Customer Reviews

The Holy

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Anyone familiar with this author's work knows that there's no one quite like him writing today. It's as if he starts every book saying to his readers, "You think you've got me pegged, don't you. Well, take a look at THIS!" Then he proceeds to write something unlike anything you've ever read (and unlike anything he's ever written).

I've read all his books, most of them several times, and I can tell you that in THE HOLY he outdoes himself--and everyone else around. It's in a class of its own. The only book that comes close is John Fowles' THE MAGUS, and I personally think THE HOLY is a better, deeper, and more enthralling novel.

In my opinion, the thematic heart of Quinn's novels is not Saving the World (as many might say) but rather The Quest. Quinn's heroes aren't looking for love, happiness, or wealth. They want THE ANSWER--to the profound questions that trouble us all in a world that seems to be going mad. But not all his heroes are asking the same questions (or getting the same answers). Two seemingly unrelated quests drive THE HOLY--both strange, both even a little mad--but they ultimately converge in a maelstrom of passion, violence, death, and transfiguration that is unmatched in any book I've ever read.

This isn't just Quinn's best. I honestly can't name a novel that I'd rank above it.

When you read Stephen King or Anne Rice or Clive Barker, you know they're only kidding. They don't really believe in demon-possessed cars, immortal vampires, or faerie worlds hidden in large carpets. When you read The Holy--a novel as fantastic, as gripping, and as terrifying as any produced by King, Rice, or Barker--you'll know that Daniel Quinn isn't kidding.

In this regard (and this only), The Holy is similar to The Exorcist, another book by an author who wasn't kidding (it was based on the true story of a child's demonic possession in the 1940s). People reacted powerfully to The Exorcist, both as a book and as a film, because they perceived clearly that William Peter Blatty wasn't just giving them a fright they would later laugh about. (I've always believed The Exorcist probably brought more people to the Roman Catholic Church than The Song of Bernadette did.) Even if you aren't a believer, reading or seeing The Exorcist can make you teeter in your disbelief.

Quinn's book will have the same effect on you. It will have the same effect, because you'll recognize that the supernatural realm he's exploring is not one he just made up to give you a scare. It's a realm that humans have acknowledged and taken seriously for as long as there have been humans, a realm familiar to shamans in every land, a realm discussed in the scriptures of every religion (including the Bible), a realm that was alive and thriving before the first humans walked the earth and will be alive and thriving when we're gone. The jacket notes describe the inhabitants of the realm this way: "They knew us before we began to walk upright. Shamans called them guardians, myth-makers called them tricksters, pagans called them gods, churchmen called them demons, folklorists called them shape-shifters. They've obligingly taken any role we've assigned them, and, while needing nothing from us, have accepted whatever we thought was their due--love, hate, fear, worship, condemnation, neglect, oblivion."

The publisher describes this as a metaphysical thriller, and it is. But it's also much more. Like any really great book, it's one you'll definitely want to read more than once.

Well, here we go again. Daniel Quinn is not an instant access author. The first time I read Ishmael, I got so impatient with the book that I tried to throw it into an active fireplace. Luckily I missed and decided to put it back on my shelf. That was 7 or 8 years ago. About two years after that I decided to pick it up again, because I was trying to make my then fiance' happy. I didn't like it all that much more, but stayed with it anyway. And that patience made all the difference. The Holy is a different type of book, but the mechanism is the same. I know that almost doesn't make sense. You see, in order to appreciate Quinn, you really have to "listen" while you read, which is a strange necessity for reading a book. His characters can infuriate you because of their godawful myopia, and then all of a sudden, you realize it's you that's the nearsighted one. At least I think that's his point. He is an acquired taste that is worth pursuing. Don't give up on him. Hear him out. You'll be glad you invested the time.

Unlike other reviewers here, I'm a first-time Quinn reader, so I have no idea whether The Holy is his best or not, but I can tell you it's one heck of a book, a true supernatural thriller that I can only compare (favorably) to books like The Shining and Shadowland, with a cast of unforgettable characters that climb off the page right into your head. I opened it the other night after dinner, figuring I'd read till bedtime--wrong! I couldn't quit till I turned the last page at 3 a.m. If I had a couple of books this good to read every week, I'd be in heaven!

In THE HOLY, a private investigator who is living a dull, eventless life is offered an event. A friend needs a mystery solved: Why did people throughout history turn away from the great eternal, supernatural, omnipotent God that we meet in the major monotheisms and look to the gods of pagans for their deepest needs? Sounds like a job for a PhD in theology, but in this story, it is the task of a reluctant, regular guy. The investigation takes him across the country where he meets individuals that you probably wouldnt seek out for spiritual advice. Yet, as he begins to explore what these people are saying (and showing) to him, he begins to see things differently. I found myself amazed by the alternative perspectives offered by the people this man visits.

