Goodreads | The Historian

topics	replies	views	last activity
There's No Worse Thief than a Bad Book	70	419	3 hours, 14 min ago
You'll love this ...: The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova	1	14	1 day ago, 01:31PM
College Students! : FYI..	19	53	7 days ago, 12:29PM
100+ Book Challenge: koralute's books of 2008	4	185	9 days ago, 09:35AM

Meredith rated it:

(review of isbn 0316011770)

09/06/08

Read in July, 2008

recommended to Meredith by: Laura Rice said not to read it. She was right.
recommends it for: Henry James Fans

You know you’ve been in school too long when you write a vampire novel, and Dracula’s ultimate threat is to force his victims to catalog his extensive library of antique books. On the other hand, after finishing The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova, and its detailed Vlad the Impaler research, I’m willing to consider that threat as akin to impalement. If Kostova’s re...more You know you’ve been in school too long when you write a vampire novel, and Dracula’s ultimate threat is to force his victims to catalog his extensive library of antique books. On the other hand, after finishing The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova, and its detailed Vlad the Impaler research, I’m willing to consider that threat as akin to impalement. If Kostova’s references to Henry James did not reveal her as an admirer of his, then its sprawling prose, vague plot, and sexually confused characters would have. While respect for Henry James is not enough in itself to make me wish undeath on an author, it sucked the blood out of this adventure.

Kostova writes The Historian in epistolary form, primarily through letters from a father historian to a daughter (presumably) historian. The greater part of the book, however, focused not on this father/daughter team’s desperate search for family member(s) and Dracula, but on the obscure history of Vlad Tepes, the historical figure who inspired the legend of Dracula, and the geography of Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey during the Cold War. If the Travel Channel was ever looking for someone to host Istanbul on a Budget 1980 or Passport to Monasteries Behind the Iron Curtain, Kostova would be their woman. Whether the history and geography is true or not, volume of trivia padding this book and the work it had to have taken to put it all together is confounding.

Even with the impressive research, however, this story is Scooby Doo with no Scooby Snacks. Dracula would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for those pesky historians. Dracula and his henchman, the “evil librarian,” don’t plague society or cause panic. Rather, they make appearances in goofy disguises in libraries and cafes to give books and other clues to especially promising young historians, inspiring the recipients to begin insatiable quests to find out more about this Dracula fellow. Then, Dracula inevitably shows up again to slap people around a little, so that the historians will be too afraid to continue their research. Once, after giving a historian a book to start him on his vampire studies, Dracula disguises himself as “a stranger” and buys a historian a drink called, “whimsically, amnesia”. Bet you can’t guess what that does - all that research down the tubes. Stop the mind games, Dracula! Not to be deterred by Dracula’s or the evil librarian’s threats, the historians continue to stalk their prey until the reader would pity Dracula if he weren’t annoying, because he is ultimately only trying to build a book collection and a gang of faithful research assistants.

In painful detail, Paul, the central historian/vampire slayer, as he tells his daughter the story of his search for Dracula, also tells of falling in love with her “mannish” mother, Helen. The consistent descriptions of our heroine as “manly” only hint at Paul’s sexual confusion, which becomes most apparent when he meets his rival, Helen’s ex-boyfriend, a Soviet spy. Paul describes this meeting to his daughter in chapter 38. “’What a pleasure to meet you,’ [ex-boyfriend:] said, giving me a smile that illuminated his fine features. He was taller than I, with thick brown hair and the confident posture of a man who loves his own virility – he would have been magnificent on horseback, riding across the plains with herds of sheep, I thought.” Except for the word “virility”, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of reading that description. If the author of the quote had been a man, I would encourage him to openly write gay characters rather than making his characters marry to hide their sexuality. From the author’s picture on the dust jacket, I see that she is Madame Bovary, so the description fits.

It is true that because of the vagueness of the plot and the epistolary structure, entire chapters and characters could be cut from this book without losing any story. Beyond its rambling descriptions, however, The Historian flounders as a vampire story. Psychological conflict adds complexity to most vampire stories, as in Braham Stoker’s Dracula, when Mina, formerly a protagonist, becomes bloodthirsty. Thirst is the most basic human experience, and all vampires started as humans. Theoretically, thirst (or, more broadly, desire) could become evil in anyone, and, therefore, of all monsters we most easily identify with vampires. In The Historian, however, I am left with the impression that if those historians left poor Dracula alone, he would have just kept collecting books. It was ultimately the research and study, not Dracula himself, that took the historians away from their loved ones and almost destroyed them. From where I’m reading, The Historian is solid evidence of what most high school kids could tell you: that too much study is both boring and potentially bad for your health.
...less

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

2 comments

Jason rated it:

05/28/08

Read in May, 2008

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com:]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally.)

