art.
Andrew Davidson has created a wonderful piece of work for an author whom is just breaking through, and it will be interesting to see where this novel takes him next. I really recommend “The Gargoyle” to anyone who is looking for something new and different. The story is a melting pot of ideas and themes that really blend well together into a complex story of the ways in which people can have a cause and effect relation within each others lives above all of its genre bending.
Happy reading!
