Crazy Book

With this book, acclaimed horror author William Peter Blatty has told a story uncharacteristically bright and sentimental.
Coming from the guy who wrote the infamous novel, The Exorcist, as well as its uniquely unsettling sequel, Legion, this simple story of a boy who meets a charmingly mysterious young girl and, through his rare and extraordinary encounters with her, falls in love, sounded interesting enough on its own. The fact that Blatty wrote it made me very keen to read it.

Those who haven't actually experienced the work of this author would be forgiven for typecasting him as just another fucked up horror writer. But Blatty is nothing of the sort. Even reading The Exorcist, I was amazed, and most pleasantly surprised, with how strongly faith and the goodness of God, plays a part in his writing. He always seems to challenge his, and the reader's, optional faith, that there could really be a God, and "that He could possibly still love us" ... only to reaffirm it with brutal, poetic force, at the end of the story.

But aside from the fact that his writing was much deeper and more "philosophical" than I had ever expected, I was also just stunned by how beautifully he writes. Of all the writers I have enjoyed reading - King, Bierce, Ellis, M.R. James, being the more prominent ones - I still always cite Blatty as my favourite writer. Not necessarily my favourite author, as I haven't enjoyed every one of his books; and have, in fact, hated one of them. But he's easily my favourite writer, in that his style of writing I find the most beautiful and engaging to read. Generally, I try to mimic his style in my own writing. (That's not to say I write like him. My stuff always accidentally leans more towards the tropes of Stephen King, though with a devastatingly evident lack of that man's talent).

But having, not too long ago, read his abysmal take on the Haunted House genre - (that being Elsewhere) - my fondness of him was becoming a little disillusioned. But fortunately, when it came time to selecting my next book from the sizeable collection I have, this one called out to me much stronger than usual.

And, I am pleased to say, it was really a wonderful book. It was quite different from his usual fare, but I enjoyed every page of it. Blatty infuses a great amount of humour into the story, and even though there were many references to historical figures I didn't know, I still was able to keep up with it for the most part.
And aside from being funny, it's also pretty moving, inasmuch as it's basically about the importance of kindness and generosity, and how these and other good acts will help pave the way for the next life, if indeed there is one.
To be honest, I actually wasn't that thrilled with the ending. It led to some confusing points I thought didn't actually make much sense. But overall, the ending was still fine, and it didn't detract from the story that much.
I'm pretty sure this book wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. Going off the general reaction readers seem to have on Goodreads, I think that's a fair statement. But I personally loved it, and it makes me feel sad that Blatty never exactly got the recognition he deserved. Even his most famous novel is nowadays completely overshadowed by the film.