The Exorcist - A Novel by William Peter Blatty (US edition, paperback) - 9780062094360

"A horror story for all midnights." — The Boston GlobeInspired by the shockingly true story of a child’s demonic possession in the 1940s, William Peter Blatty's iconic novel focuses on Regan, the eleven-year-old daughter of a movie actress residing in Washington, D.C. When sweet Regan's behavior turns sinister, a small group of overwhelmed yet determined individuals take it upon themselves to rescue the poor girl from her unspeakable fate. Timeless and terrifying, The Exorcist is a story that has gripped the public zeitgeist for more than half a century. Originally published in 1971, it remains one of the most controversial novels ever written. A literary phenomenon soon after its release, it spent fifty-seven weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, seventeen consecutively at number one. It also became a wildly popular motion picture, garnering ten Academy Award nominations. On the opening day of the film, lines of fans stretched around city blocks. In Chicago, frustrated moviegoers used a battering ram to gain entry through the double side doors of a theater. In Kansas City, police used tear gas to disperse an impatient crowd who tried to force their way into a cinema. The three major television networks carried footage of these events, and CBS’s Walter Cronkite devoted almost ten minutes to the story. The Exorcist was, and is, more than just a novel and a film: it is a true landmark of American culture. . . and a reflection of our innermost fears.Purposefully raw and profane, The Exorcist continues to engross and disturb readers. It remains an unforgettable reading experience that will continue to shock and frighten new generations of readers.Four decades after it first shook the nation, then the world, William Peter Blatty’s thrilling masterwork of faith and demonic possession returns in an even more powerful form. Raw and profane, shocking and blood-chilling, it remains a modern parable of good and evil and perhaps the most terrifying novel ever written."A horror story for all midnights." — The Boston Globe"There are not many readers who will be unmoved. Written in a literate style, The Exorcist is to most other novels of its kind as an Einstein equation is to an accountant's column of figures." — New York Times Book Review"Immensely satisfying, it hold its readers in a vise-like grip worthy of Poe." — Los Angeles Times"Wonderfully exciting." — Newsweek"Absolutely superb. Blatty makes you think this scary tale really might have happened." — Cleveland Plain Dealer"Up till dawn, I was, with The Exorcist. A shocker . . . driving to a violent conclusion." — Cosmopolitan"A page-turner par excellence. Poe and Mary Shelley would recognize [Blatty] as worki