The Exorcist - William Peter Blatty

After reading 3 or 4 horrible books that just couldn't keep my attention, I decided to go with a classic that everyone seems to love that I haven't read yet. I scoured a book sale for the perfect book, and found it in the form of the 1971 gem, The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. And it helped that I snagged an old-as-dirt copy. As someone whose never read the book or seen the movie (I still won't see the movie, it'll take away from my love of the book, I'm sure of it), I bring you a completely fresh opinion.

Synopsis

The story begins with a small family of an actress mother, Chris, and her pretty little 12 year old girl, Regan. Regan began hearing things and talking to her imaginary friend, Captain Howdy, through a Ouija board. Strange things begin to happen to Regan - she begins cursing and lashing out, and strange banging noises are heard in her room. Chris knows that Regan isn't quite herself, and seeks opinions from doctors who try to lock Regan up in mental hospitals to get the psychiatric help that they feel she needs. But when Regan's condition gets worse (she killed one of her mother's friends while no one else was home), and Chris is at wit's end, she desperately turns to the church for help - in the form of an exorcism. Will the great exorcist Father Merrin be able to team up with Father Karras - a local psychiatrist/priest who is seriously questioning his faith - to rid Regan of her demon? 

Review

This story was a two-day read for me. I couldn't put it down! William Peter Blatty's descriptions of Regan's changes into the demon were crystal clear, and they painted the image of her perfectly in my mind. My heart broke for Chris, a soon to be divorcee who just wanted to make her daughter better. And I felt for Regan as well, because she was obviously in pain and couldn't control the things that were happening to her mind or body. The book was beautifully structured, and I couldn't think of anything that would possibly improve it. 

There are a lot of references to religion - most of which are explained within the text, but you've been forewarned. I'm personally not into religious reads, and this book isn't particularly religious, but the story was so scary and flowed so well that it kept me on my toes and made me want to keep reading. I think what made it so scary was a combination of items - such as the Ouija board and straps to hold Regan down, people such as Captain Howdy (Dee Snyder in the movie Strangeland? Anyone?) and Karl (Karl was the strange housekeeper), and the unknown of death and spirits that no living person - even a seasoned exorcist - can truly understand. Another point that makes this story scary is that it's almost a true story. The Exorcist was actually based on the story of a boy in Maryland, who ended up going on to college and becoming a scientist at NASA!

This book got a little raunchy/graphic/gory at times, so I wouldn't recommend it for a younger audience. But for most of the adult population (particularly the part of the population who doesn't get easily offended), I would give this wonderfully frightening read four and a half stars. 

Cheers!