THE GARGOYLE HUNTERS is a debut novel by native New Yorker John Freeman Gill. In this
story, set in mid-1970's New York City, 13-year old Griffin tries to cope with his parents' dysfunctional relationship and struggles with the expectations of the family's architectural salvage business. It is fascinating to read about his adventures climbing around buildings as, per his Dad's direction, he rescues and liberates gargoyles and other sculptures.

Gill, an expert on historic New York buildings, seamlessly educates his readers about facades and construction while cleverly raising questions of greed, decay/demolition and preservation/progress. Also, the father son dynamics will offer a potential starting point for Junior Theme students as this quote illustrates: "just standing beside Dad, the force of him, so often rendered me inarticulate. His imminent disapproval was a weight I could never quite stop trying to push off me." THE GARGOYLE HUNTERS is both funny and poignant; it received a starred review from Booklist which also recommended this title "for fans of Donna Tartt and Colum McCann."

Father and son coming-of-age story in 70's New York at a time when city pride was at a low and building demolitions were rampant. At first reluctant to join his father, young Griffin eventually grows to love his time with his dad 'reclaiming' the city's finer architectural pieces and learning a questionable trade to boot. Somewhere along the way his father seems to go astray and Griffin is drawn yet again to the unstable life his father has created. A story with a big heart, full of tough love.

1974 is a hard year for Griffin Watts. His parents have split up and they argue over money when they do see each other. He’s growing up with little guidance in a chaotic household. Plus, there’s a girl he likes, but Griffin has no idea how to be with girls. In The Gargoyle Hunters, a coming-of-age novel by John Freeman Gill, Griffin gets a hard lesson in hanging on to the past as he works with his father to save New York City’s architectural heritage from neglect and urban renewal.

Griffin is 13 in the summer of 1974. He’s young enough that he still does what his parents tell him (mostly), but is starting to get old enough to wonder if what his parents tell him to do is really the right thing. Near the beginning of The Gargoyle Hunters, Griffin is pressed into service by his father to “salvage” terra cotta sculptures and other decorations from New York’s remaining Gothic Revival, Beaux Arts, and Art Deco buildings. To get closer to his father, Griffin soaks up his father’s stories about New York history and architecture.

At first, working with his father is a thrill. They bond over the history of the city and the dangerous lengths they have to go to save architectural ornaments. But their expeditions always take place at night and many have some element of breaking and entering about them. Before too long, Griffin begins to see that his father’s salvage business is an obsession. Meanwhile, Griffin has to contend with his regular life as a thirteen year old with girls, teenaged humiliation, a distant mother, poorly thought out pranks, and just trying to figure out who he is as a person while the city of New York goes through its worst financial crisis.

I was initially drawn to The Gargoyle Hunters because of the architectural salvage. I love older buildings’ elegance and detail. When I visit places like Chicago, Seattle, Salt Lake City, and Vancouver, I like to wander around and gawk at the details on hundred year old buildings. Newer, plainer architecture doesn’t appeal to me. Architectural nostalgia, I found, is the backbone for this book. We can’t go back to the past, none of us. What we can do is remember what came before, preserve the best parts, but keep in mind that the future is ahead of us like a lot ready for a new building. After all, all of the great cities are buried on layers of history that never really go away.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review consideration. It will be released 21 March 2017.

An incredible, bizarre, wonderful history of New York City's Nineteenth Century landmarks and one obsessed man, who wanted to save them all. I wanted to love this character for his love and knowledge of these amazing architectural feats of old NYC, some that I've actually seen as a child; but I also wanted to shake him for his neglect of his wife and children. He seemed, he did, care more about the pillars, gargoyles, and plaques, than his family. His quest was his obsession and he couldn't help himself. But oh what an adventure he takes us on, just the original Pennsylvania Station alone makes me long for the beauty of those buildings. Highly recommend.