I thought I may have finished the book, and then I realized THE HOLY was just beginning! Another man from another place, on an impulse, leaves his job, his home, and his family to journey into no-where. Or at least, no-where any of us have ever gone. I cannot begin to describe the places and experiences that this man encounters in his voyage into this shady, unknown world of mystery. Its dark, surreal, and even scary at the same time that its enchanting and magical. The realizations that this man comes to about himself and about life in general will knock you light-years off your keel.

The characters in this book travel intertwining roads in a master-crafted tale of how some ordinary people are presented with opportunities that lead them all over the country, and eventually to those mysterious presenters themselves! This is the shocker that will change the lives of the books characters, but will also change the way we see religion, our own lives, and the world itself. If you've ever felt too familiar with life or too shelled in by the world as you know it, this book is your answer.

The cover says: "The forbidden gods: Reach out to them, and they will reach back." And when they do, nothing will ever be the same.

Having read and loved some of Quinn's better known work, specifically ISHMAEL, I was pleasantly surprised when I cracked THE HOLY. His message is as strong as ever-humans are still ruining the planet with their selfish notions of entitlement-but Quinn's approach is more subtle than the Socratic conversations of ISHMAEL or MY ISHMAEL. This book is part road novel, part detective novel, and a convincing metaphysical thriller throughout, but it doesn't fall in to the trap of new age hooey that might have convenienced a less skillful writer. Quinn keeps things fresh, strange, beautiful, and cynical enough to keep the most hardened skeptic on board. It's fun, fast reading, and you might actually learn something along the way.

1. A review for all readers:

"The Holy" starts out very interesting with a little story about a boy and continues with the story of a private detective who gets a rather unusual case. This said, it sounds like the most average book around. But what happens at around 1/3 of the book has simply to be read to believe it. The author tells the story of a man who can't take his life anymore the way it is and simply quits it. He packs his stuff, says goodbye to his family and boss and drives away. The chain of events that happens to him then is so unbelievable, that you will find yourself quite often shaking your head. Not because you will say "Yeah, right!", but because you just can't believe all the things that are happening. Quinn takes the reader very far until he delivers the solution to all of it. This is real suspense. It is nearly impossible to put the book away, because you know that you have to read on until you know what the hell is going on.

And then, when it comes, when the solution is coming along, your mind will quite simply be blown away. Everything flows together, everything, even the most absurdest things make sense. All you'll can do after you closed the book is to think. It is impossible to put it away, saying "Okay, that was that." It changes your mind, making yourself ask questions you wouldn't have thought of before. You'll have a new way to look at the world.

Of course, this was the same with all of the other Quinn novels, but none of his books ever got you so involved with the story and characters, like "The Holy" does. Quinn has a beautiful way of writing, describing the characters so detailed and perfect, that you exactly know what to think about them. There are no clichees, no stereotypes. The story is outstanding, getting everywhere from crime to gambling to religion to murder to fate to satanism to animism to zombies and to life itself. The book starts like "The Story of B", continues as a John Irving-novel going beserk and ends like no other book I've read before.

If you just a need a really good book, read "The Holy". No matter, what kind of literature you're interested in, this book will surely satisfy you. This is Quinn's best work up to now.

2. A short review for all Quinn-experienced readers:

Read it! :) Really. Sure, maybe you won't find any new ideas that strike you as much as in the other books, but all you know up to now from the "Ishmael"s or "Story of B" is so perfectly put in here, that you'll just love it. The other books were so revolutionary for your mind because the ideas were so new, while the story was not always satisfactory (especially in "My Ishmael"). With "After Dachau" he proved that he can write really great stories without forgetting the big ideas. With "The Holy" he proves that he simply can do anything. This is Quinn's best work up to now, even better than "The Story of B".

The Holy is the flip-side of The Story of B. For every hidden stone B shines a light on, The Holy takes an underside peek. This is not an easy book to read for Cheery Optimists like myself-there is more blood, death, pain, and terror than in all Quinn's other books combined, yet in the end it's still the same world Quinn's been showing us since Ishmael.

That said, The Holy doesn't quite live up to its own expectations (the glowing self-review on the dust-jacket, for example). It's not as plodding as After Dachau, but it could have lost fifty or a hundred pages somewhere. Too much of the action is spoon-fed, and Quinn has yet to improve his characterizations of children (think My Ishmael).

Check this book out if you're looking for a great, epic horror ride-check out Quinn's first half dozen books if you'd rather rest on the brighter side.

I am familiar with most of Quinn's work. It has never failed to move me. The Holy is no exception. It is a very well written and exciting book that I read in record time. It gave me, and will give you a new perspective on life, religion and the story we are all told. Have a great time reading!

I have read all of Quinn's work and grow with each book - he is a unique thinker and he challenges his readers - in the best way. This was no exception. It is different from Ishmael and some of his better known work - as the other reviews point out - but certainly just as powerful and provocative - and much more "thrilling." I could not put it down!