Is it my faith background or was it just my time to be afraid of a book?…

“For I think belief in God is not a matter of reason at all; I think it finally is a matter of love: Of accepting the possibility that God could ever love us.” -Father Lankester Merrin(The Exorcist)

As a man of Faith like our priests in this novel, and a geek for horror… I could tell that William Peter Blatty understands both worlds. This book had no problem taking its horror to the unforgivable, while also refusing to shy away from the hope that’s found in Christ!

The demon possessing Regan could actually be traced back to demonology. Pazuzu, the demon of sickness and disease! Yes! He’s unbelievably blasphemous and offensively vulgar when speaking through a 12-year-old girl. And I loved it! I wouldn’t expect anything less from pure evil.

This book also tried its best to explain away Regan’s possession with science and psychology. The refusal to give any credit to the supernatural was realistic. The doctors even suggested an exorcism while calling it physiological healing that tricks the patent into getting well.

I appreciate the process of elimination before running to the priests. I love how the author created faith-based characters that felt like real people. They were not perfect saints nor ever claimed to be, they struggled with faith, and were not quick to declare this a spiritual thing.

I’m always being asked about my faith and how I’d describe it for myself. I think Father Merrin sums it up perfectly when he speaks on his own faith.

“At last, I realized that God would never ask of that which I know to be psychologically impossible; that the love in which He asked was in MY WILL and not meant to be felt as emotion. No. Not at all. He was asking that I ACT with love”
-Father Lankester Merrin(The Exorcist)

This novel is a 5/5 EASY FOR ME!
It’s a book that understands the culture of horror, faith, good vs evil, science, psychology, mental health, and everything else that was so ambitiously covered! The writing skills of Blatty were remarkable and inspired me to up my game!

What else could I say? I loved it!

-DylanTheDreamer