So first, a disclosure: I actually received a free used copy of Elizabeth Kostova's 2005 modern vampire tale The Historian unexpectedly in the mail one day, from author Akmal Shebl at the same time he sent in his own book Prisoners in Paradise for review, not as a bribe I think but ...more

Like this review? yes (4 people liked it)

add a comment

Gena rated it:

01/11/08

bookshelves: stacks

Read in May, 2006

The Historian

By Elizabeth Kostova

Kostova received two million dollars for this debut novel, an almost unheard of sum for an unknown writer, but I’m sure it went a long way in reimbursing her expenses for the research that would have been required to write The Historian. Make no mistake, this is a lush and beautiful book, each passage is fleshed out in detail reminiscent of the grand medieval cathedrals and libraries in which it takes place. The reader is drawn into the past quickly and...more The Historian

By Elizabeth Kostova

Kostova received two million dollars for this debut novel, an almost unheard of sum for an unknown writer, but I’m sure it went a long way in reimbursing her expenses for the research that would have been required to write The Historian. Make no mistake, this is a lush and beautiful book, each passage is fleshed out in detail reminiscent of the grand medieval cathedrals and libraries in which it takes place. The reader is drawn into the past quickly and presented with the vast knowledge Ms. Kostova has of the Ottoman Empire, Eastern European folklore, and the legend of Dracula.

At it’s heart, The Historian, is the story of a young man led to believe his missing professor has been whisked away by the evil Vlad Tpesch, Dracula. Paul xxxx is drawn into a world where history and myth walk hand in hand. He receives a mysterious book, blank save for the chilling emblem of a dragon at the very center. When he shows this book to his mentor, Professor Rossi, it sets into motion a chain of events that lead him from his university in London, to Constantinople, Romania, Bulgaria and eventually the Transylvania province of Walachia. Along the way he meets a mysterious Romanian woman also searching for Rossi, a noble Turkish Scholar, various priests and numerous villains. His steps are dogged by bureaucrats, as well as the undead, making this a long and complicated search not only for Rossi but for Dracula as well.

Most vampire tales rely on cloaked figures, fangs gleaming, jumping out of dark alleys or taking the shape of a giant bat to prey on their innocent victims. The Historian has none of this melodramatic buildup. It plods along, gathering information about the real Walachian Prince, taunting not only our hero and his female companion but the reader with some menace and a few appearance of an undead librarian but for the most part the real blood sucking is minimal. I’m a history buff so the background information and the search for Dracula is something I find interesting. It has the feel of a research paper, but an intriguing research paper. However, I’m also a fan of vampire stories, so the slow methodical trudge and lack of actual sightings of the fiend are something I find irksome. It drags in too many places, and goes off on historical tangents that a scary story really shouldn’t. I can’t decide it the historical aspects and the amazing depth they provide help or hinder this book. It just seems to me that she could have tightened the whole thing up and gotten to the heart of the matter and the stake through its heart, sooner.

I found The Historian to be rich and luxurious - kind of like a mink coat, unfortunately the pacing and unrelenting narrative make it about as useful as a mink coat in Florida. Still, I wouldn’t mind reading the next novel Ms. Kostova writes, maybe a biography of one of the historical characters in this book because she has a wonderful ability to bring her characters to life. My only hope is that Ms. Kostova spent her two million dollar advance wisely, hopefully not on a mink coat.

...less

Like this review? yes (11 people liked it)

add a comment

Andrew rated it:

09/11/08

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

I am deeply conflicted about this book, much as the book seems to be deeply conflicted about itself. Ostensibly, it is a vampire story, about that most notorious of all vampires, Dracula. Except that we see almost no vampires in its 900-plus pages (in paperback). We encounter one early on, who makes a few appearances and then mysteriously is never heard from again. Then, more than 800 pages in, we finally see Dracula. Make no mistake, Kostova has drawn a fine portrait of The Impaler - short but ...more I am deeply conflicted about this book, much as the book seems to be deeply conflicted about itself. Ostensibly, it is a vampire story, about that most notorious of all vampires, Dracula. Except that we see almost no vampires in its 900-plus pages (in paperback). We encounter one early on, who makes a few appearances and then mysteriously is never heard from again. Then, more than 800 pages in, we finally see Dracula. Make no mistake, Kostova has drawn a fine portrait of The Impaler - short but imposing and imperial, utterly in control, gaunt and pale and, in what is either a nod to Lovecraft or an acknowledgment on Kostova's part that history is more her strength than horror - no one can ever seem to remember or describe exactly what his face looks like, other than the fact that it's horrible.

