The Gargoyle

The story begins with a handsome young man driving whilst under the influences of drugs and alcohol. He suddenly sees a vision of shooting arrows coming towards him, swerves and crashes his car. The car catches fire and he watches himself burning, unable to move from the vehicle.

Surprisingly, he survives and ends up in a burns ward where he gets a visit from a stranger, Marianne Engle: a sculptress who tells him stories of how they met centuries ago. She takes him under her wings, provides financial and medical treatment as well as unconditional love. This is ultimately a story of friendship and love. It has short stories that weaving in and out of the main story line, which was a nice feature. These short stories are about characters who have loved and lost and were heart warming, although sad, to read.

There was plenty of vivid descriptions along the way, which at times was gruesome. The nameless main character I grew to love even though he was portrayed as a vile man before his accident. By the end I truly believed he was a changed man who had made friends through his journey of self-discovery and had understood the true meaning of love. The ending left me wondering whether Marianne had indeed lived the life she had claimed or had been good at researching the past in order to spin her tale.

I absolutely loved this book, it was unique, thought provoking and takes you through a multitude of emotions, from horror to tenderness. I would highly recommend this book.