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Book Review: The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
The book that came before the classic horror movie featuring a little girl who may or may not be possessed by a demon and the priest struggling with his faith called upon to help her.
Summary:
Actress and divorced mother Chris MacNeil starts to experience ‘difficulties’ with her usually sweet-natured eleven-year-old daughter Regan. The child becomes afflicted by spasms, convulsions and unsettling amnesiac episodes; these abruptly worsen into violent fits of appalling foul-mouthed curses, accompanied by physical mutation. Medical science is baffled by Regan’s plight and, in her increasing despair, Chris turns to troubled priest and psychiatrist Damien Karras, who immediately recognises something profoundly malevolent in Regan’s distorted fetures and speech. On Karras’s recommendation, the Church summons Father Merrin, a specialist in the exorcism of demons . . .
Review:
I’d seen the classic horror movie and, while I thought certain shots were gorgeous and the soundtrack was beautiful, I felt rather ho-hum about the story overall. Imagine my surprise when I found the book version simultaneously thrilling and intellectually engaging. A difference even more interesting since Blatty wrote both. (It’s more common for a different author to write the screenplay adaptation of a book.)
From the beginning of the book, there are three story threads. First there’s Chris, the divorced, wealthy, actress mother who is an atheist and her daughter who starts acting funny. Second, there’s Father Karras, a psychiatrist and a priest who is having a crisis of faith. Third, there are recent desecrations in a local church that a detective is investigating. These three threads merge by the end of the book. But their separate developments kept me simultaneously intellectually engaged and thrilled.
While there absolutely is the thrilling aspect of what is wrong with Regan and can she be healed/saved from it, I was drawn in by the exploration of faith. How it presents in different people, even those we assume must have a very strong faith or none at all. What it means to have faith. How having faith impacts people. How evil forces can use someone’s doubts and misunderstandings against them. (This part of the book reminded me of a more subtle version of The Screwtape Letters.)
I really felt both for Father Karras and for Regan. For the former, I understood how adult life had slowly worn down his youthful faith. How it was easier for him to believe in things when he was young than it was now in middle-age. And I also felt for Regan, whose mother left her completely unequipped to protect herself against forces of darkness. The fact that her mother forbid the nanny to mention God to her but also simultaneously allowed her to play with a Ouija board. If she’s so atheist as to not want a child to even know the concept of God, shouldn’t she also ban all religious items, including ones used for witchcraft, from her home? I don’t view this as a writing flaw but rather an accurate assessment of how often atheism attacks the concept of God but not of other supernatural forces. Indeed, I think demonstrating this was probably a part of the point.
The book does a good job of leaving it up to the reader to decide if Regan was actually possessed by a demon or having a psychosomatic experience in response to the trauma from her parents’ divorce. I’m sure you can tell from my review that I fall on the she was possessed side. You can see from the book how much more traumatic the 1970s viewed divorce for children than we do now. The 1970s brought no-fault divorce, and so the divorce rate went up, but there was still social stigma. So even though for the modern reader a simple, relatively amicable divorce with a bit of an absent father is nowhere near enough trauma for a child to have a psychotic break, for the audience in the 1970s with the stigma still fresh, it was. And the scientific side of why they think this might be is well-explained. It’s just to me it’s very clear this is a demon.
My experience of the book being about faith matches what Blatty said in interviews in his life. It’s interesting how that has been overshadowed by the cultural experience of the movie as a horror classic. Perhaps the book can be both. Indeed, theological horror is a genre.
The reason it’s not a full five stars for me is I felt like the last third of the book wasn’t as strong as the first two-thirds.
Let me leave you with my favorite quote from the book.
I think the demon’s target is not the possessed; it is us … the observers … every person in this house. And I think—I think the point is to make us despair; to reject our own humanity, Damien: to see ourselves as ultimately bestial, vile and putrescent; without dignity; ugly; unworthy. And there lies the heart of it, perhaps: in unworthiness. For I think belief in God is not a matter of reason at all; I think it finally is a matter of love: of accepting the possibility that God could ever love us.
page 345
Overall, this is a complex book of theological horror. It keeps the plot moving forward with multiple threads and compelling scenes while also taking the time to contemplate big questions about faith. Well worth the read, even if you have seen the movie, as it is a different experience altogether.
