The Gargoyle, by Andrew Davidson

I walked past this book many times and noted its cover. There was something very compelling about it, but the title was off putting. The word Gargoyle is so connotative and takes me back to childish fears of the dark.

One day, though, I actually picked it up and read the publishers blurb -- actually, the inside back jacket -- and discovered that Andrew Davidson is Canadian AND from Manitoba. I was enticed and took it home.

I have to admit that it took me awhile to become engaged. Firstly, the opening seemed contrived and I didn't appreciate the narrator speaking directly to the reader. Reading about the pain and disfigurement of the horrific burn actualized those childish fears of the dark. The fact that the author was Canadian encouraged me to read on, and I'm so glad I did. Yes, there were times when I rolled my eyes, but I was hooked and couldn't put it down. I guess am truly drawn to aspects of the world that are outside the classical rigours of symmetry and proportion prescribed as beauty. I may come to see Gargoyles as beautiful, after all.

I think this review from the Edmonton Sun sums it up nicely, “A wild page-turner and a boldly impudent work that flirts with the trappings of gothic romances, historical novels and fantasies while skirting their clichés and remaining defiantly unique.”

I would recommend this book to most, and especially to those who enjoyed Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet.

Publisher's Blurb:
An extraordinary debut novel of love that survives the fires of hell and transcends the boundaries of time. On a burn ward, a man lies between living and dying, so disfigured that no one from his past life would even recognize him. His only comfort comes from imagining various inventive ways to end his misery. Then a woman named Marianne Engel walks into his hospital room, a wild-haired, schizophrenic sculptress on the lam from the psych ward upstairs, who insists that she knows him - that she has known him, in fact, for seven hundred years. She remembers vividly when they met, in another hospital ward at a convent in medieval Germany, when she was a nun and he was a wounded mercenary left to die. If he has forgotten this, he is not to worry: she will prove it to him. And so Marianne Engel begins to tell him their story, carving away his disbelief and slowly drawing him into the orbit and power of a word he'd never uttered: love.

Barbara Hambly

Recently, our hot water heater died a slow and watery death... water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink... And in hind sight, we were lucky. We didn't have significant damage but 2 boxes of books had to be thrown out. As I was sorting through the titles, I found two long ago favourites by Barbara Hambly, and I'm happy to report that I enjoyed the stories as much as I did -- dare I admit it -- 20 years ago!

The first book I read was the The Ladies of Mandrigyn, featuring the main characters, Sun Wolf and Starhawk -- mercenaries. Magic, deception, love, action, suspense -- it has it all. I just love these two characters. With a bit of research, I discovered that there are three titles in total that have Sun Wolf and Starhawk:

1. The Ladies of Mandrigyn (1984; Locus award nominee, 1985)
2. The Witches of Wenshar (1987; Locus award nominee, 1988) -- I can buy it used as a trade paperback for $128!!
3. The Dark Hand of Magic (1990)

Dragon's Bane (out of print) is also delightful. I loved the witch Jennie and the reluctant Knight, John. Funny, fantastic, and delightful.

So now I'm on the hunt of these other titles. In the meanwhile, I've started the Raven Sisters story (two titles) and then I'll start The Benjamin January Mysteries. Perfect summer reading.

Foreign Tongue: A Novel Of Life And Love In Paris by Vanina Marsot

This book was recommended to me by another staff member. At first, I wasn't impressed. It was an old story of someone trying to mend a broken hear in Paris -- the City of Love. Whatever. Even the translation of the erotic story seemed contrived as a opportunity for the author to flex her erotic writing skills.

After a few chapters, I came to enjoy the book. Not for the story, but rather for the exploration of language. Pages were devoted to the art of translation, and the nuances of the two different languages. I'm not sure if someone without some background with French would enjoy this work, though.

Here is the publisher's blurb:
Paris, the storybook capital of romance - of strolls down cobblestone streets and kisses by the Seine - may not be the ideal location to mend a wounded heart. But pragmatic professional writer Anna, who has been unlucky in love in L.A., has come here with keys to her aunt's empty apartment. Bilingual and blessed with dual citizenship, she seeks solace in the delectable pastries, in the company of old friends, and in her exciting new job: translating a mysterious, erotic French novel by an anonymous author.

Intrigued by the story, and drawn in by the mystery behind the book, Anna soon finds herself among the city's literati-and in the arms of an alluring Parisian-as she resolves to explore who she is . . . in both cultures.