Review: The Historian, Elizabeth Kostova

Elizabeth Kostova’s 2005 novel The Historian was my first read of 2016. I actually started it some time in November, but I set it aside and just dipped in and out until this last week, when I read the bulk of the novel.

The Historian is the story of Vlad the Impaler, sometimes known as Dracula, and the historians interested in tracing his existence and locating his final “resting” place. The unnamed narrator of the story becomes embroiled in the search for Dracula through her father, Paul, who disappears mysteriously. She embarks on a quest to find him, and through some epistolary and framing elements, she gradually learns the story of her own parents’ quest for Dracula, taken up when her father tried to find his missing mentor and dissertation advisor, Bartholomew Rossi.

The novel has been compared somewhat unfairly to The Da Vinci Code because it has elements of scholarship and elements of a literary thriller, but I’m not sure it’s a fair comparison. It is better written, and the characters are somewhat more developed than Dan Brown’s characters; however, there is still the sense that most of the characters are almost sort of like action figures the author is moving around instead of really well-drawn characters. Intriguingly, it is the minor characters, such as Rossi, Helen’s mother and aunt, and the Professor in Instanbul, Turgut Bora, who emerge as more interesting and fully formed than any of the protagonists. I question whether the framing device was really necessary. I don’t think the structure of the plot needed to be quite so complicated because it didn’t really do a whole lot to further the plot. All of the stories within stories were not confusing or hard to follow so much as they seemed unnecessary. Still, even with these criticisms, I would say I enjoyed the book and found it to be a sufficiently creepy vampire story, and not just a vampire story, but also a story of the Cold War and the complicated issues scholars might have dealt with in trying to conduct research behind the Iron Curtain. I have read criticism that the climax in this book is not really a good payoff, and I would agree with that criticism. On top of that, I think the reader leaves the book a bit confused (or perhaps that’s just me), especially as to why the author chose to end the book in the way she did.

I’m a little confused about how to rate this book because while I enjoyed it, it’s not without some serious flaws, and some people might not enjoy the book at all because of those flaws, but ultimately, for what it is and what it does do, I went with four stars. Your mileage may vary.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Set mostly during the 1950’s and 1970’s in many locations in Europe. Some exploration of medieval Romania and Turkey in the characters’ research.

Sunday Post #40: The First Sunday of 2016

Sunday Post

Happy New Year! I hope everyone is enjoying a last evening off before returning to work. I needed another week, I think. This weekend, I’ve been curled up with Elizabeth Kostova’s novel The Historian. I think I have about 140 pages left in that one, but it’s over 700 pages, so I’m actually in the home stretch. I will save my comments for the review.

I have also been dipping into Antonia Fraser’s biography of Marie Antoinette, but I haven’t made much progress with Simon Schama’s Citizens. I listened to the first chapter of the final book in the All Souls trilogy by Deborah Harkness: The Book of Life. I am mainly curious to find out how the series ends.

I did not get a chance to show you what I got for Christmas.

Dana's Guitar

I started playing guitar in high school and even took a classical guitar class in college, but I admit I haven’t played much in years. I have an acoustic guitar, but I have always really wanted an electric guitar, ever since high school. I used to look at pictures of guitars and dream. I have been playing, and things are starting to come back. I am taking an Introduction to Guitar class through Berklee College of Music on Coursera. The course officially starts tomorrow. I’m very excited to see what I can learn. If you haven’t tried out any of the free courses on Coursera, you should check them out. I have taken some really interesting ones.

I am excited for the new season of Downton Abbey tonight, even thought it’s the last one. Did anyone catch the special episode of Sherlock? I loved it! I really wish they could air the next season soon, but I understand that now that Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch are big movie stars, it’s hard to schedule filming Sherlock. What a great show, though.

This week will likely be a busy one, with the return to work. I am hoping to grab some time in the evenings to read. I definitely want to finish a couple of books I’ve had going on my Kindle for a while.

What are you up to this week? What are you reading?

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news, recap the past week on your blog, and showcase books and things we have received. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme. Image adapted from Patrick on Flickr.