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October 2009: Peter Blatty: The Exorcist
- Thread starter Libra
- Start date
beer good
Well-Known Member
I read this a couple of years ago. Here's what I wrote then:
Exorcist is a great story, don't get me wrong. It's very much a period piece, written around the time of Woodstock and the supposedly biggest generational rift thus far in human history, in which a parent's child suddenly starts speaking in an unknown language and acting in a way the parent can only explain by supernatural means... hmmm. Well, horror is always metaphor at heart.
Profanities, obscenities and very graphic scenes aside, it's a pretty conservative story, too. It can easily be read as "the punishment for being a working divorced atheist mom is to have your daughter possessed, and you can only save her by believing". But hey, as a story, it works. I particularly like the priest, whose role (as far as I recall) is more central here than in the movie; a man who struggles with faith and all-too-human demons of his own. It's the parallel between him and the (largely absent) possessed girl that makes this a worthwile story.
The problem is in the writing. It's well-paced (for the most part), it works on more than one level, it's chock-full (perhaps too much so) of religious symbolism - as if it's not just poor little Regan but all of society that's given itself up to the Hornéd One - but it's also clear that Blatty is a screenwriter used to having a team of cameramen, directors and cutters on hand to give his stories life, NOT a novelist. This reads almost like a screenplay; the prose is a mixture of phrases that are supposed to sound poetic but mostly come out bizarre, and wooden, exposition-filled dialogue where no one seems to actually talk TO each other, just AT each other. There are more "she sobbed tearfully"s, "he explained patiently"s and "she screamed hair-out-pullingly"s here than you can shake a cross at, plus my personal pet peeve: the Foreign character who has a name which is all wrong for his supposed nationality, speaks in some sort of Foreigner English which sounds nothing like the accent someone of his suppposed nationality should have, and can't even speak his own language correctly when he tries. Granted, not a huge fault, but I just really wish authors would stop doing that; if you have no clue about a certain country and language, don't try to write characters from it. 'Kay? Kay.
It's a classic, and deservedly so, as it's suspenseful, fairly scary and actually manages to say something (though not necessarily something I'd agree with) about its time. But... yeah. It needs a director and a cameraman. And Max von Sydow.
Exorcist is a great story, don't get me wrong. It's very much a period piece, written around the time of Woodstock and the supposedly biggest generational rift thus far in human history, in which a parent's child suddenly starts speaking in an unknown language and acting in a way the parent can only explain by supernatural means... hmmm. Well, horror is always metaphor at heart.
Profanities, obscenities and very graphic scenes aside, it's a pretty conservative story, too. It can easily be read as "the punishment for being a working divorced atheist mom is to have your daughter possessed, and you can only save her by believing". But hey, as a story, it works. I particularly like the priest, whose role (as far as I recall) is more central here than in the movie; a man who struggles with faith and all-too-human demons of his own. It's the parallel between him and the (largely absent) possessed girl that makes this a worthwile story.
The problem is in the writing. It's well-paced (for the most part), it works on more than one level, it's chock-full (perhaps too much so) of religious symbolism - as if it's not just poor little Regan but all of society that's given itself up to the Hornéd One - but it's also clear that Blatty is a screenwriter used to having a team of cameramen, directors and cutters on hand to give his stories life, NOT a novelist. This reads almost like a screenplay; the prose is a mixture of phrases that are supposed to sound poetic but mostly come out bizarre, and wooden, exposition-filled dialogue where no one seems to actually talk TO each other, just AT each other. There are more "she sobbed tearfully"s, "he explained patiently"s and "she screamed hair-out-pullingly"s here than you can shake a cross at, plus my personal pet peeve: the Foreign character who has a name which is all wrong for his supposed nationality, speaks in some sort of Foreigner English which sounds nothing like the accent someone of his suppposed nationality should have, and can't even speak his own language correctly when he tries. Granted, not a huge fault, but I just really wish authors would stop doing that; if you have no clue about a certain country and language, don't try to write characters from it. 'Kay? Kay.
It's a classic, and deservedly so, as it's suspenseful, fairly scary and actually manages to say something (though not necessarily something I'd agree with) about its time. But... yeah. It needs a director and a cameraman. And Max von Sydow.
The Mythwriter
New Member
Whoah. I try to keep up with which movies are based on books, but I missed this one. I had no clue it started as a book, not sure if I really want to read this one.
Nice analysis on the style though, beer good.
Nice analysis on the style though, beer good.
Fantasy Moon
kickbox
I've started rereading the novel for this month's book discussion. I forgot how much I liked this book.
I enjoyed the book. It was interesting how the Father Karas character tried to find a psychiatric reason for the child's condition before he accepted that demonic possession was what they were dealing with. It addressed some of my questions regarding how can you tell the difference between a crazy person and a possessed one.
I need to go find the thread that dealt with real stories of demonic possession done by a priest and see how it measures up.
One question I have is that I don't remember if it was ever resolved who was desecrating the nearby church. Did I miss that? The girl was tied to the bed so who was it? Maybe someone could respond in a few days so not to spoil too much for the those currently reading.
I need to go find the thread that dealt with real stories of demonic possession done by a priest and see how it measures up.
One question I have is that I don't remember if it was ever resolved who was desecrating the nearby church. Did I miss that? The girl was tied to the bed so who was it? Maybe someone could respond in a few days so not to spoil too much for the those currently reading.
Anamnesis
Active Member
I finished it today and
that thread was left opened. I'm guessing it was the same demon that possessed Regan, but I could be wrong.
What did everyone think of Detective Kinderman? For me, his personality and mannerisms were off-putting . . . almost like he was the comic relief. The rest of the story was finely structured, but whenever Kinderman came onto the scene it felt like I was reading chapters from a different book.
Yeah, he had a very Columbo-like feeling to him. Bumbling and easy to underestimate.
Libra
Active Member
Voting for November BOTM is open until tomorrow..:whistling:http://www.bookandreader.com/forums/f23/vote-for-november-2009-botm-19199.html
Fantasy Moon
kickbox
I find myself especially liking the chapters dealing with Damien Karras. Reading this reminds me of Dee Snider's film Strangeland because he uses "Capt Howdy" as his online alias.
Gee I read this book years ago. I wish I knew about the Book of the Month earlier, I would have re-read it with you all.
I think I was around 14 years old when I read it. What I remember was being home alone and reading the book and being quite terrified. While I was reading the book, a framed picture fell off a wall in the room and I just about had a heart attack. LOL.
I think I was around 14 years old when I read it. What I remember was being home alone and reading the book and being quite terrified. While I was reading the book, a framed picture fell off a wall in the room and I just about had a heart attack. LOL.
Libra
Active Member
Check for any empty boxes of Fireline....:whistling:Maybe this time a picture will levitate.
The month isn't over yet. Feel free to join in at any time.
Maybe this time a picture will levitate.
LOL. I'm trying to get my hands on the BOM for November, so I can join a discussion at the beginning
