The Sentinel (novel)
Encyclopedia
The Sentinel is a novel written by Jeffrey Konvitz
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priest who spends all of his time sitting at his open window.
Alison is romantically involved with Michael Lerman, a private lawyer and former prosecutor
. It soon becomes apparent that Alison's life is beset for a number of reasons. She had a horrible relationship with her recently deceased father, and has narrowly survived at least one suicide
attempt. Michael himself is under suspicion in the death of his former wife. A determined New York City Police Department
detective named Gatz is sure that Michael murdered his wife, and soon comes to suspect Alison as well.
Hoping to leave her problems behind her, Alison finds that they've worsened. She suffers sleep loss, horrible nightmares involving her father and soon begins to find herself suffering blinding headaches.
Looking for some distraction, she tries to ingratiate herself with the building's other occupants - but finds that they are bizarrely eccentric and obnoxious. Alison complains about her neighbors to the building's real estate agent. The agent is confused, telling a shocked Alison that there are no neighbors - besides for herself and Fr. Halloran, no one else lives there.
Looking for answers, Michael breaks into a records archive of the Catholic Church. Researching the past of Fr. Halloran, Michael learns that the man has none. Rather Halloran's life "began", to the day, that another man's life apparently came to an end, leading Michael to believe that the two men are one and the same. He also finds similar records for a woman, a nun
named Sister Therese who is to reside in Alison's building. Michael soon concludes that Sister Therese is actually the woman that Alison is meant to become.
Rushing to Alison's building, he confronts the blind priest, only to be killed. Returning to the building, her headaches returned and her skin beginning to desiccate, Alison finds Michael seemingly unhurt. He reveals that he is actually dead and also damned for killing his wife. He also explains that the house is actually positioned over the gateway between our world and Hell
and that there must be gatekeeper to protect the world from the denizens of the underworld. Until now, that gatekeeper, or sentinel, had been Father Halloran, but Alison is now expected to succeed him. Her troubled past, especially her suicide attempt, make her the appropriate choice. The inhabitants of Hell are actually her fellow "neighbors", and they know that they have one chance to escape the abyss - pressuring Alison to complete her suicide. At the last minute, Father Halloran appears and saves Alison, driving the "neighbors" back to hell.
The book ends with Alison becoming the new sentinel
A sequel titled The Guardian followed.
It was written by Konvitz also.
Jeffrey Konvitz
Jeffrey Konvitz was born in 1944 in New York. He was educated at Cornell and the Columbia University School of Law. He is probably most known for writing the novel The Sentinel, published in 1974. It was followed by a film adaptation in 1977, which he produced and wrote the screenplay for...
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Plot summary
Alison Parker, a beautiful but troubled fashion model moves into a gorgeous New York City brownstone house that has been divided into apartments. The house is inhabited on the top floor by Father Francis Matthew Halloran, a reclusive blind CatholicCatholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
priest who spends all of his time sitting at his open window.
Alison is romantically involved with Michael Lerman, a private lawyer and former prosecutor
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
. It soon becomes apparent that Alison's life is beset for a number of reasons. She had a horrible relationship with her recently deceased father, and has narrowly survived at least one suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
attempt. Michael himself is under suspicion in the death of his former wife. A determined New York City Police Department
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
detective named Gatz is sure that Michael murdered his wife, and soon comes to suspect Alison as well.
Hoping to leave her problems behind her, Alison finds that they've worsened. She suffers sleep loss, horrible nightmares involving her father and soon begins to find herself suffering blinding headaches.
Looking for some distraction, she tries to ingratiate herself with the building's other occupants - but finds that they are bizarrely eccentric and obnoxious. Alison complains about her neighbors to the building's real estate agent. The agent is confused, telling a shocked Alison that there are no neighbors - besides for herself and Fr. Halloran, no one else lives there.
Looking for answers, Michael breaks into a records archive of the Catholic Church. Researching the past of Fr. Halloran, Michael learns that the man has none. Rather Halloran's life "began", to the day, that another man's life apparently came to an end, leading Michael to believe that the two men are one and the same. He also finds similar records for a woman, a nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
named Sister Therese who is to reside in Alison's building. Michael soon concludes that Sister Therese is actually the woman that Alison is meant to become.
Rushing to Alison's building, he confronts the blind priest, only to be killed. Returning to the building, her headaches returned and her skin beginning to desiccate, Alison finds Michael seemingly unhurt. He reveals that he is actually dead and also damned for killing his wife. He also explains that the house is actually positioned over the gateway between our world and Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
and that there must be gatekeeper to protect the world from the denizens of the underworld. Until now, that gatekeeper, or sentinel, had been Father Halloran, but Alison is now expected to succeed him. Her troubled past, especially her suicide attempt, make her the appropriate choice. The inhabitants of Hell are actually her fellow "neighbors", and they know that they have one chance to escape the abyss - pressuring Alison to complete her suicide. At the last minute, Father Halloran appears and saves Alison, driving the "neighbors" back to hell.
The book ends with Alison becoming the new sentinel
A sequel titled The Guardian followed.
Film adaption
See The Sentinel (film)It was written by Konvitz also.