So what we have here is Dracula written by Dan Brown. The research is copious, the history is precise, the premise is compelling, but the story is all just a vehicle for the research. You could easily replace Vlad Tsepes in this story with anyone - Adolph Hitler, Phillip of Macedonia, Jesus Christ himself if you wanted to be provocative - and it wouldn't change much of the impact of the novel. As a die-hard fan of vampire stories, this was both sorely disappointing and strangely exhilarating. Though Kostova couches her Dracula in the grand old Stoker tradition, garlic and all, there are also interesting new twists. The idea of Dracula as historian of evil is compelling, and I am on the fence entirely about whether or not I like the unfolding of his ultimate scheme which, despite some talk about the ability to "perfect evil", seems simply to be the collection of books and the amassing of an army of eggheads to help him. I can read delicious hints of something almost unfathomably sinister in this, especially in the light of Dracula's comment that history is only good for understanding and shaping the present. There is a looming conspiracy here, one that never resolves because of the quick, cinematically heartwarming destruction of Dracula by long-lost lovers and parents.

The structure of the novel also tears me. On the one hand,the mixed timelines and perspectives were compelling and moved the plot along far better than a more traditional narrative structure would have. On the other hand, the story-within-a-letter-within-a-story structure sometimes grated, especially when details of that structure - such as the narrative and unnatural way that all of the supposed letters were written - nagged at me. I would almost have preferred that Kostova had simply written in multiple first-person, which might have been somewhat confusing at times but would certainly have been a more novel approach and would have allowed less criticism of form.

So why four stars? Because ultimately, despite all my criticisms and misgivings about this novel, I truly enjoyed it. It was certainly compellingly narrated, I never had trouble picking it up and never wanted to put it down if I could help it. It also presented an interesting (if somewhat underdeveloped) world-view, of secret societies founded by Sultans and an absolutely fascinating idea introduced in the last chapters and quickly abandoned, that Dracula was present for, if not directly involved in, many of the major disasters of Europe, including numerous plagues and the French Revolution. Also, I am a sucker for history, and this book is absolutely brimming with it, particularly the history of places that I am unfamiliar with, such as Bulgaria and Turkey. I have a great admiration for an author who can spoon-feed me their research and never make me feel that I am being fed.

Is this a great novel? I'm not yet sure. I can say with all certainty that it is not a great vampire novel. In fact, I would say that it is barely a vampire novel at all. But though I cannot categorize or quantify it easily, I do know that I enjoyed it thoroughly and would recommend it to any with an interest in history and the patience to make their way through a very lengthy book without much of the usual pulp-novel payoff....less

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Patrick rated it:

(review of isbn 1415929017)

01/18/08

Read in January, 2008

Finally finished this -- it took me a long time to get through it. This book is a tale about various academic historians searching for the historical and physical vampire Dracula. Most of the book is backstory, told in the form of letters from one main character to another about earlier efforts to find Dracula, and the tragedies and mysteries that occur along the way.

I started out by listening to the unabridged audio CD version, and then when the story bogged down I decided to try and fini...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

3 comments

Alex rated it:

03/06/08

bookshelves: books-read-in-2007

Read in January, 2007

THE HISTORIAN BY ELIZABETH KOSTOVA: Welcome to a retelling of Dracula for the twenty-first century, only think much better and more interesting; less of the weak and pitiful women and demanding men; more history and research. Elizabeth Kostova, while no doubt being a very well off person who went to the best schools for writing, has nevertheless spent a long time researching and writing The Historian with the resulting book being little about vampires and undead and more about books and history...more THE HISTORIAN BY ELIZABETH KOSTOVA: Welcome to a retelling of Dracula for the twenty-first century, only think much better and more interesting; less of the weak and pitiful women and demanding men; more history and research. Elizabeth Kostova, while no doubt being a very well off person who went to the best schools for writing, has nevertheless spent a long time researching and writing The Historian with the resulting book being little about vampires and undead and more about books and history and researching and following the trail; its an academic adventure novel.

Our narrator is a young girl in her teens traveling through Europe, following the letters of her father from his travels in the 1950s, who is following the letters of his mentor from his travels in the 1930s. While most of the book is in letter form – with speech quotes framing just about every sentence – Kostova forgoes the accuracy of the letter form and, like Bram Stoker in Dracula, makes the letters part of the novel with action, emotion, and character reaction – attributes that would not usually be in a letter, but for the sake of this book, they need to be.

The premise is that Dracula, or Drakulya, better known as Vlad the Impaler, who was killed in battle in the fifteenth century is still alive and well in the twentieth century. The three story lines of the narrator, her father, and his professor, all have an event in common: they each received a copy of an ancient book with an elaborate woodcut of a dragon, the symbol and emblem of Drakulya. Each of them travel throughout the many cities of Europe tracking Dracula and tracking each other through their letters; clearly Kostova herself traveled to each of this cities, for the book is partially a travel log of Europe, written in exquisite detail.

At the end of the book, when each person finally confronts Dracula in their time, it is revealed that Dracula himself is a lover of history and books and has been building up his library for hundreds of years with the hope of having every old book and important piece of writing in history at his finger tips, all he needs is a librarian to maintain it, of course they need to be turned undead so that their duties as librarian will last as long as Dracula is alive. The professor is turned and when this is discovered, is staked, while the narrator’s father leaves due to the loss of his wife – the narrator’s mother – thinking her dead. It is at the very end when the narrator finds Dracula, she also finds her father on the trail, and then her mother who all play a part in killing Dracula once and for all; the family united at last.

While this review may make The Historian seem trivial and “tied in a big red bow,” the author clearly worked very hard and long in her research of books and places; the result is a lengthy tome that takes you on a long journey through a well-described Europe, through old documents and books, to an adversary we have read and written about for hundreds of years.

For more reviews, and writings, or to buy yourself a copy, please visit www.alexctelander.com....less

Like this review? yes (5 people liked it)

1 comments

Lara rated it:

03/22/08

Read in March, 2008

This book reminded me of the DaVinci code in some ways, but was much more interesting and better written. All of the research and historical documents were fascinating. I was especially interested in the subject matter, because it was about Vlad Ţepeş, the Wallachian (Romanian) prince, who Bram Stoker popularized as Dracula. (Not because I'm interested in vampires, but because I served my mission in Romania and was interested in Vlad himself. Evil and terrible as he was, the Romanians actua...more This book reminded me of the DaVinci code in some ways, but was much more interesting and better written. All of the research and historical documents were fascinating. I was especially interested in the subject matter, because it was about Vlad Ţepeş, the Wallachian (Romanian) prince, who Bram Stoker popularized as Dracula. (Not because I'm interested in vampires, but because I served my mission in Romania and was interested in Vlad himself. Evil and terrible as he was, the Romanians actually are very proud of him because he saved their country from the Turks. They do not like it at all that he is construed to be Dracula. His father was called Vlad Dracul, which is where that name comes from. Dracul is the Romanian word for the dragon.)

The Historian goes with the belief that he is definitely a Vampire, and that he is still alive. Or "undead" as it were. There are three different stories weaved together into one about three people who are trying to find Dracula: The narrator, who is telling her story from her viewpoint as a 16 year old girl in 1972, her father, whose story is told through letters to his daughter as well as conversations about his experiences in 1954 and finally, Professor Rossi, who was the father's advisor in college. Rossi's story is also told through letters and conversations and occurred in 1931. Every once in a while it is difficult to figure out which story you are reading as they jump around so much, but after the first few chapters you start to get a feel for it and it seemed really ingenious the way she chose to combine the three stories.

I loved reading so much about the history of Eastern Europe during the rule of the Ottomans as well as during Communist times. I don't know how much of it is actually based in fact, as that line blurs when we talk of vampirism and Vlad Ţepeş, but I know much of it was. The author is obviously an excellent researcher and really knew her stuff.

