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Menu Menu. Home Historical Documents Ebooks. Papers relating to Foreign Affairs , Papers relating to Foreign Affairs , , Part I. Seward, Secretary of State, and Frederick W. Seward, Assistant Secretary, on the evening of the 14th of April, ; expressions of condolence and sympathy inspired by these events. In short: they are such a silly conceit. Am I really supposed to believe that a character would write a letter hundreds of pages long?
Or that this letter would be structured as a novel, replete with withheld information, reams of dialogue, internal monologues, telling details, and cliffhangers? The characters are not helped by the leaden dialogue. Just about everything spoken is exposition. This is a summertime read, so I grade it on that curve. This should be over-the-top goofy.
There should be grand guignol violence. There should be sex, or at least half a million double-entendres. There should be a realization that this material is fundamentally lowbrow, then go even lower but with class. Instead, Kostova handles this with portentous seriousness. Tentatively, my hand crept towards the mouse.
What dark and unholy specter could be contained in other people's reviews of Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian? I was filled with passive-voiced dread as the link was clicked by me. I was horrified to read: xdragonlady 's review: "My main problem with the book being that the author told the tale from so many different points of view, but that they were each told in first person without giving the reader any notice as to who was telling the tale.
Could the novel I had just read really have been a confounding multi-tiered multiple first-person narrative with lack-luster voices which the author clearly mistook for a clever attempt at recreating a sense of research? With much hesitation, I read on. I wish Brien had read the book at the same time as I did, I would liked to have talked to him about it. I too wondered what xdragonladyx's mother and friend Brien would have thought! If only she could have included a detailed transcription of their own reviews!
I may now never know if either of them viewed The Historian as an attempt to capitalize on the fad of Dan Brown-style mysteries and the vampire genre! Suddenly, a wayward link caught my eye and I clicked. Silver's review: "I think I read some review here on GoodReads that called this a book to be conquered.
You know, one where after a time you feel so invested that you MUST finish it, you must defeat the book, you will NOT give up, no matter how much you are suffering. Whoever said that about Kostova's The Historian, I salute you. It was dead and without the risk of ever returning to life, so that no one would ever have to read it again. You're welcome. View all 23 comments. Shelves: historical-fiction.
I think I read some review here on GoodReads that called this a book to be conquered. I kept telling my friends I was reading " Am I destined for some kind of literary hell if I say I wish Dan Brown would rewrite this story with the spark and intensity of the Da Vinci Code? I kept telling my friends I was reading "a book about hunting for Dracula through libraries across Europe," and that it was about as exciting as it sounds.
I also needed to conquer this book because I wanted to figure out why so many people, good friends of mine included, loved this book. Maybe the long, hard, snoozy slog, occasionally punctuated by some good old fashioned undead suspense every hundred pages or so, would have a really terrific ending that made it all worth it.
Clearly Kostova is very influenced by Gothic and Victorian writers like Stoker, so maybe this book would have a grand payoff of an ending to merit the praise and best-sellerness. Instead, Dracula is a librarian. Just as boring as it sounds. It wasn't completely terrible - many charicterizations are off the charts for their specificity and originality. The thing about the books with the Drakulya print was really intriguing. Except that's not enough. The Drakulya books, which could be counted as a premise, with the intrinsic map that is hammered on as a significant discovery, amount to nothing.
The map doesn't even figure into the conclusion! Not even with a character saying, "we were totally wrong about that map. I wish I'd read an Actual Gothic novel - maybe even by Bram Stoker - instead of wasting way too long on this frustrating book.
View all 16 comments. I read this for the first time back in college. I sat there literally arguing with myself about whether or not this was fiction or an actual history book. Wait, does she think this story is real?? I needed to find out, so I kept reading. This book became the gift that I gave to everyone for whatever event called for a gift.
