The Exorcist - William Peter Blatty

    A supernatural horror framed by psychology and doubt. Slow, deliberate and quietly intense.

    

    

    I had never seen the movie before reading this book, partly because I am not a fan of horror movies, admittedly because I was simply afraid, but the book had caught my eye, and thinking that a book can't cause fear, I delved into the possession of Regan McNeil.

    This book caught me by surprise right from the get-go; its methodical approach, its slow creep to the apex of its action, set it apart from many of the stories I had read so far. I think it's very fair to assume the evil forces of the supernatural are at play right from the beginning, but the story takes its sweet time to build it up and started by casting a different lens at the problem. The framing of possession via the unstable mental state of an individual is nowadays a very valid and commonly agreed-upon view, but mental health issues and awareness have been a very big focus of society in these past years, and it is important not to forget that mental health wasn’t always as important or as much at the forefront as it is today. Adding to that the increased comprehension of the human brain and all the issues that arise from it, I found it very interesting to see all the processes used to examine Regan and find a medical cause and solution to her “problem.” This leads into a slow buildup that progresses in some major bumps all throughout the book that eventually lead to The Exorcist.

    I found that the overall work that went into framing the story around the central cast worked really well; all the loops tie together very satisfyingly, and the atmosphere is always right on the spot.The main possession feels like a siphon for all the revolving plot threads, and most of everything resolves with it, giving everything plenty of time to cook and simmer and to be thought through before the end.

    Overall, I will give this book a 10/10 with my Seal of Approval and Must-Read status. It is pretty easy to read and very gripping; it left me stuck to its pages for several days, and it was hard to let it go. The atmosphere is always pressing down, and it ties the story and its characters together in a very natural way.