I was slightly annoyed by the fact that the Romanian language wasn't always written accurately (I guess she didn't research that quite enough). It was almost always missing diacritical markings, except for in place names. Her Hungarian seemed to have all the diacritical markings in it, and I am unsure of the Bulgarian, since she used our alphabet rather than cyrillic. So I was just bugged by that, although I know most people wouldn't even care! :)

It also bothered me that we never know the name of the narrator. Her father never refers to her by name, and neither does anyone else it seems. We know she was named for "Helen's mother" but "Helen's mother" is another character whose name we never actually hear. I don't know why this bothered me so much, but it did. I guess we get to make up her name, and since we know it was Romanian, I choose Anca. :)

The epilogue was a little unsettling, and the final resolution of the story seems comical when I think about it now, but it was completely fitting and totally acceptable in the framework of the story. I did have to chuckle every time I read the phrase "evil librarian."

It is not a quick read...took me nearly a week to get through, but definitely enjoyable. Kostova has a lovely, almost Victorian style of writing. Very descriptive. The book also scared me out of my wits at times. Really good though. Loved it, despite all my above annoyances....less

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

2 comments

Rachel rated it:

(review of isbn 0316011770)

08/23/07

Read in August, 2007

so here's the thing. I really didn't hate this book and I wanted to for some reason. in fact, I kept thinking that I loved it but that it was the kind of love that you keep secret from everyone who cares about you because they will fear that you have gone off the deepend and are going to follow the object of your affection into his plot to hold a bank full of people hostage.

I have become an eastern/central europe-phile over the past year. those parts of this book I adored. she describes ...more so here's the thing. I really didn't hate this book and I wanted to for some reason. in fact, I kept thinking that I loved it but that it was the kind of love that you keep secret from everyone who cares about you because they will fear that you have gone off the deepend and are going to follow the object of your affection into his plot to hold a bank full of people hostage.

I have become an eastern/central europe-phile over the past year. those parts of this book I adored. she describes place beautifully. and made me go to Borders so that I could sit in the travel section for a couple of hours devouring books about romania and turkey.

I didn't even mind the vampire-y parts of the story...but in the historical context. I abhorred when Dracula appeared and all other "contemporary" appearances of, well, his contemporaries.

I can only imagine the amount of research and scholarly pursuit that went into this book (my heart=swooning). I assume that most/all of it is non-fictive. I could be wrong. but she caught me up so tightly in all of that that I want to go find out. and she obviously has a lovely writer's eye and ear (see above: travel). my problem is that she seemed to rely on her natural ability and have devoted so much time to the research that she was tired out and didn't 'figure out' everything writing-wise. that's kind of what I meant in my mid-read review of this book with the attempts at suspense. along the same lines, just because your story is being told in first person you cannot always say that you don't know why something is or don't know what something is (I don't have the book in front of me nor do I remember the specific words, but what I mean is something along the lines of..."there was something in his eye, but I didn't know what it was". you're the writer. you HAVE to know what it was.) and you have to provide a cozy context for things...for this I do remember an example...when Barley pulls out a lighter simply because they have no other source of light and the narrator says that she had no idea he smoked. well we didn't either! over 600 pages into the book, there had been no intimation that he smoked but at the exact moment when they need nothing else he pulls a lighter out of his pocket...yeah, that doesn't fly with me.

but I sound harsh and curmudgeonly. I did enjoy this book for about the first 500-600 pages. you only criticize the ones that you love...just ask my family ;-)

****

I don't like it when chapters end in questions...too batman-y for me (will our hero defeat the evil joker and his legion of joke-ettes? will he plunge to his death over the parapet? tune in next time to find out. same bat-time. same bat-channel.) and I don't like when a book constantly has characters or narrative (along the same lines) say that they are going to soon tell you something. tell me or don't. if you don't tell me now I'll be excited when you do later. if you tell me you're going to tell me something later, that's not suspense...that's just schlock. but I'm thoroughly enjoying it otherwise......less

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

3 comments

Juushika rated it:

08/28/08

bookshelves: borrowed

Read in August, 2008

While exploring her father's library, a young woman finds a cache of letters addressed to "My dear and unfortunate successor," and so uncovers a long lineage of historians, including her own mother and father, who have all set out on the same quest: to discover if Vlad the Impaler, known as Dracula, still lives; and if so, how he can be found and destroyed. A book of stories within stories, The Historian combines fiction and history, using narratives and letters to interweave th...more While exploring her father's library, a young woman finds a cache of letters addressed to "My dear and unfortunate successor," and so uncovers a long lineage of historians, including her own mother and father, who have all set out on the same quest: to discover if Vlad the Impaler, known as Dracula, still lives; and if so, how he can be found and destroyed. A book of stories within stories, The Historian combines fiction and history, using narratives and letters to interweave the narrator's journey with the journey of her father and his mentor, traveling through France and through the East Bloc of the Cold War. It is intelligently plotted and dense with cultural and historical detail, but it is also ponderous and unrealistically constructed. I appreciate the concept, and enjoyed the first few hundred pages, but the book simply drags on too long and, by the end, is boring. I don't recommend it.

