From the Bookshelf of EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club…

Interview with the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles, #1)

Anne Rice

Start date: October 1, 2019

Finish date: October 31, 2019

Discussion: MODERN / POPULAR READS

Why we're reading this: Group pick for Modern Classic/Popular - Oct 2019
[close] Group pick for Modern Classic/Popular - Oct 2019

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What Members Thought

Jan 07, 2012 Liander (The Towering Pile) Lavoie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, horror, vampires

This review is copied from my blog, The Towering Pile. It was originally published here: http://thetoweringpile.blogspot.com/2...

I've read this book twice before, but this was my first time listening to the audiobook. I'll start with a review of the book itself, and then review the audiobook in terms of the narrator, the atmosphere, etc.

In case you're not familiar with the book or the movie (which is pretty true to the book), here's a quick summary. A boy who regularly interviews people about th This review is copied from my blog, The Towering Pile. It was originally published here: http://thetoweringpile.blogspot.com/2...

I've read this book twice before, but this was my first time listening to the audiobook. I'll start with a review of the book itself, and then review the audiobook in terms of the narrator, the atmosphere, etc.

In case you're not familiar with the book or the movie (which is pretty true to the book), here's a quick summary. A boy who regularly interviews people about their life stories interviews a vampire named Louis. This is the frame for the story, which Louis tells the boy, starting with his life before becoming a vampire in the late 18th century, going on to describe his time with Lestat, the vampire who made him, and Claudia, the child vampire that joins them later. It's a very angsty story indeed.

A lot of people don't like Louis in this book, saying that he's whiny, but I've always considered him a great protagonist. He's wonderfully tragic. In fact, I've often found myself not caring for Lestat in this book, even though I love him in the books that he narrates. I guess I really tend to buy into Louis' perhaps unreliable narration. This time, though, I liked everyone (except, of course, for Santiago, whom I will hate forever).

Overall, it's just a great story, and one that must be read by anyone who likes vampire fiction, as Anne Rice is truly the master of this sub-genre. I love her vampire mythology (though, really, I love all vampire mythologies; Anne Rice, Joss Whedon, Stephenie Meyer... they all have different mythologies, and I adore them all). One thing I like about this mythology is that there are specific ways a vampire can die, but if a vampire gets strong enough, these ways might not work. That's something you don't see quite so much in Buffy or Twilight, and I think it adds a certain something.

As for the audiobook qualities: In general I really liked the narrator. Frank Muller has a great voice, and I loved the way he changed his voice in a subtle way for each character, managing to make it clear that he's voicing a little girl without doing a stupid falsetto. This is something I really respect in a narrator and I can't stress it enough! The main complaint I have is that the narrator was American, and therefore made the pronunciation error that Americans tend to make: he pronounced Louis like Lewis. Ok, I know that's not a huge deal, and I did get used to it pretty quickly, but it just irked me. [Aside to Americans: You have Lewis already. Why do you take Louis and turn it into Lewis too?!] Anyway. Also, Armand's voice was too deep for a pubescent boy. But other than that! The narration was excellent. I'm just very picky.

5 stars to both the book and the audio format! ...more

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Apr 17, 2014 Canavan rated it liked it · review of another edition

✭✭½

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Oct 19, 2009 Carrie rated it it was ok

I can see that when this first came out, and the idea of telling a story from the vampire's point of view was really novel, that it might have been a really interesting book. But reading it now, it was almost dull. I was worried that it would be too sexy...but really there's no romance at all. What it has is a lot of blood and a lot of vampire soul searching. If you like violent vampire philosophy then this is the book for you. If not, maybe you'll give it 2 stars like me. ...more

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