book review the historian elizabeth kostova

Having read her more recent book, The Shadow Land, this year I know this is just her style. The pace is so glacial that suspense is an anathema. I wish Kostova had built more suspense and tension into The Historian. But they’re significantly different, and I prefer to align your expectations with the book’s reality. We’ll go try the first place.” I’m not saying one is better or worse than the other. It tends towards, “He told me that he found a letter that said the tomb might be here. The Historian’s action is primarily about historians who are hunting for documents, letters, and books. When it is, the author almost makes it a throwaway moment focusing instead on describing the library where the attack happens. If you’re looking for a vampire story with action like, “He leapt on her and devoured the soft, satiny skin at her neck,” it’s not here very much. It’s a complex and layered storytelling method, which I honestly found tiresome at times. For example, one character tells his story via a letter, and the process of finding and reading the letter is told by another character. So you must like books with a lot of telling. It’s about a search for Dracula, and includes highly detailed descriptions of the lands where the legend originated as well as related historical figures and events. It’s historical fiction and Dracula is a minor character. I was more enchanted by Kostova’s story and writing style the first time through than the second. “One of the absolute BEST vampire books I have ever read! Deeply layered and complex story and characters.” My short review from the first reading, some years ago. The massive paperback was on a table, and I started reading the first few paragraphs right then. When I first discovered The Historian, it was a serendipitous bookstore moment.

This was my second reading, done together with friends from Litsy and organized by Ami at Literature Goals. It’s slightly more than 700 pages, and yet Dracula is a minor character. Elizabeth Kostova dives deep into the history of Dracula in The Historian.

Book review the historian elizabeth kostova