A monstrous love affair

I knew that I would finish reading this book tonight... Everyone else fell asleep early, and knowing I only had a 100 pages left, and it was 10 o'clock... I knew that I would be finishing this one before midnight.

This is the righteous cover of the The Gargoyle, by Andrew Davidson. What a book. I have no idea how to truly describe this book and do it justice. Well worth a read. Well worth a second read. Definitely not even close to what I expected it to be.

It was also, ironically enough, a fun book to carry around. This cover screams pay attention to me and a few folks made comments about it. My dear friend KW recommended this book, raving that it is one of her top 5 books of all time... I shrugged before I picked it up, and now I understand. This is a book like Heart of Darkness, rich with meaning, layers of symbolism, and threads of different stories woven together. I cannot believe my luck in the books that I have read so far this year - outside of the first book which didn't live up to my expectations, all the rest have shattered my expectations and preconceived notions.

I could describe this book as a joy from start to finish, but it wasn't. At times it was hard, almost gruesome, at times, so beautiful I had to put it down and just revel in the moment. I wish this wasn't a library book because it would look fine on my bookshelf. Another cool tidbit is how much Davidson was paid for his book (big bucks, especially for an untried Canadian) and the other thing is that he is Canadian. This book will make it's way in to post secondary reading lists if it hasn't already.

I feel myself moving away from more of my escapist reading and moving in to books with a bit more teeth right now. I am sure that the pendalum will shift again, but it will be interesting to see how my next read measures up (book club read, Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie).