Reincarnation discussion

My review of The Gargoyle follows:

I began to get an idea why the publisher paid $1.5 million for this novel (the highest ever paid in Canada) after the first few pages. Andrew Davidson is able to tease stories out paper with his pen like his character, Marianne, is able to tease gargoyles out of stone with a chisel. Through the mouth of Marianne and with images straight out of Dante's Inferno, he tells 700 years of stories of Marianne's reincarnations which have included whispering nuns, fiery arrows, callous mercenaries, deadly plagues, lost ships, gregarious Vikings, and being buried alive.

It's with a man's cocaine-influenced fiery car accident and his subsequent treatments in a burn unit that the novel itself begins. However grotesque this situation really is, the author is able to find the perfect words that transform the story into a work of art. The car is falling into the pit of Dante's hell and the burn victim's bed is in the belly of a bleached white skeleton.

So here we have a man who was orphaned at birth, who was brought up by meth addicts who eventually blew up their house, and who later became a model and then a porn star to make ends meet on the street (Of course, after sustaining 1st-4th degree burns over most of his body and having a penectomy, there's not much of that career left.)

As the man is lying in his hospital bed thinking of a spectacular way to kill himself involving hanging, jumping from a building, a bullet to the head, an overdose, and a razor blade to the wrist all at once, a psych patient wanders into his hospital room. She swears she's known him for 700 years, tells him this is the 3rd time he's been burned, says she knows how he got the scar on his chest, tells him stories of dragons and monks, and leaves him a grotesque (not to be confused with a gargoyle) that she herself carved for him. Then she proceeds to tell him stories about the various lives they've met in.

This is a masterpiece of a book indeed. I've not seen so much symbolism and layers of story in a modern book in a quite a while. I found myself lost within the stories within the story and gasping for air at their astonishingly horrible and beautiful endings. This is definitely a book worth careful scrutiny and more than one read.

I just read this entire book yesterday.
I couldn't put it down & probaby read too quickly, so this is indeed one of the rare few I will go back & read again. I actually just read the first few pages again & thought "ahhh, I forgot about that!"

Deception PastBy Ann M Hauer

I decided to read this work as I, like many I know, harbor an interest in Tarot and Regression Therapy (Past Life experiences). The story has a few main characters, aside from ‘Brenda’ whom is telling the story of Sand. I personally found that I enjoyed the spanned time-frame with historic events and Sand’s view on them.
It opens in the present in the year of 2007 to set up the events that begin in 1958, beginning the story of Sand (Sandy) when she is four years old. Entries go back to the current time with Brenda, then back in time to Sand. They also touch back even further in time with Sand’s dreams, and those identities that the characters embrace. It was very interesting to see how the paths crossed and the past caught up to the present and the effects.
While reading, it was interesting for me to see how I felt a bond with Sand on her view of the world. She seems to follow her own heart and mind and refuses to allow those in her life influence her. She is open with her thoughts and ideas with a few select friends, but only to a degree.
While it is summarized as ‘a story of betrayal and forgiveness’, I felt there was so much more. The symbolism is quite apparent throughout the tale, and not just with what each Major Arana of the Tarot represents (for each chapter). There are awareness lessons that can be learned and applied by the reader in daily life if they so choose to see them. I found that I was very involved in this story as I was searching to connect the dots of the past and to see if peace within could be attained for the characters. A very great story that sweeps you along the way.