The Demonologist by Andrew Pyper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
First off, from beginning to end the writing is well done; descriptions are clear and concise, nothing feels left out or over-explained. Characters are developed in a way that feels natural and real and the story being told from one character’s point of view really adds to the mystery and horror the story has. The story itself, raises questions, not only in relation to the story but to some aspects of real life. It challenges the reader to think about the beliefs of the world; aspects their share, what each one tries to represents for the people that follow them.
Now for spoilers. You were warned.
The main character, David, goes through a lot. He goes to Venice where his daughter is possessed and taken, his best friend gets terminal cancer and his wife decides to leave him, finally, after his return from Venice. Heavy shit. But David shows his determination throughout the journey forced upon him by this demon. His trip to Venice was always suspicious to me. The fact that he was essentially forced into this journey felt weird and I thought he could have just not gone. As the story went on, however, I saw that, in some way, the test was needed for David to come to terms with a lot of past feelings he kept avoiding. Tess, David’s daughter, seemed more in tune with this ‘dark crown’ she saw her father wearing and somehow knew about the events of the test that was to come. She seemed in tune with the things her father refused to believe and had some idea of how to get past obstacles long before she was taken. Her knowledge was one of the things that boggled me and has me still wondering how long she could have had this information.
O’Brien is one character I was happy to see throughout. The mutual love and understanding she shared with David is something most people can only come close to. You feel his dismay at her death sentence and his pleasant disbelief when he sees her again. Their banter is one that annoys yet astounds as the two show their closeness through wordless understandings and subjective approach to this not-so-subjective situation. Even with her cancer eating her away, Elaine O’Brien never felt weak or in need of help. Even as she was dying, she thought of David first, (regardless of if she still had doubts about what he was doing).
The ending was expected, wanted even; but the way it was executed was not. It kept to the mood of the story while giving the most appropriate method of the two reuniting. There was no epilogue, no quick explanation of what happened outside of the journey. Just the reuniting of a father and his daughter, a man finally coming to terms with a memory he altered to cope with a trauma, a man believing in the good he has done and the reward he has received for same.
I love this book and how it has challenged a lot my thinking. As well as helped me with my NaNoWriMo project this year…lol.
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