Review of "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova
Elizabeth Kostova's debut novel couldn't be about a more thrilling, yet
popular, topic: Dracula. The author expands on Bram Stoker's named Dracula: Vlad
the Impaler, a brutal ruler with an enormous hunger for bloody deeds.
The book begins when a teenage girl finds a book in her father's library
empty save for a woodcut of a dragon in the middle. Along with the book is a
packet of letters which begin, "My dear and unfortunate successor." Shortly after
she asks her father about the book, he disappears. His daughter begins to fit
the pieces together and realizes with horror that her father may be stalking
Dracula.
The Historian follows three basic plots. One from 1930 involving Professor
Bartholomew Rossi, who embarks on a search for Dracula after receiving one of
the mysterious empty books with the woodcut of a dragon. The second takes place
during the '50's, with Professor Rossi's student, Paul, who seeks counsel from
Rossi after receiving a similar mysterious book. Shortly after this, Rossi
disappears and Paul frantically goes after him in hopes of saving him from
Dracula. Follows the third plot, some twenty years later, involving Paul's daughter
and her somewhat naïve, rambling search for her father.
A mixture of fact and fiction, this lengthy novel is an absorbing read.
Dracula or not, Vlad the Impaler is a horrific historical figure, and his bloody
actions at times are beyond comprehension. The author's reason for the creation
of Dracula is somewhat vague but fits well into the storyline. The book is
well worth the read, if only for the historical and geographical descriptions.
by Christy French,
2006
THE HISTORIAN
by Elizabeth Kostova
Little, Brown and Company
1271 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.twbookmark.com
ISBN: 0-316-01177-0
Genre: Fiction - Vampires
Hardback, 642 pages, $25.95
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Christy Tillery French P.O. Box 297 Heiskell TN 37754 E-mail: readermail@ChristyFrench.Com |
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