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4 out of 5 stars
Length: 403 pages – average but on the longer side
Source: Library
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Book Review: Positively, Penelope by Pepper D. Basham
A grumpy/sunshine, no spice romance set in the theater world.
Summary:
Penelope Edgewood is practically positive in every way, so when, fresh out of college, she is awarded a paid internship to help save a century-old theater on the island of Skymar, she jumps at the chance. After all, a crumbling theater needs the special touch of someone who reveres all things vintage and adores the stage.
Unfortunately, not everything is as it seems at Darling House Theatre. Finances are in shambles, the local theater group is disenchanted, and the two brothers, Matt and Alec Gray, can’t seem to see eye-to-eye about how to run their theatrical business. So, of course, it’s the perfect place for Penelope to shine her own personal brand of sunshine.
With a little help from GK, the person emailing her encouragement along the way, she puts all her heart into helping the Grays save Darling House. But between Matt’s ever-present skepticism, Alec’s tendency to treat Penelope a little too much like the “princess” she thinks she wants to be (until someone actually started treating her that way), a grandfather who is stuck in his grief, and a mysterious person stealing Penelope’s marketing ideas, she’s not sure her optimism is enough to make a happily-ever-after of her own story, let alone The Darling House’s.
Between an adorable little girl, a matchmaker, a sea monster or two, and a copious amount of musical references, can Penelope draw enough confidence from her faith, her family, and her adoration of all things Julie Andrews, to find the thief and save the theater . . . without getting her heart broken in the process?
Review:
This book is presented as a Christian fiction romance told “mostly” in an epistolary style, but I found it to be neither of those things.
This is definitely a light-hearted, no spice romance. I found Penelope endearing, and her love interest just the appropriate amount of grumpy with a reason. As a musical theater geek myself, I absolutely loved all of the references to classic musicals and how the male main character alludes to Gene Kelly. I also like that while Penelope is a sunshine character, we get to see how she has to actively choose to be happy and optimistic. It’s not her natural default. She’s given a depth.
Now, I love epistolary books, and I didn’t notice that the book said only that it was “mostly” epistolary, so I was jarred the first time there was a non-epistolary scene. I was willing to give it a pass, though, since it was a phone call scene. In fact, I could see how a phone call scene might work in a modern epistolary novel. However, by about two-thirds of the way through the book, most of the writing was typical book – not epistolary. It wasn’t even phone call scenes. It was basically like any modern book that includes some text messages and such. I like both styles of writing for different reasons, but I found the mixing the total flip-flop from one to the other jarring to say the least.
I realize this book is from a Christian publishing house, but I think it’s a marketing flaw to market it as “Christian fiction.” The characters’ religious beliefs played almost no role in the book. They mention God a few times, and the characters mention having gone to church a couple of times, but no scenes are set in a church. They mention praying but never actually pray on-screen. Also, in spite of being Christians, they never mention Jesus or the Holy Spirit, and we never see them reading the Bible. The blurb says that her faith guides Penelope’s decisions, but I absolutely did not see that in the book. I found Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating (review), published by a mainstream publishing house, to have more issues of religion and faith in it. One of the main characters is Muslim, and her faith impacts her relationships with her friends, we see her praying, we see her reading the Quran, we see her go to the mosque. All of which is to say, if you’re interested in the romance but turned off by the idea that it’s “Christian romance” – don’t be. On the other hand, if you’re interested in seeing faith represented in what you read, you won’t get that here.
This book is set on a fictional island colonized by the UK. The Indigenous people are mentioned in passing a couple of times (as “natives”), but we never actually meet one or see their culture. This is extra bizarre since The Darling House is a community-based theater. Why is it only celebrating the colonizer’s culture? There’s also a royal family that’s not tied to the UK anymore. There’s no exploration, even in passing, of the ethical issues in colonization or even a whiff of a suggestion of decolonization. I get wanting to set your romance in a fantasy land, but the way to do that is like the fake country of Genovia or the fake royalty in a fake country in Never Ever Getting Back Together (review). Why imagine additional colonization tragedies if you’re not going to explore them and broach the topic of decolonizing? The way the book is written, it’s clear none of the characters see any problems with colonizing or issues for the Indigenous peoples, and that’s not the sort of fantasy land I personally want to visit. This is also another example of how, in my opinion, this book is not really rooted in strong Christian theology, as social justice is a key Christian issue.
