Book Review: Shrine, by James Herbert (1984)

Alice Pagett, a young, mute girl residing in the small town of Banfield, is transformed into a living miracle worker after an apparent visit by the Immaculate Conception. She heals the sick, cures facial tuberculosis. The faithful come to Banfield in droves, driving up the economy, allowing people to cash in on good fortune. But is it all good fortune?

Alice frequently says she sees the Immaculate Conception near a decrepit tree in an adjacent plot of land. What does the tree have to do with curing people? Why won’t the church admit that Alice is a messenger from God, sent to do his work?

When the local priest tries to explain to his Bishop that his own church is barren of spirituality, Gerry Fenn, a local reporter, tries to put the pieces of the jigsaw together and uncovers much more than he ever wished for.

I was very young when I first read this novel, perhaps before my teenage years. James Herbert was a large influence on my love of the macabre and all things sour and dark, and Shrine at least at that time, fit perfectly in my repository for storing all things damned. Recently, after reading it again, I see its flaws and how it could be improved, but can’t all novels?

Shrine is not one of Herbert’s most graphic. There are some good descriptive scenes of occurrences, some completely over-written, and there were some scenes that served no purpose to the story. Regardless, Herbert is addictive to read, and it isn’t easy to put down his literature.

One cannot help thinking through the first half of the novel why an apparent miracle worker is the focus of a horror novel, and the storyline itself is intent on ensuring that the reader does not know whether young Alice is a good or bad person. If she is good, then Shrine fits perfectly with her intentions. If she is evil, then why is she curing people?

The plot and subplots mesh well in this story, and flow together nicely. Our main character, Gerry Fenn, is easy to identify with despite his flaws, and it was understandable why he kept going that extra mile for extra information. It is what I perceive reporters do. Gerry’s inexperience shows, but additional characters are there to give him the additional information he needs to make informed decisions. It is clear that he is also honest and, perhaps, a noble person who not only understands ethics (contrary to him being a reporter), but he also defines himself through his actions.

It is peculiar to note that I cannot locate the cover for the copy I own on the internet. The one used in this article is for illustration purposes only. When I find it, or when I can scan the cover, I may update this article!

Above all else, Shrine is a distant memory of me, a young boy who loved horror and, more than twenty years later, has read that same book again and wants to be a horror writer, just like James Herbert, hopefully better.