The Historian is unlike most modern vampire novels: interweaving multiple timelines, many related via letters and articles, and rich in historical and geographic detail, it is an dense novel which sits outside of the mainstream vampire genre. This is a bold and promising premise, and the book begins well. The narrator discovers her father's letters, and he tells her about his mentor's search for Dracula and the beginning of his own. Everything is detailed, almost to the point of hyper-realism: characters and motivations, setting, dialog, and the passage of time between plot points. The narrative is overshadowed by the threat of real violence, creating a careful tension which keeps the reader interested and immersed despite the slow pacing.

However, this tension does not sustain itself as the book goes on. Violence, both historical and a part of the plot, continues but does not change or increase; eventually it becomes redundant and too easy to dismiss. Meanwhile, the rest of the story gains in complexity but mostly in length. With precise dialog and long descriptions of settings and the filler between plot points, the partially-epistolary style reaches unbelievable detail and length. At over 600 pages, even though it contains three plot lines, the book is too long. While some of this detailed content is interesting, it largely serves to clutter the book. The plot slows to a crawl, the tension dissipates, and the novel becomes quite ponderous.

I would love to see more "intelligent" vampire novels, as this one tries to be. It would be a welcome departure from genre. Kostova also proves that there is sufficient content for a historical vampire novel tracing the legend of vampires back to the historical figure of Dracula. This, however, is not that novel: although intelligent, although outside of the genre, although heavily historical, this novel loses its vampires. They're there, of course, and they become marginally more threatening as the book goes on, but they are buried beneath ponderous description and the filler between plot points. I enjoyed the premise, admired a few of the characters, and appreciate what The Historian tries to do, but the more of the book I read, the less I enjoyed it. Having finished the novel, I'm not glad to have read it. It's not a bad book, but neither is it good or enjoyable. I don't recommend it....less

Like this review? yes

add a comment

FicusFan rated it:

05/04/08

bookshelves: fiction, historical-mystery, read-2008

Read in April, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

I found this book to be a slog. I really didn't care much about the characters, in fact I disliked the main narrator, and I didn't care what happened to them for most of the book. I didn't find the search or mystery to be compelling reading.

I thought the book was way too long, and didn't really need the teenage daughter as the narrator. The book had several levels, but only the past ones: the father's search, and his mentor's search were interesting. I didn't feel that the issue of the mys...more I found this book to be a slog. I really didn't care much about the characters, in fact I disliked the main narrator, and I didn't care what happened to them for most of the book. I didn't find the search or mystery to be compelling reading.

I thought the book was way too long, and didn't really need the teenage daughter as the narrator. The book had several levels, but only the past ones: the father's search, and his mentor's search were interesting. I didn't feel that the issue of the mystery book was ever really explained in enough depth to make it valid, and I thought the ending was weak for an almost 700 page read.

My problem with the main narrator was that she was not really needed to tell the story. On top of that she was way too passive. She never challenged her father to complete or continue his story. It was all too pat, that every time the book got interesting, the story would break off. It was a cheap and obvious manipulation by the author to create cliffhangers. It backfired. I wasn't hooked, only made more and more angry by the waste of my time.

The other issue with the narrator was the set-up at the start of the book. The way she tip-toed around the whole concept of Vampires. Later in the book it could be explained, but not at the start. As a vampire Aficionado I know that back in the 70s, the subject exploded. There were books, magazine articles and TV programs about them, about Dracula, about Vlad Tephes (SP?), about the legends, and the historical truth. But though the book was set in the 70s, the narrator acted like Vampires were a dirty secret.

It seemed to me as I read that the author was trying to rewrite or update Dracula for the modern day. She did reference Dracula and Bram Stoker, so she wasn't pretending that his idea never existed. She was taking his story, indirectly, and moving on after the events in London. But it was boring.

The slow dragging pace of the story also seemed as though she was trying to emulate the 19th century style of writing. I did like her writing style, it was smooth and she did a good job with the information, the description, the new locals and the minor characters. Her story telling was also not bad, once the daughter was pushed into the background. She just didn't construct an overall story arc that was worthy in terms of the journey and the ending to carry such a long book, and such an investment in the readers' times.

