The Exorcist

This book, in my opinion, is a "slow descent into hell," with a steady tempo that creates fear through scientific and clinical research before the supernatural aspects take over. One of the main strengths is the characters. Chris MacNeil is a compelling, desperate mother, and Father Karras shows a relatable struggle between faith and science. The philosophical queries raised in the book concerning the existence of God and the nature of evil are terrifying. Many readers may find the novel's graphic depictions upsetting and offensive, and it is intentionally raw and profane. Detective Kinderman offers a much-needed respite from the stress. Overall, I liked the novel's theological and philosophical elements as well as the tension that show more underpins the plot's development. show less

The Exorcist is an incredibly atmospheric read, and what really surprised me was just how strong the character drama is. The dialogue has a wit to it that’s a real treat, and the detective subplot adds this extra layer that I really enjoyed. The tension throughout is excellent, though the pacing can feel a bit slow in places before it ramps up. Honestly, the possessed Regan doesn’t land for me quite as well as in the film — the book’s version comes off a bit too chatty — but the ending hits in a way that feels both familiar and superior to the movie. At its core, the novel is the same story, just more of it, and for me, the Kinderman/Karras moments are the absolute highlight.

I read this one on Halloween night, as one does. Suffice to say it took a few hours after finishing before I could turn the lights fully out.

I'd already had an idea of the basic plot, thanks to cultural osmosis, but I've never actually seen the film. Reading this, though, the author's cinematic background shines through. My friend, the one who gave me a copy as part of our All Hallow's Read tradition, says that the film is extremely faithful to the book- I believe it.

I was seriously impressed by some of the technique, enough that I wish I'd been coming to this blind. There's a moment, directly after the daughter's "illness" is shown to be a serious problem, where the viewpoint jumps ahead a few weeks in time- and opens on a funeral. show more For a moment, even knowing that this "illness" was demonic possession, and we had much more to go - I truly thought the girl had died. Except earlier in the novel two characters had joked about how "clever" a filmmaker thought he was being by carefully syncing the closing and opening shots of two scenes.

That's what a lot of this novel felt like, from the perspective of technique- the author has the same sly charm as a magician- one who gives away the act before performing it, yet still leaves viewers amazed by the trick.

Of course, the content of the possession was deeply disturbing, as expected.

I'm not one for horror, usually- I like the lighter side of the macabre, that deals with "being Other" rather than plumping the darkest depths of the psyche- but I thought I'd be okay with this old chestnut. I mean, everyone knows the plot, it's been parodied and satirized for decades no- should be no problem. Holy crap nope.

There's something terrifying about sheer inhuman hatred, especially when it's directed indiscriminately. Even more so when the source hates itself- like a rabid animal with an intelligent mind. Hate and self-destruction.

The ending, though... maybe it's just a consequence of the lighter fare I tend towards -- but I was expecting a win, and I was expecting some form of closure. What we get is more the shadow of both, in that manner where the monster might be waiting around the corner and the heroic sacrifice was more about giving up, only by the grace of passing Deus ex Machina do we get redemption.

I liked it, but I wish, almost, that the ending had gone darker. That the girl is freed but the priest, having lost his personal crisis of faith, is consumed-- from what I hear of the sequel this might be where things are headed, but I don't think I have the stamina to read anything as disturbing as this again so soon. Maybe next year. show less

A surprising little of this is actually scary. It might seem like that would be a detriment. After all, it's supposed to be a horror story about a demonic possession of a child and the exorcism to save her soul and her life. But, actually, this is a very satisfying book and it's extremely well-written.

There are a few slow points near the beginning, but it's a very character driven story and I absolutely love that. It really delves into the characters, their backgrounds, the type of people they are, the things they're struggling with, their innermost thoughts and feelings and fears and worries. Because of that, it's a very engrossing, interesting read and it's difficult to put down for very long.

It felt far more psychological than show more anything else, although there was definitely an air of desperation and intensity that didn't go away once it began.

I found the characters of Chris MacNeil and Father Karras to be, at times, rather infuriating. Father Karras with his constant doubting that was wasting time once it left the realm of being cautious and following the rules and veered into just being stubborn. Chris MacNeil with how desperate she was to help her daughter, willing to go to great lengths to do so but yet with the smaller, simpler things she dragged her feet or just outright refused. She also engaged in a lot of shoot the messenger and sometimes even outright lying, which was understandable but no less frustrating for it. I sometimes got the feeling that she played a little more helpless than she really was, helped along by the fact that she was certainly exhausted and distraught and with good reason, to avoid really being forthright and honest with Father Karras. At least a couple of times.

I think my favorite character was probably Father Dyer, and a close second being Detective Kinderman. Father Dyer had a wonderful sense of humor and was a gregarious sort, and I loved the way he teased Father Karras (or, well, anyone really) and I loved his friendship with Father Karras. Detective Kinderman was a lot like a lovable Columbo type and I'll always have a soft spot for him.

A great book and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes psychological horror, or just simply enjoys character-driven stories that grab you and suck you in. show less

Transcends being a horror genre novel into just being a great novel. The author's narration is perfect, from the grovel in his voice to the sincerity with which he reads. Extremely unusual to have an author that's also a great voice actor. Nothing feels cheap or underwritten the way most supernatural fiction does. Punchy, noir like writing in description and dialogue. Characters with some depth. Even having seen the movie and knowing roughly what happens I was pulled in as if the outcome was unknown.

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Reread 2023.

I picked up this Harper Perennial edition of Blatty's classic horror novel with the perfectly creepy cover at the Barnes and Noble in Sioux Falls, South Dakota early last month, thinking it would make for some good Halloween reading. Little did I realize, it would also become a chilling meditation on the state of America in late 2024.

Frankly, I might not have picked up the book if it weren’t for the grab-you-by-the-(eye)balls cover design by Milan Bozic. The pea-soup green, the high-contrast eyes and mouth, the font configuration into a cross: it’s the visual equivalent of icy fingers down a spine. “Buy me, Pathetic Mortal!”

I have an interesting history with The Exorcist (the novel), dating back to 1979 when I picked up the show more original classic purple cover with a blurry photo of what looked like a tormented woman. I think I plucked it from the free paperback books rack at my local library. I was 16 and on the edge of teenage rebellion; in fact, this may have been my shining Rebel with a Cause moment. As a shy preacher's kid in my small Wyoming town, reading The Exorcist was my middle finger to conformity. I didn’t drink or swear, but I could read subversive adult books. In fact, I very purposefully read The Exorcist in public, holding it in front of my face like a billboard advertisement for depravity.

And that's when things went south for me.

Read the rest of the story at The Quivering Pen: https://davidabrams.substack.com/p/what-im-reading-the-exorcist show less

A suspenseful novel using basic stereotypes of a young scientifically trained priest and a wise old antiquarian cleric who team up to battle a globe trotting demon. Throw in an old disheveled detective (Chesterton's Fr. Brown?) with a penchant for chitchat for good measure. Both priests end up dying with the younger Fr. Farras, possibly, allowing his death (at the moment of invitation to demonic possession) to be paralleled with Jesus' exorcism of demons into the swine found in Mark Chapter 5. This is probably intended as a Christ-semblance by vicarious death for another, but actually it is an unsound and illogical ending, in the christian religious sense. The first half of this book is very well paced and masterful for what it show more suggestively leaves out of the narrative. Not a book for the more devout and pious christian to easily get through. show less