William Peter Blatty's Legion, reviewed by Vic Fortezza
William Peter Blatty set the literary world ablaze with The Exorcist, published in 1971, adapted explosively to the screen by director William Friedkin in 1973. He wrote ten other novels and twelve screenplays, a number of which he collaborated on with Blake Edwards. I just finished Legion (1980). It too is set in Washington, D.C., twelve years later. Many of the characters return. The plot centers around murders committed with the M.O. of a serial killer believed dead. Most of the action is seen from the point of view of an aging, overweight detective, Lt. Kinderman, a wonderful literary figure reminiscent of TV’s Columbo, so brilliantly played by the late Peter Falk. The major difference is the depiction of the protagonist's thoughts, which hunger for meaning, an explanation for the terrible suffering he witnesses, especially when the trail leads to a mental institution. He is a natural acerbic wit who frequently employs Yiddish. Although I grew up in a neighborhood that had a large Jewish presence, I was unfamiliar with several terms, chazarei (bad food), for instance. Kinderman is very well read, in effect a renaissance man, probably self taught. He is a close friend of priests, whose brains he picks. In the film version of The Exorcist he was portrayed by the great Lee J. Cobb, whose image I envisioned and voice I heard while reading. He did not have much screen time, if I remember correctly. I wonder if many of his scenes wound up on the cutting room floor. Anyway, Legion is much more than a mystery. It is existential drama. Some of the classical references went over my head. At times Blatty goes too far with the cop’s ramblings. Despite this, it is a fast read, prose and dialogue solid, its 269 pages reading more like 220. I suspect the resolution would not satisfy fans of the mystery genre. Does Kinderman reach a conclusion about the universe? Yes, in the epilogue. My guess is that he is speaking for the author, whose opinion may have evolved or changed entirely since he completed the work. It's as good as any theory of what brought about the great mystery that is life. On a scale of five, I rate Legion 3.5.
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