The Gargoyle

An extraordinary debut novel of love that survives the fires of hell and transcends the boundaries of time.On a burn ward, a man lies between living and dying, so disfigured that no one from his past life would even recognize him. His only comfort comes from imagining various inventive ways to end his misery. Then a woman named Marianne Engel walks into his hospital room, a wild-haired, schizophrenic sculptress on the lam from the psych ward upstairs, who insists that she knows him – that she has known him, in fact, for seven hundred years. She remembers vividly when they met, in another hospital ward at a convent in medieval Germany, when she was a nun and he was a wounded mercenary left to die. If he has forgotten this, he is not to worry: she will prove it to him.And so Marianne Engel begins to tell him their story, carving away his disbelief and slowly drawing him into the orbit and power of a word he'd never uttered: love. An extraordinary debut novel of love that survives the fires of hell and transcends the boundaries of time. 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. As the book opens, he is driving along a dark road when he is distracted by what seems to be a flight of arrows. He crashes into a ravine and suffers horrible burns over much of his body. As he recovers in a burn ward, undergoing the tortures of the damned, he awaits the day when he can leave the hospital and commit carefully planned suicide—for he is now a monster in appearance as well as in soul. A beautiful and compelling, but clearly unhinged, 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. In her telling, he was a badly injured mercenary and she was a nun and scribe in the famed monastery of Engelthal who nursed him back to health. As she spins their tale in Scheherazade fashion and relates equally mesmerizing stories of deathless love in Japan, Iceland, Italy, and England, he finds himself drawn back to life—and, finally, in love. He is released into Marianne's care and takes up residence in her huge stone house. But all is not well. For one thing, the pull of his past sins becomes ever more powerful as the morphine he is prescribed becomes ever more addictive. For another, Marianne receives word from God that she has only twenty-seven sculptures left to complete—and her time on earth will be finished. Already an international literary sensation, The Gargoyle is an Inferno for our time. It will have you believing in the impossible. (Amazon.com review)

an Extraordinary Debut Novel Of Love That Survives The Fires Of Hell And Transcends The Boundaries Of Time 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. As The Book Opens, He Is Driving Along A Dark Road When He Is Distracted By What Seems To Be A Flight Of Arrows. He Crashes Into A Ravine And Suffers Horrible Burns Over Much Of His Body. As He Recovers In A Burn Ward, Undergoing The Tortures Of The Damned, He Awaits The Day When He Can Leave The Hospital And Commit Carefully Planned Suicide--for He Is Now A Monster In Appearance As Well As In Soul.

a Beautiful And Compelling, But Clearly Unhinged, 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. In Her Telling, He Was A Badly Injured Mercenary And She Was A Nun And Scribe In The Famed Monastery Of Engelthal Who Nursed Him...

the New York Times - Janet Maslin

[the Gargoyle] Has Been Heavily Influenced By Some Of Mr. Davidson's Own Favorite Authors, Who Range From Vladimir Nabokov To Patrick Susskind To (go Figure) The Playful Parodist Jasper Fforde. The Free-range Erudition Of Books Like possession And the Name Of The Rose Also Come To Mind. And The Wearyingly Popular Literary Story-within-a-story Format Is Used Here To Incorporate A Wild, Seemingly Random Array Of Tricks And Tangents. But Mr. Davidson Binds Them Together With Vigorous And Impressive Narrative Skill.

A young man is fighting for his life. Into his room walks a bewitching woman who believes she can save him. Their journey will have you believing in the impossible. The nameless and beautiful narrator of The Gargoyle is driving along a dark road when he is distracted by what seems to be a flight of arrows. He crashes into a ravine and wakes up in a burns ward, undergoing the tortures of the damned. His life is over - he is now a monster. But in fact it is only just beginning. One day, Marianne Engel, a wild and compelling sculptress of gargoyles, enters his life and tells him that they were once lovers in medieval Germany. In her telling, he was a badly burned mercenary and she was a nun and a scribe who nursed him back to health in the famed monastery of Engelthal. As she spins her tale, Scheherazade fashion, and relates equally mesmerising stories of deathless love in Japan, Greenland, Italy and England, he finds himself drawn back to life - and, finally, to love. A New York Times Bestseller The Gargoyle : the mesmerizing story of one man's descent into personal hell and his quest for salvation. On a dark road in the middle of the night, a car plunges into a ravine. The driver survives the crash, but his injuries confine him to a hospital burn unit. There the mysterious Marianne Engel, a sculptress of grotesques, enters his life. She insists they were lovers in medieval Germany, when he was a mercenary and she was a scribe in the monastery of Engelthal. As she spins the story of their past lives together, the man's disbelief falters; soon, even the impossible can no longer be dismissed. A very contemporary cynic, physically beautiful and sexually adept, crashes his car into a ravine and suffers horrible burns over much of his body. As he recovers in a burn ward, undergoing the tortures of the damned, he awaits the day when he can leave the hospital and commit carefully planned suicide--for he is now a monster in appearance as well as in soul. Then a beautiful and compelling, but clearly unhinged, sculptress of gargoyles by the name of Marianne Engel appears at the foot of his bed and tells him that they were once lovers in medieval Germany--From publisher description. A handsome, self-centered writer and producer of pornography, burned over most of his body following an automobile crash, plans to kill himself upon his release from the hospital, but he gradually changes his mind when Marianne Engel, a beautiful sculptress of gargoyles, begins visiting him, regaling him with stories of their seven-hundred-year-old love affair En smuk mandlig pornostjerne overlever med nød og næppe en bilulykke og bliver slemt forbrændt. På hospitalet får han besøg af en kvinde, som hævder, at de var kærester i middelalderen i Tyskland. Er hun en patient fra hospitalet, eller formår hun virkelig at få kærligheden til at overskride tid og sted? Awakening in a burn ward after being horribly burned in a terrible car accident, the cynical narrator is visited by a beautiful and enigmatic sculptress of gargoyles who tells him that they had once been lovers in medieval Germany