The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
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Book Reviews of The Historian
Book Review: Its reach isn't even close to its grasp
Summary: 2 Stars
In our cupola tonight we have a 928-page paperback centering on graduate student Paul's quest to find his missing advisor, Professor Rossi. Every graduate student can relate to that, but in this case Rossi is not merely out of his office, but possibly out of his mind as well, as his last words to Paul before disappearing are that Vlad Dracula, the 15th century prince of Wallachia, is still alive.
We know, of course, that this will turn out to be true, but the truth is depressingly stale: all Vlad Dracula's characteristics are the same as already related in the original Bram Stoker novel, except for his odd habit of distributing blank books into scholars' cupolas. His ability to turn his opponents' hair white is unimpaired, however. Dracula here also has the same brainless modus operandi as countless horror movie villains: when someone is stalking him, he never kills the person who actually threatens him, but instead slaughters all his pursuer's friends. You would think that, after 500 years, Dracula would have learned that this doesn't work, but vampires apparently have a slow learning curve.
It's not that the novel doesn't have good points. Kostova's narrative voice is sound, and the themes and emotions she wanted to convey make it through. Clearly, she wanted to write about the beauty of European travel, and the thirst, exhaustion, and brief ecstasies of discovery that the historical researcher feels. The growing relationship between Paul and Rossi's daughter Helena is nicely sketched, reminiscent of the (much superior) movie Possession. Kostova has simply failed to arrange these materials into a serviceable plot. Better luck next life.
Book Review: Dracula is Gonna Rip Up Your Card Catalog
Summary: 2 Stars
This LONG tale about a search for Dracula is narrated by the teenaged daughter of a diplomat/historian living in Amsterdam in the 1970s. The story slowly unfolds through a series of letters and flashbacks - The mysterious appearance of a book with a woodcut of a dragon, her parents' search for the truth of the paper trail all over Europe and Eastern Europe in the 1950s, and the father's academic advisor's same search in the 1930s.
It is really (REALLY) hard to refrain from being incredibly snarky about this book. The one positive thing I can say is that I commend the author's ability to portray the ambience and beauty of European scenery. I believe Ms. Kostova should turn her attention to travel writing.
Every single character in this novel has the *exact same* voice, and the plot leaves much to be desired, to say the least. Dracula, the supposed object of the story, does not show up until page 569. I think I can sum this up with the plot summary I gave my husband when I was approx 150 pages into this: "Dracula's minions are terrorizing them by stealing their maps and ripping cards out of the card catalog".
If you like historical mysteries and would love a challenging read with a multitude of different voices and reproductions of poems, letters, and novellas, you must try Possession: A Romance by A.S. Byatt. It is one of the most brilliant novels I have ever read.
Book Review: This is a book about art history, not historians.
Summary: 2 Stars
The book could have been great but ended up falling far from it. I love big books. However this book just got lost and was extremely hard to finish. The characters were all carbon copies of each other. It is a sure sign of an inexperienced writer when every single character speaks in the same voice.
As a history major I can say that I have never read anything like what her characters write. There is nothing scholarly about any of the work in the novel. They go off on tangents about a rock or food they eat all the while using the same adjectives and adverbs. I am also wondering if she missed the day in English class where they tell you to avoid using the same word twice.
She has obviously done a lot of work for the book. On her website it says that it took 10 years to write as if that is supposed to wow the reader. As a follower of Coleen McCullough and her books on Rome I can say that that is in fact a pitiful amount of time. I think she should have spent at least twice as much time on the book. Any good book dealing with history can easily take decades to effectively do the research and writing. Shoot even a research paper that has significantly less pages end up taking years to write.
I only give the book two stars because I know she did a significant about of work, jut not enough for the subject. She should have not pretended to be a historian.
Book Review: Disappointing
Summary: 2 Stars
I am a huge fan of Bram Stoker's Dracula. And this novel is very much tied to Stoker's in terms of lore and structure. I was completely drawn into the novel. I found it fascinating and suspenseful and had a hard time putting it down. In fact, I told my wife that this was the best novel I had read in a long time. But, about 3/4 of the way through the novel everything changed. It became tedious and unbelievable. The coincidences that occur were too much to suspend disbelief. At one point the characters even comment on how unbelievable a coincidence was that had occurred. From this point, the novel spun out of control and ended with a confrontation with Dracula that was not only boring but anti-climatic. The epistolary narrative of the novel loses it's appeal by the end, as the characters merely recount what had occurred, leaving the reader a mere bystander, unabsorbed and uninterested. This was one of the most disappointing novels I have ever read, mainly because it started out so good. Is it worth a read? Maybe. But, perhaps you should just wait for the movie, which will be out next year. Perhaps the movie will be better. We can only hope.Book Review: Completely Lacked Compelling Characters Or Decisive Action
Summary: 2 Stars
The moment someone pulls a mysterious ancient book off the shelf you have got my attention but the story had better go somewhere meaningful. A novel in the vampire genre, no matter how well researched, cannot stand solely on the pretext of historical suppositions. As I sit here, without looking up at the synopsis, I cannot remember the name of the main character. Anything so easily forgotten is best forgotten. The structure of the story was built around dark, raining backgrounds and countless library backrooms followed up by the occasional tomb but it almost completely lacked compelling characters or decisive action. Kostova tried to set her work apart from previously written works, perhaps leaning more towards the Bram Stoker version than Interview With A Vampire. While I admire her spirit of depth, the story was sleepily written. Had I not been waiting for a revelation that never arrived, I would not have finished it.