The Ninth Configuration

There’s a stillness I experience on completing a great book that defies description. For some time, I don’t feel like reading again. It happened to me after I finished 1984, with the Road, and a handful of books between. Now it’s happened again with the Ninth Configuration.Readers who seek popcorn are bound to be disappointed. If you only examine the dialogue’s surface, much of it would probably appear unstructured, perhaps even boring. For such readers the action probably comes too late, and at too much cost to their time.But here is the genius of the writing. There are many threads that swim just below the surface. Like the tension that builds in the madmens’ rantings, as Cutshaw’s efforts to avoid the truth draw him closer to that which he refuses to face.As an atheist, a few times I became agitated. It seemed I’d slipped into a sermon. But then I remembered how puzzled I have always been by conservatives who respond emotionally to science, and decided I was being hypocritical. So I allowed myself to be drawn back into the narrative. And I was glad I did.Beyond discussions of God, and passages that may, or may not have been intended as a missionary’s polemic, there were many engaging philosophical questions. These questions are sharpest when Blatty expressed them in a dichotomous form. It’s difficult to explain without spoilers, hence my vagueness. There are three examples that will sit with me for a long time. The use of violence to express compassion (during and following the bar fight), using a ‘mad man’s’ insight to cure insanity, and reaching out to another through suicide.There were a few instances where I experienced the writing as a little heavy handed. Its hard for me to decide if that reflected my cynicism, or the novel. I feel the most profound points are often made obliquely, when the reader is forced to think, to grapple with ambiguity, and draw the connections themselves. However, for the most part, subtlety prevailed, and the few narrative intrusions were small and insufficient to detract from the work.Many times I literally laughed out loud. The writing is just that witty. On that point, I have rated other books five stars that wouldn’t hold a candle to this book. But here is where the rating system is flawed. If you read a comic, then you are not going to judge it against Tolstoy, you are going to judge it against other comics. If you read this book as a psychological thriller, one aimed squarely at intelligent adult readers, then it deserves five stars. If you judged it against classics, then IMHO, it gets a very solid four stars. But it hasn’t had time to fill that shelf space yet. So its five stars from me!

Despite being less than 200 pages, the book still takes a long time to get going. The first 2/3 of the book often feel like they're going nowhere. I imagined Blatty, before he started writing the novel, first sat down with a notepad and pen and wrote down a laundry list of bizarre, abstract phrases:- "The man in the moon f'ed my sister!!"- "Robert Browning had the clap and he caught it from Charlotte and Emily Bronte!"- "Why do camels have humps but cobras have none!?"- "Martians keep grabbing Barbra Streisand!"Once he'd completed his list, Blatty then decided on a way to weave these random mutterings into a story. Consequently, the first 2/3 of the book seem to consist of of nothing more than a psychologist, Kane, sat at his desk while a procession of patients come in and out of his office uttering hundreds of ridiculous things like the examples above.It gets a little tedious after a while, but don't give up. In the final third of the book, it all makes sense and there is a very powerful and emotional payoff at the end. The passages about religion, science, and the compromise between the two, are all very well written and thought provoking. I wish there was more of this type of content and less of the silliness and forced eccentricities of the patients.I've heard Blatty considers this the final part of his Trilogy alongside The Exoricst and Legion, but in my opinion, The Ninth Configuration is clearly the odd one out. There is no horror or terror whatsoever, and the usual dry intelligent humor that exist in the other two books is replaced by daft farce. The only common thread that still exists is the focus on Catholicism and Blatty's exploration of religion.I read the book in a weekend, it's a very light read, and the conclusion is very hard hitting and thought provoking. You just have to stick through the first 100 pages to get there.

This book, originally released as 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Cain', and also made into a movie entitled The Ninth Configuration, is an awesome story. Blatty, best known for The Exorcist, (also made into a great movie), does not disappoint! The story is very engaging, and superbly crafted. I highly recommend this book. After reading the book, watch the movie as well, it is well worth your time.

Fun and weird.Fallacies of logic.But..well...it’s fiction.

This novel did not grab me from the first page, or until really the middle, when I began to appreciate the complexity of what was going on. It seemed nonsensical and wandering until about halfway through, and then not only was I struck with the ambition and execution, but again with Blatty's Christian message, as in The Exorcist. This is NOT a horror story at all, but a carefully crafted and deftly created work of art dealing with what war does for belief in God and His often confusing "methods" of showing us what free will actually means for the human race and for our individual humanity. I was so struck by the ending I have not been able to start a new novel for several days, which is quite unusual for me. So get it, and hang in there, because it will definitely be worth it.

Was not what I was hoping for in light of The Exorcist and Legion; this was more of a Catch-22 meets One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest to me. Well written and poignant, but simply too trippy for my taste.

The book is a gift for my son. He likes this genre of books and is familiar with the author’s work. He was happy to receive the book and looks forward to reading it.

I'm not going to say much about this. I think William Peter Blatty is an incredible writer and I was sad at his passing. If you have not read anything by him then you should. If you have not read the Exorcist because you are scared by horror, you should give it a try. It is so much more than a horror story and you will come away with such an appreciation for his writing. Everything he touched was excellent whether it be books or directing. This book is the same. The story, characters, ideas are so brilliant! Get it. Read it. Enjoy it.

Es una obra compleja, mucho más que las otras dos de la trilogía , solo la ata al exorcista por un pequeño detalle pero es bastante interesante, más que un libro de suspenso o posesion es un documento más bien teólogico, trata mucho la duda sobre la existencia de Dios ... es maravilloso pero si se compra por pensar que será como legión o el exorcista no les gustará.

Una lectura bastante corta pero interesante. Si buscan algo parecido a El Exorcista posiblemente sentirán que este libro se queda corto, sin embargo este tiene bastantes puntos buenos. Tiene muchos temas teológicos y existenciales que muchos nos hemos planteado en algún punto. Bastante recomendable, he quedado satisfecho con esta historia.

I was highly disappointed with this book considering I had enjoy other books by the same author and enjoyed them thoroughly. This to me was a step in the wrong direction. It is too hard to follow too many characters it's very haphazard and the ending was just unbelievable it was almost as though the author ran out of steam. Maybe it's one of those love hate books but for me I didn't enjoy it as much as his other books. The worst thing is this is a rewrite from twinkle twinkle killer Kane but still a poor effort. But hey don't take my word gospel this is just my opinion.

Very short but well written.