I am a complete-ist and almost always finish a book I start. I also own the book so I feel the need to read it because I want to recoup my investment. Finally the book was a choice for my real life fiction book group so I needed to keep reading so I could discuss it with the others.

I can't say that I would read anything else by her. I wouldn't reject it outright, but would be very cautious and test read it before committing my time and money.
...less

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

add a comment

Arthur rated it:

(review of isbn 0316011770)

01/15/08

Read in September, 2007

The historian is about a scholar. Or at least up till his dissertations, of its being his only interests in this world. Then there is later years later his daughter. Also like him but had not started her university, or had but imagined she would, unless of course her father the scholar would contribute his personal interests. He does course; he has been raising her alone since she was an infant. They make a great two. He’s acting his usual self. He has a dark secret; his lost wife, which he re...more The historian is about a scholar. Or at least up till his dissertations, of its being his only interests in this world. Then there is later years later his daughter. Also like him but had not started her university, or had but imagined she would, unless of course her father the scholar would contribute his personal interests. He does course; he has been raising her alone since she was an infant. They make a great two. He’s acting his usual self. He has a dark secret; his lost wife, which he refuses to talk about. He will not reveal the truth. He doesn't know what he truly thinks about his wife whom he lost, he gives the impression of her being dead. His wife Helen dies because she disappeared one night while not staying with her husband. That is the reason he'd not known what had occurred to her. She’s missing, and he’d known both his owned dark secret and Helen, and that they had been trying to find a vampire, so assuming that she does disappear, that from vampire stories ...she was bitten twice by a vampire, before he loses Helen, and upon the third traditional bite encompasses the undying kind of undead destruction of all, of the living; the causes, according to this Dracula, to become a Dracula’s vampire too.

Resemblances of earth and its advances proclaim history or of higher regency so that it expands explaining earth’s events naturally that something candid like this can explain well, but mathematically, history, goes to expand itself only as the old earth had, but negotiating the stories it actually has, and publishes the same chronological journals for arguments sake.

I basically was pressed for time I would spend with this book. By it’s title the historian and the story itself is impressive, and its well put together, it will give it, you, an impression of very great story telling.

I was mainly interested at the time of downloading books; and but I have this in hardback book. It's filled with scenes very descriptive and that makes wanting to have read more from Elizabeth Kostova. I recently read Vlad the Undead, afterwards, feeling impressed because this history is all genre and fiction and stress...just pure fun set in impossible situations, containing its aggressive antagonists.

Glowing within is an intelligible presence controlling through a thirsty or hungry ominous that is simply transmitting through each of its contacts that moves as it moves upon its prey of his indulgence. Shape or fear due in part to this ominous existence has no campaign to indulge, and if the world were shaped round, it would posses our human minds till we are nothing more than our naught. That we are here of survival, treading this path may be delusional. -What had Rossi advised? “I wouldn’t go around with garlic in my pocket, no.” And something else, too: “I’m sure you carry your own goodness, moral sense, whatever you want to call it, with you — I like to think most of us are capable of that, anyway.”-...less

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Poo1987 rated it:

07/11/08

bookshelves: adventure, historical-fiction, horror

Read in July, 2008

Since Stoker's Dracula published, I bet this is the one of horror novels many and I praising for and crying 'Bravo' at the time the book coming to an end. Kristeva brings an instance of European histories mysterious and dreadful to life, mesmerising me by those she created. With sophisticated and careful research, a portrait she drawing is delight and realistic, but also brings her characters into thrilling existence. (All right! someone said this is a very flat book, containing unbelievable cha...more Since Stoker's Dracula published, I bet this is the one of horror novels many and I praising for and crying 'Bravo' at the time the book coming to an end. Kristeva brings an instance of European histories mysterious and dreadful to life, mesmerising me by those she created. With sophisticated and careful research, a portrait she drawing is delight and realistic, but also brings her characters into thrilling existence. (All right! someone said this is a very flat book, containing unbelievable characters and accidental events. I agree with those comments, but I read it for fun, so such those elements are not any problem.)

