The Historian-Brilliant Book

snapjiggyfluff

I was just wondering if anyone else has read "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova? I just finished it the other day and it's one of the best books I've read in ages, what does everyone else think?

Tar.Aldarion

Is that the thing where a guy is hired as the Historian to a library which holds all the mythical artifacts from human folklore?

Tristram

From the Jacket

"To you, perceptive reader, I bequeath my history...."

Late one night, exploring her father's library, a young woman finds an ancient book and a cache of yellowing letters. The letters are all addressed to "My dear and unfortunate successor," and they plunge her into a world she never dreamed of—a labyrinth where the secrets of her father's past and her mother's mysterious fate connect to an inconceivable evil hidden in the depths of history.

The letters provide links to one of the darkest powers that humanity has ever known—and to a centuries-long quest to find the source of that darkness and wipe it out. It is a quest for the truth about Vlad the Impaler, the medieval ruler whose barbarous reign formed the basis of the legend of Dracula. Generations of historians have risked their reputations, their sanity, and even their lives to learn the truth about Vlad the Impaler and Dracula. Now one young woman must decide whether to take up this quest herself—to follow her father in a hunt that nearly brought him to ruin years ago, when he was a vibrant young scholar and her mother was still alive.

What does the legend of Vlad the Impaler have to do with the modern world? Is it possible that the Dracula of myth truly existed—and that he has lived on, century after century, pursuing his own unknowable ends? The answers to these questions cross time and borders, as first the father and then the daughter search for clues, from dusty Ivy League libraries to Istanbul, Budapest, and the depths of Eastern Europe. In city after city, in monasteries and archives, in letters and in secret conversations, the horrible truth emerges about Vlad the Impaler's dark reign—and about a time-defying pact that may have kept his awful work alive down through the ages.

Parsing obscure signs and hidden texts, reading codes worked into the fabric of medieval monastic traditions—and evading the unknown adversaries who will go to any lengths to conceal and protect Vlad's ancient powers—one woman comes ever closer to the secret of her own past and a confrontation with the very definition of evil. Elizabeth Kostova's debut novel is an adventure of monumental proportions, a relentless tale that blends fact and fantasy, history and the present, with an assurance that is almost unbearably suspenseful—and utterly unforgettable.

snapjiggyfluff

It really is a great book, fascinating descriptions of eastern European countries just after the death of Stalin, what did you think of the book Tristam

Tar.Aldarion

Tristram wrote:

From the Jacket

"To you, perceptive reader, I bequeath my history...."

Late one night, exploring her father's library, a young woman finds an ancient book and a cache of yellowing letters. The letters are all addressed to "My dear and unfortunate successor," and they plunge her into a world she never dreamed of—a labyrinth where the secrets of her father's past and her mother's mysterious fate connect to an inconceivable evil hidden in the depths of history.

The letters provide links to one of the darkest powers that humanity has ever known—and to a centuries-long quest to find the source of that darkness and wipe it out. It is a quest for the truth about Vlad the Impaler, the medieval ruler whose barbarous reign formed the basis of the legend of Dracula. Generations of historians have risked their reputations, their sanity, and even their lives to learn the truth about Vlad the Impaler and Dracula. Now one young woman must decide whether to take up this quest herself—to follow her father in a hunt that nearly brought him to ruin years ago, when he was a vibrant young scholar and her mother was still alive.

What does the legend of Vlad the Impaler have to do with the modern world? Is it possible that the Dracula of myth truly existed—and that he has lived on, century after century, pursuing his own unknowable ends? The answers to these questions cross time and borders, as first the father and then the daughter search for clues, from dusty Ivy League libraries to Istanbul, Budapest, and the depths of Eastern Europe. In city after city, in monasteries and archives, in letters and in secret conversations, the horrible truth emerges about Vlad the Impaler's dark reign—and about a time-defying pact that may have kept his awful work alive down through the ages.

Parsing obscure signs and hidden texts, reading codes worked into the fabric of medieval monastic traditions—and evading the unknown adversaries who will go to any lengths to conceal and protect Vlad's ancient powers—one woman comes ever closer to the secret of her own past and a confrontation with the very definition of evil. Elizabeth Kostova's debut novel is an adventure of monumental proportions, a relentless tale that blends fact and fantasy, history and the present, with an assurance that is almost unbearably suspenseful—and utterly unforgettable.

Woah, that sounds really good.
I must pick it up some time.

Tristram

lol

I havent read it.Some of my friends have and they enjoyed it though.Its not really my cup of tea to be honest.

Dades

Sounds interesting

But is it Da Vinci type fluff, or is there a bit more meat on the bones?

Books written in the first person usually annoy me too.

dudara

I enjoyed this book at the start and for most of the way through, but was really disappointed by the way it all fizzled out at the end.

It's a literary vampire story, following different generations and their quest to unravel the mysteries of vampire lore. It's written in the first person, but doesn't usually appeal to me, but works well here. It draws on historical information and the myth of Vlad the Impaler to create its storyline.

It's a good read, a cut above the norm in terms of the genre, but ultimately, in my opinion it just didn't live up to it's literary aspirations

snapjiggyfluff

I kind of agree with you there, the ending was kind of dissapointing but it really is a great read, I couldn't put it down.

Faerie

I agree about the ending - it was a bit of an anti-climax. I really enjoyed it though. Anyone who likes vampire books should definately read it. I loved the descriptions of Eastern Europe, Elizabeth Kostova is definately a brilliant writer! I also really liked the narrator, but I thought the character of her mother was a bit odd!

Jay Tomio

I thought this book was okay, and represented a quantity that was much better than most books that get this kind of publicity/press (i.e. Brown). That said, I would consider it extremely short of brilliant, a tag that I associate with current authors like Ben Okri, Kazuo Ishiguro, Salman Rushdie, Milorad Pavic, Jose Saramago, Michael Chabon, Paul Auster, Cormac Mccarthy, Thomas Pynchon, Umbero Eco etc.

Entertaining, and enjoyable for sure, and enough to probably get me interested in subsequent work, but nothing I read leads me to believe Kostova is anywhere near the class of the elite fiction writers (or who I consider to be the best). For example, Daniewlewski's debut (House of Leaves) blows The Historian away.