THE HISTORIAN is the first book by Elizabeth Kostova. The Swan Thieves is her second published, and I read it before reading this one.
Kostova's writing may be better in the second book -- she's one of the descriptive, literary types who tend to convoluted sentences with lots of words -- but the first was more interesting. It's told from the viewpoint of a young girl whose father tells her tales about Dracula. Unfortunately, there are also notes from her father's viewpoint, about his courtship of her mother, and what happened to her mother's father who was also her father's mentor. Too much is going on when all get caught up in the search for Dracula's burial site. Seems like old Vlad didn't just stay in Transylvania but traveled around. Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey...
The Historian was a long, slow read, and it was about Dracula (Oh, no, not another book about vampires!) so for me, it had two strikes against it from the start. People who love Dracula may enjoy the book for it does give a different slant on him. People who like to read about medieval history may enjoy it, for there is a great deal of history in it. You can tell Kostova's done her research. But people who like crisp plots without excess padding probably will find it boring.
Not one of my favorites, but I did finish it. Finally.
Showing posts with label Elizabeth Kostova. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Elizabeth Kostova. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Saturday, October 9, 2010
THE SWAN THIEVES
I recently finished reading THE SWAN THIEVES by Elizabeth Kostova. The writing was good, the story interesting.
A psychiatrist takes an interest in a new patient, an artist. For some reason the psychiatrist becomes obsessed with finding out why this artist tried to damage a painting in the National Gallery. The book follows the psychiatrist as he tries to unravel the mystery.
The story is told from several viewpoints, first person viewpoints which I find tiring. Especially when the voices aren't distinct enough to distinguish between them. And I do get tired of fiftyish men falling in love with thirtyish women who amazingly love them back. Although in one subplot there was an older woman with a man twenty years younger who adored her. I'm sure it happens but still...
The plot itself was good, the clues tied up in the end, but the writing seemed to go on and on. While I didn't stop reading -- I've made a vow that if the book doesn't hold my attention in the first few chapters, I stop wasting my time -- I did think I would never get to the end of it.
If someone likes historicals with a splash of mystery, s/he will probably enjoy this one.
A psychiatrist takes an interest in a new patient, an artist. For some reason the psychiatrist becomes obsessed with finding out why this artist tried to damage a painting in the National Gallery. The book follows the psychiatrist as he tries to unravel the mystery.
The story is told from several viewpoints, first person viewpoints which I find tiring. Especially when the voices aren't distinct enough to distinguish between them. And I do get tired of fiftyish men falling in love with thirtyish women who amazingly love them back. Although in one subplot there was an older woman with a man twenty years younger who adored her. I'm sure it happens but still...
The plot itself was good, the clues tied up in the end, but the writing seemed to go on and on. While I didn't stop reading -- I've made a vow that if the book doesn't hold my attention in the first few chapters, I stop wasting my time -- I did think I would never get to the end of it.
If someone likes historicals with a splash of mystery, s/he will probably enjoy this one.
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