I've decided to do something different with today's post. I've decided to do a book review. Why? Well, A) its been a while since I've found a book that was interesting enough for me to blow through in a week like I did with this particular novel, and B) its a novel that I feel is greatly underrated and very, very misunderstood.
The novel is William Peter Blatty's
The Exorcist.
Now, I know what a lot of people are thinking. "Ugh, how could you read that dreck! That horrible filth that does nothing but glorify the devil and demonic possession."
Well, no. If you actually
read the book, you'll see that while the events that transpire
are very horrific, and I won't lie, extraordinarily offensive, you'll also see that at the core, the novel isn't about the demonic possession at all. Its about the conflict between good and evil. Its about how doubt and faithlessness concieve powerlessness. How sometimes there are things that go beyond the help of science, or medicine. How sometimes, in order to save a life, logic and facts must be put asside and replaced by faith and courage to face the unknown.
I borrowed this summary from Amazon.com, because if I tried to summarize the novel, it would take forever.
"A visiting actress in Washington, D.C., Chris MacNeil, notices dramatic and dangerous changes in the behavior and physical make-up of her 12-year-old daughter, Regan. Meanwhile, a young priest at nearby Georgetown University begins to doubt his faith while dealing with his mother's terminal sickness. And, book-ending the story, a frail, elderly priest recognizes the necessity for a show-down with an old demonic enemy."
That's the very basic version. As it turns out, the 12 year old girl's behavior simply cannot be explained by medical science. Every doctor she is taken to is baffled, every psychiatrist completely at a loss (particularly the one that is attacked by the girl.) Finally, the atheistic actress turns to her last resort, as often is the case with the previously faithless: the Church.
Enter Father Karras, a priest whose mother has recently succumbed to illness, a priest who feels guilty for, as he sees it, abandoning his mother for his faith. Karras has, for quite a while, begun to feel heavy doubts in his beliefs, and throughout the novel, inwardly tries to rationalize everything that happens to Regan. Some of his rationalizations become even less believable than the idea of a higher power being in control, but Karras is afraid of re-embracing his faith for fear that he'll just be disappointed again. Finally, still not completely certain of his faith, he requests permission to perform an exorcism on the girl.
Enter Father Merrin. The Church, well aware of Karras's crisis of faith, opts to bring in an experienced exorcist, a man who had his own crisis of faith until he was forced into a showdown with a devil years ago during a dramatic exorcism in Africa.
I won't ruin everything, but basically by the end of the novel, Karras realizes the only way to truly save Regan from the devil that has infected her, is to abandon his "rationalizations" and come to terms with the fact that only through God, and faith, can he hope to defeat not only Regan's literal demon, but his internal, metaphorical demons as well.
I find this to be a very good message indeed. Now, a lot of people will say "Okay, he tacked on a happy message, but that's not excuse for the vulgarity.
In all honestly, I don't think the message would have had as much of an impact, were it not for the absolutely graphic and vile nature of the demonic entity. Willam Peter Blatty included the vulgarity, and purposely made it offensive to get across one message: there does exist true, extreme, absolute, and unadulturated evil in this world. Evil that does not hold back. Evil that will scar. Evil that will do the worst imaginable things. But that there is a very real and effective defense against this evil. Faith. Through faith in God, even such powerful, pure evil can be defeated.
The Exorcist was a very powerful novel. It was very gritty, very realistic, and very raw. And it also came with a very good message. It isn't a message for everyone, however. If you're perfectly satisfied with your faith and beliefs, and have a distaste for the horror genre, you may just find
The Exorcist nothing but offensive and disturbing. But if your one who constantly forgets that God is in all things, that He shouldn't be a last resort, but a first resort, and that through faith in Him even the most vile of darknesses can be lifted... one like me, who unfortunately sometimes places too much in front of his faith
... The Exorcist can be just the jolt you need.
That, and its a damn good read. It's very well written, and very, very enthralling. If you enjoy good literature, you'll most likely enjoy
The Exorcist.
There's also a sequel called
Legion, which I plan on picking up. You'll most likely find a review of that one later.
So, to make a long story short,
The Exorcist was a good novel. Well written, good message, but you may want to stay away from it if you don't like scary stuff or are easily offended. I won't lie, the book made me cringe a few times and made my nights a little more restless. And that's kinda tough to do, for me. But, it wasn't anything unbearable.
Anyway, books are good. That's my main point.
Au revoir, kiddies.