Overall, this is a lighthearted, no spice grumpy/sunshine romance. It focuses on the grumpy character’s heart warming up over time. The book itself makes some comparisons of the romance to The Sound of Music but the von Trapp’s resisted an invading fascist force whereas these characters celebrate a colonizing royalty.
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3 out of 5 stars
Length: 416 pages – average but on the longer side
Source: Library
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Book Review: Wanderlust by Elle Everhart
In this romcom that tackles hard topics, Dylan wins a trip around the world, the only catch is she has to go with a man she ghosted months ago.
Summary:
Feeling stuck at work and tired of London’s dreary weather, magazine writer Dylan Coughlan impulsively rings a radio station one day only to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip around the world. The catch? Her travel partner must be a contact randomly selected on her phone. And of course this stressful game of contact roulette lands on a number listed only as Jack the Posho, an uptight, unbearably posh guy she met on a night out and accidentally ghosted.
The two couldn’t be more different, and as the trip kicks off, Jack seems like he’d sooner fling himself into the sun than have a conversation with Dylan. But more is hinging on this trip than the chance to see the world. For the past two years, Dylan’s been relegated to writing quizzes (and only quizzes) at her lifestyle magazine after an article about her past abortion went viral—and not in the good way. If she’s able to make a series about their trip successful, her overbearing boss will give her a chance at a permanent column. Dylan’s willing to do anything to make the series a hit, even if it means embellishing her and Jack’s relationship to satisfy readers. But as the column’s popularity grows, so does the bond between Dylan and Jack, and Dylan is forced to consider if the one thing she thought she always wanted is worth the price she’ll have to pay to get there.
Review:
I picked this up off the library’s new book shelf because the romcom set-up sounded great. I was pleasantly surprised in chapter one to find that Dylan identifies as both queer and bisexual. Yay for more representation! But I actually ended up not liking Dylan particularly much by the end of the book.
Let’s start with the good. I found the romance sweet. It’s a classic grumpy/sunshine and organized/disorganized (Oscar and Felix for us olds out there). I liked how Dylan teased Jack for being posh and how he clearly didn’t mind the teasing. I was intrigued by why Jack was willing to drop everything to go on a trip around the world with someone who ghosted him who he also seemed to not like very much. And I was rooting for Dylan to find success blogging about her trip. The first destination was Australia, and it was definitely written the best. I could really visualize Australia, and I felt like we saw the characters spend an appropriate amount of time there.
In contrast, for a book about a trip around the world, a lot of the locations really breezed by. For example, India was less than a chapter. In South Africa we saw them at a dock. In New York we hear Jack excited about the Empire State Building but then don’t see the characters go there. It was a little bizarre for a book ostensibly about a trip around the world with a magazine writer. It was a let-down after the Australia chapters, especially.
The book deals with a couple of tough topics that might be a turn-off to some readers. Dylan wrote about her own abortion around the time Ireland was looking at its abortion policies. Her piece went viral, and she ended up being cyberbullied and doxxed. These topics aren’t mentioned in passing. They come up repeatedly in the book. Kind of heavy for a romcom. While the blurb I gave you talks about it, the blurb on the back of the print book I got from the library doesn’t mention it at all. It’s clear from looking at reviews that readers would have preferred knowing in advance, and I am glad the blurb was updated accordingly.
