The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

4.5 out of 5 worms


I know. I'm very late in reading this one, seeing as it was very vogue to have it on the subway I'd say a year or so ago. But here it is!


I and my boyfriend love vampire movies and books. Not that we dress up like them or anything. He loves Bela Lugosi, and I my beloved Anne Rice, and are unanimous on how wonderful Buffy is. Whedon, where are you! We both refuse to read/view the Twilight Saga. No offense.


So, I felt I had a good background to take in this particular piece of historical fiction.


Brava, Ms. Kostova, for your maddening attention to historical detail, as well as the minutia of the various Eastern European locales travelled in the story. The author manages to impart so much information about each setting, it's like a pain-free world cultures class. As a side note, during and after reading the novel, became fixated on learning several languages - Italian, French, Russian, and Latin, in that order. The novel uses Romanian, Bulgarian, Turkish and Greek, but does influence one to expand one's horizons, linguistically.


This is a book that even I could not ingest at a rapid rate. Not because of its size, but because of the amount of travelling through time and place and point of view that takes place. I found it effective to read a large chunk, then digest it for a day or so.


I did not find the book a page turner. My only critique is that at one point in the story, it seemed as though the main characters were doing the same thing over and over again. I.E. Paul and Helen would find a mysterious book, follow the clue, but no Dracula or Rossi, sorry.


I very much appreciated the homage paid to Bela and Bram Stoker. The inclusion of Bela's films as being viewed by Paul, each large section introduced by a Stoker quote.


Round-up: Definitely a book for history and vampire lovers!