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Elizabeth Kostova: The Historian

hm well i bought a copy at borders since it was 30% off. i'm gonna read it once i finish all my library books. i still dont really like the size of it, but i figured that a paperback version would be even more annoying.

wilderness said:
Is this her first novel?
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hm i think it might be. i might've heard that somewhere

Prairie_Girl said:
GAH! I'm number 56 in line for it at the library. And they have a whopping four copies. It'll be a while, but I promise to post when I do read it.
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56? oh man. well since its 4 copys at least it'll be quicker. your turn will come before you know it =P hell, you'll probably read it before me, and i bought a copy a week ago
 
I have about 150 pages left. I had a really hard time getting into this one initially. I wasn't crazy about the format of 'tell a little of the story.. leave us hanging by going on another vacation.. tell a little more.. vacation again' and so on. And I'm not the biggest fan of reading through all the letters, and was a little bored by the school-paper-like feel of the monks' travelling section around pg 400ish. I think it's well written, though, and really drew me in after 100 pgs or so. I'm glad I gave it another shot, and am hoping for the ending to be as good as the rest (because a dumb ending really breaks a book for me!)
 
I thought it was overhyped, over-written (but poorly) and tedious in the extreme. The plot was paper-thin and no advance on any other interpretation of the myth, and quite honestly, rather laughable by the end. Yes, we got to understand something of the immense background research the author had done, to-ing and fro-ing from Constantinople to every other likely hideout for the great immortal's remains.

Better and more interesting for us if he'd been buried under the Bull Ring in Birmingham.
 
I loved this book! It's got alot of ambiance in my opinion. It reads alot like another great book in that genre: Dracula. If you like vampire books but are tired of the "shag 'em and slay 'em" books, this is a nice change. I personally like reading books written in letter form, and didn't mind that the plot jumped from action to nonaction. I also liked the way she passed the torch on in the end...:)
 
I'm really struggling with writing my opinions on this book down.

If I had just encountered this book through some friend's recommendation, I think I would be on here proclaiming how great it was. And I DO feel that this was a very good book. But this book got a LOT of hype, and I was anticipating that this would be the best book I read all year. I really like the well-written adventure novels, and this seemed right up my alley.

Unfortunately, I felt that it was just very good, not truly great. It was a little difficult to get into, and as someone previously mentioned, the disjointed telling of the background story could get irritating at times. Having said that, I was entertained for the entire 700+ pages and am eagerly awaiting her next novel.

Bottom line: My review may sound negative, but this was a very good, very entertaining book. I give it an 8/10.
 
I was disappointed in this book myself. Kostova's not bad at creating likable characters, and I did enjoy the lengthy descriptions of the time period in which Vlad Tepes lived. I wasn't thrilled with the ending, and her style overall wasn't anything of note. A decent first effort but I hope she improves with the next book.
 
Prairie_Girl said:
GAH! I'm number 56 in line for it at the library. And they have a whopping four copies. It'll be a while, but I promise to post when I do read it.
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well, 9 months later...it's on it's way to me right now, I'll pick it up at the library tomorrow, I'll post my opinion when I do read it. (it's third in line now, I just have to finish my current book and read one more)
 
I purchased this on the weekend and am hoping to start on it soon, but I just have a small question first. Would it be helpful to read Dracula first, or would I still get as much out of the book had I not read it? I know the general details of the Dracula legend, but have not read the book.
 
i don't think it's necessary to have read Dracula first.. this book stands alone.

i enjoyed reading this book. it kept me turning pages to find out what happens next, and that's one of the things a book has to do for me.

i am glad i don't bother with reviews or hype or anything like that when i choose a book to read, i had no idea this book had all that going for it. best way to rate a book is to read it.
 
I was disappointed with it. I think because the description sounded so interesting, but when reading it is a tad dull.
 
MonkeyCatcher said:
I purchased this on the weekend and am hoping to start on it soon, but I just have a small question first. Would it be helpful to read Dracula first, or would I still get as much out of the book had I not read it? I know the general details of the Dracula legend, but have not read the book.
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YES DEFINITELY! One of the things I really enjoyed about this book was how similar it style it was to Stoker's Dracula. The travel, the correspondance and the changing character voices. I truly believe you will enjoy The Historian more and appreciate it as a read if you read Stoker's Dracula first. I actually read them back to back.

Just my two cents.
 
drmjwdvm said:
YES DEFINITELY! One of the things I really enjoyed about this book was how similar it style it was to Stoker's Dracula. The travel, the correspondance and the changing character voices. I truly believe you will enjoy The Historian more and appreciate it as a read if you read Stoker's Dracula first. I actually read them back to back.

Just my two cents.
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Thanks for the feedback :) I think that I will pick it up first as I have always wanted to read Dracula but have never really been motivated to actually begin it.
 
I really enjoyed this book. It gave me several relaxing evenings of great entertainment. I look forward to reading other books by her...this was very good for her first.
 
MonkeyCatcher, you don't have to read Dracula first, but if you're into vampire novels you might as well read it now! It's great, and a classic. I agree with Dogmatix that it's similar in style to Historian and comparisons add to the enjoyment.
 
Be on the lookout for the movie sometime in the future, Sony Pictures paid in the high six figures for the movie rights before the book was even released.
 
Just a question (might be a stupid one though)...Did you find it difficult to read? Does the Kostova use many difficult words? I'm wondering if I should order the book in English at the internet, since it's much cheaper then bying it in the bookstore in Norwegian. I've read all the HP books and some books by Mary Higgins Clark in English. I had no problems with reading them. Will I manage The Historian??
 
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