To me, Dylan started out likeable enough but became less likeable as the book progressed. The first glimmer I got of this was early on in Australia when Jack is nervous doing an activity, and she’s irritated at him because him looking and seeming anxious (while still doing the activity!) is impinging on her own enjoyment of the activity. This would be like saying your flight is ruined because a person in the seat next to you seems a little nervous during the flight but doesn’t talk about it and causes no issues. She has basically no empathy for Jack and is clearly self-centered. Which was jarring. As the book continues, it becomes increasingly clear that she acts without thinking. Ok sometimes people do that. But when it’s a recurring character trait that impacts other people (and hers does), that’s an issue. Especially for a character who’s almost 30. I also found how she spoke to her mother to be really terrible. She wasn’t trying to have a conversation with her mother (even though her mother was clearly trying to do so). She was giving her a speech without any interest in reconciliation. I don’t personally think her mother messed up enough to warrant that. And I didn’t like seeing it played up as some big empowering scene for Dylan. I thought it was quite sad, actually.
For readers wondering about the spice, this was an odd mix. The vast majority of the book is low spice/slow burn. Then there is one very spicy scene that takes up two chapters. (This scene also managed to make me like Dylan even less, and the score was already pretty low at that point). I found it jarring to go from all of the heat being from like a hand on the low of your back to a detailed spicy scene. I would have preferred a fade out and maybe some post-activities snuggling and pillow talk. It just fits the vibe of the rest of the book better.
Overall, the idea for the set-up for this romcom is stellar. Jack is a great leading man. But he’s set up with a leading lady who’s not particularly likeable, and the romcom is dragged down by some heavy topics.
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3 out of 5 stars
Length: 368 pages – average but on the longer side
Source: Library
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Book Review: The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
A travel journalist borrows a mascara from the woman in the cabin next-door to hers, but then the entire luxury cruise denies there ever was a woman staying there.
Summary:
Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. The sky is clear, the waters calm, and the veneered, select guests jovial as the exclusive cruise ship, the Aurora, begins her voyage in the picturesque North Sea. At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant: the cabins are plush, the dinner parties are sparkling, and the guests are elegant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a dark and terrifying nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard. The problem? All passengers remain accounted for—and so, the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite Lo’s desperate attempts to convey that something (or someone) has gone terribly, terribly wrong…
Review:
This is my sixth Ruth Ware book (two reviewed on the blog), and I generally enjoy them quite a bit, but this one was my least liked so far. Just like all of her books, the plot is sound and deliciously twisty. But I absolutely could not stand the main character.
We first meet Lo when she’s going through a break-in in her flat (first chapter stuff, not a spoiler). I think this is both supposed to make the reader empathize with Lo and later serve as an explanation for why she over-identifies with the mysterious woman in Cabin 10. Lo’s response to the break-in besides the logical things like changing her locks, is to drink a lot of alcohol and then wander over to her boyfriend’s flat in the middle of the night when she thinks he’s out of town. Then when he startles her by arriving home to his own flat, she (half-asleep) knocks out one of his teeth with a lamp. Then after he tells her he gave up a job to stay in the same city as her, she gets mad at him and starts a fight with him. Within twelve hours of knocking out his tooth. Maybe I’m just a little bit sensitive to tooth loss since I’ve been dealing for months with replacing a tooth lost to trauma. But I’m not sure how I’m supposed to like this woman after this set-up. It gets even worse when we later find out she’s on anti-anxiety medication that’s not supposed to be mixed with alcohol. Like. This woman is bumbling around like a bumper car in a pottery shop. So while I was curious about the missing woman in cabin 10, and the twists in that part of the story kept me reading, I couldn’t have cared less if Lo lived or died. Which is definitely not how I was supposed to feel given what a very real threat her life later comes under.
I liked the setting of a small luxury cruise ship on the North Sea. I could really see the ship in my mind, and it felt very much like a locked room Agatha Christie style story with the limited number of guests and crew to suspect. Perhaps we were supposed to think that Lo might be wrong about there being a woman in cabin 10, but I was quite confident from the beginning and the title of the book that she was a reliable (albeit terrible) narrator. There is a very slow literal locked room about two-thirds of the way in. I almost gave up at that part, but I’m glad I persisted because the twists were unexpected, and the scenery for the final confrontations was spectacular.
Overall, if you either think the plot makes the annoying main character worthwhile or, perhaps, you find her less annoying than I do, this is a fun, quick thriller read.
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3 out of 5 stars
Length: 340 pages – average but on the longer side
Source: Found in free pile
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