yours to keep

Book reviews:

Incredibly Loud and Extremely Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

I’ll start by saying that I enjoyed this book but not without some serious reservations. First and foremost the 9 year old protagonist, Oskar Schell, is the most tiring character I have ever come across. I initially stopped a reading a few pages into the book because of this and had to wonder why everyone he met in his quest around New York City didn’t feel the same way. Moreover, I thought the way the other characters treated Oskar to be a little too kindly in spite of his complete lack of social graces.
I also found that the story of Oskar’s grandparents left me feeling more confused than anything. The breakdown of nothing places was hard to follow and, to me, incomprehensible in why anyone would choose to live that way. The grandmother’s acceptance of the grandfather’s decisions was equally hard to believe.
At the bottom of all of this is a story of love and loss set not long after Sept. 11, 2001. It’s an emotional tale and one that is worth reading despite the confusion and fatigue encountered along the way.


The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

This is Davidson’s first novel and, according the book flap, the product of seven years composition and research. I have no difficulty in believing this. Davidson’s nameless protagonist suffers horrible burns at the beginning of the novel and everything from the burning of his flesh to his brutal rehabilitation is described in meticulous detail. Despite the grim and often unpleasant specifics this is where the book excels. Unfortunately the novel isn’t able to sustain this momentum or believability. Ultimately, The Gargoyle is a story about love and redemption but its meaning gets muddled when folded into Dante’s Inferno and when mixed with some heavy handed Christianity.
There is an unfortunate comparison on the back of this novel to Life of Pi by Yann Martel. It’s possible to see how a comparison could be made (though a weak one) and in the end it doesn’t do Davidson any favours. Martel’s book holds up long after the last page has been read but the more I think about Davidson’s the more I think about what didn’t work, rather than what did.