Although I must complain something bothering me during I was taking pleasure in. That is Kristeva using words 'East' and 'West' almost of time she describes Ottoman or Islam as one side, Christianity or Europe as the other, an opponent of the former, as if we can simplify Islam and Christian, or Asia and Europe, into an imprinted and fixed identities. Morally, I am the one denying the existence or essence of such idea so-called Orientalism which the imperialists, and their ancestors whoever or wherever they were from, which ones called 'Westerners' imposed on the subjects they observing and, then, recognized whom which called 'Easterners' as uncivilisers or people less high in position with 'the West'. The many have accepted the idea that believes in the essence of this concept and treats with 'the East' as an existing entity in spite of the fact that number of them are parts of 'the East'. Without awareness, the existence of concepts East and West is a sequence of Eurocentrism which supposes that Europe is the centre of the world, being similar to the idea every roads direct towards Rome, therefore whatever side of the world is called there Europe is involved. Far East Asia, for example, is located in Eastern side of Europe and far from it, so it is to be Far East. How silly it is! The world is round. It is impossible to label East or West at any world's surface without situating yourself on somewhere. East or West is thereby a relative reality not been able to use as an absolute truth. I don't understand why many people -- especially scholars -- respect those words and confidently use them again and again.

You know why these terms emerged and became influenced in the modern world? I think that is the result of discourse which imperialists produced, first, and, then, of pope's order which, in around 11th or 12th century, I beg your forgiveness I can't remember, he compromised the conflict of interest between Spain and Protugal by dividing world into two parts. West was belonged to Spain. East was possessed of Protugal. Centre is located at Avignon, France, the place pope living at that time. Haha! You can count Germany the East in this sense. ...less

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Stacey rated it:

(review of isbn 0316011770)

05/18/08

bookshelves: scifi-fantasy, so-bad-it-pissed-me-off, time-i-will-never-get-back

It has been some time since I read this, so my recollections may not be that accurate. I tend to make these decisions (do I like or not like a book?) viscerally, rather than by formula. But I figured that any book that merited my little used "pissed me off" category, deserved an explanation.

The Historian:
Kostova sets her book partly in the 70s, partly in history, and she tries to write in a flowery language, like the great masters of novel from the 19th century- but to me, she...more It has been some time since I read this, so my recollections may not be that accurate. I tend to make these decisions (do I like or not like a book?) viscerally, rather than by formula. But I figured that any book that merited my little used "pissed me off" category, deserved an explanation.

The Historian:
Kostova sets her book partly in the 70s, partly in history, and she tries to write in a flowery language, like the great masters of novel from the 19th century- but to me, she really just comes off sounding pretentious, overwrought and juvenile. Yes, her character is supposed to be young, but the writing can be elegant, even with a young and immature subject. In addition, everyone in the whole story speaks with the same voice. Many times I had to backtrack because I'd lost the thread of who was speaking.

Then, she writes about Vlad, Dracula, attempting to add new lore to the story, but never really gives us any surprises. At the most "suspenseful" moments, I often found myself feeling irritatingly amused at the author's attempt to create tension. One moment she is in fear of her life, and the next, she's what? sipping tea? And I don't recall that Kostova mixes her scenes well. She creates tension, but then breaks it too soon, or holds back from stretching it out, or drops into the completely mundane, instead of just pulling back a little. Even her main character doesn't seem to be driven by anything except one-upmanship, the desire to solve this mystery that her father couldn't, not for anyone's sake except proving that she's a better historian?

Lastly, the stories of Dracula are supposed to be horrific, but also reluctantly romantic. She rarely rises above twittering, and it was never at any junction a book that I devoured. Mostly I just got through it, only to discover at the very end, when everything is supposedly wrapped up, with no foreshadowing, she tacks on a "oh by the way, he could still be alive! muahahaha!"

Okay then.

To comment specifically, I'd probably have to reread, or at least review, the book, which I'm not willing to do when there are still so many thousands of brilliantly written stories out there that I haven't discovered yet....less

Like this review? yes (7 people liked it)

2 comments

Maurean rated it:

(review of isbn 0316011770)

02/20/08

Read in November, 2007

It took me the better part of three weeks to complete this 642-page novel – that, I believe, is the longest it has ever taken me to complete a book that I was reading strictly for pleasure. Not that this is, necessarily, a bad thing, that is just to say it is not a “light” reading.

As a reader, did I enjoy it? Well…yes, I think so, but I’m still debating myself in just how much; ei

The Historian

discuss this book

groups with this book

friend reviews (0)

lists with this book

other reviews (showing 1-20 of 16468)