William Peter Blatty writes so rarely, that any novel by him should be cause for celebration. Unfortunately, DIMITER is a marked disappointment. Existing more on the side of THE NINTH CONFIGURATION than THE EXORCIST, the book is being touted as a theological thriller.
It certainly begins like one, in 1973 Albania, a land where no one goes anywhere — “they are taken.” A political prisoner known to us as The Prisoner is interrogated by — wait for it — The Interrogator, when he’s not being tortured, via a punch to the kidney, a truncheon to the groin, or the ol’ yank-out-all-your-fingernails trick.
A third of the way in, The Prisoner escapes, killing four on his way out, and revealing his true name: Paul Dimiter, aka the American “agent from Hell.” The narrative then jumps forward one year later, to Jerusalem, where we meet Dr. Moses Mayo and detective Sgt. Major Peter V. Meral, both involved in a string of mysterious happenings at a hospital; Mayo works there, while Meral investigates.
For a long time — too long — the reader is left wondering where Dimiter has gone; who Paul and Jean are, whose letters we’re privy to; and how all these characters fit together. Eventually, they do, but it’s akin to forcing puzzle pieces to join when their die-cuts don’t exactly call for a seamless union. Confusion bred contempt.
Blatty’s been working on this one since the 1970s, and I’m afraid it shows, as it lacks immediacy and urgency, and feels outdated. Touches of the supernatural and tangential eyewitness accounts that read like folklore occasionally help lift DIMITER off the ground; ponderous paragraphs that go on for more than a page pull it back down. With constant references to food — cheese, grapes, olives, risotto — the novel may make you hungry, but not for itself. —Rod Lott
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• ELSEWHERE by William Peter Blatty
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- Elsewhere
- The Unseen
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Hey Rod, you know I hunt down and kill people who diss THE NINTH CONFIGURATION, right? Actually, I reread and rewatched it (NINTH) a while back and even I can see that it’s far from perfect. But there’s just something about Blatty’s approach that I find extremely compelling, even when I know it might be lacking from a more objective point of view. So I’m going to give DIMITER a chance anyway. Your old pal, Cutshaw.