I gave a copy to my mother in law, and she loved it! It became a sign of rebellion for her that she reveled in. Whenever her uptight friends came over, she made sure to display The Historian to prove how cool she was! I try to read this book once every year. And in between readings, I crave the story like no other. Adventure, intrigue, horror, culture, history, everything is in this book. I learn something new every time I read it. This year, I read it while we were on our cruise, I finished it in 3 days.
I recommend this to everyone. It still amazes me that a work of fiction can sound so much like history, and that I want to believe it all really happened. My historian soul has so much fun year after year, discovering more details and reveling in the search and research. And this book even satisfies my scare addiction! And a huge shout out to Elizabeth Kostova for being such a kind and gracious person! I went to her book signing in the spring and she acted genuinely happy to see me. I geeked out all over her, and her response was to buy me a copy of her newest book, The Shadow Land.
This book sparked my imagination in such a way that has me coming back to it over and over again, year after year. View all 14 comments. I got them for like a dollar or two. This book has mixed reviews but I love it. View all 8 comments. This book is impossible to resist. It has fairly leapt to the top shelf, where it's nestled down deep with my all time favourites. I confess to being initially reluctant to delve into this story, I mean who really needs another campy, vampire tale?
Lucky for me I put these feelings aside long enough to read the first chapter after which there was no looking back. Step into the pages and begin an eerie, haunted, hypnotic adventure thoroughly saturated in ancient history and wondrous, exotic, old This book is impossible to resist. Step into the pages and begin an eerie, haunted, hypnotic adventure thoroughly saturated in ancient history and wondrous, exotic, old European churches, monasteries and libraries that are positively brimming with ancient parchment and long, forgotten maps and books.
Kostova's historical tracking of the real Vlad Drakulya is flawless and she is able to describe with a chilling, atmospheric eye for detail, the many settings as well as the political climate in which this story unfolds. A full speed ahead rich, historical thriller with enough gothic images, cultural folklore, ancient crypts and creaking stairs that it is sure to raise the hair on the back of your neck and no doubt a compulsive, insatiable interest in this age old tale.
View all 20 comments. This reminded me of The Da Vinci Code in some ways. The story was a pageturner with lots of atmosphere and exotic settings, danger and romance mixed with the secrets of history. But at the end, I found myself thinking, "What a minute. That plot made no sense. That's all I can say without giving away the plot. Read it and see what you think. I was a modern take on the Dracula story.
I was willing to suspend belief for the whole length of the book. Only afterwards did I feel somewhat cheated. My advice: enjoy it, and don't think about the inconsistencies once you're done.
View 1 comment. Wow, was I ever disappointed in this one! I initially read the dust jacket on one of my many excursions to the book store and was very excited. It had been a long time since I read a really good scary story with vampires. The dust jacket alluded to sleepless nights filled with suspense and horror.
I eagerly bought my very own copy and returned home to crawl into bed and begin reading this tale of terror. Okay, so sometimes books have to start slow.
You've got to get the setting right, introduce Wow, was I ever disappointed in this one! You've got to get the setting right, introduce the characters, outline the plot While the research is necessary especially for a story involving an actual historical figure , it is NOT, I repeat: NOT, a requirement to include every scrap of research as part of the novel itself.
Oh, how angry I got when the story finally started getting good, Ms. Kostova would interject a page dissertation on the history of the church in the times of Vlad the Impaler!
It did nothing to further the plot, and only served to make me feel like I was back in college studying for an exam. Where's the entertainment? Where are the sleepless nights I was promised? When do we get introduced to Dracula?????? Don't worry, he's somewhere in those pages, but if you blink you might miss him!
The research goes so far as to include a number of "fake" source documents. Had these "documents" been merely mentioned and perhaps summarized, I would be all for it. Heck, I AM an archaeologist and historian, remember? One even takes an entire chapter. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about well-researched books.
In fact, a well-researched and planned book only brings credibility to your story. However, The Historian proved to be nothing more than an over-zealous researcher's attempt to create a story from a subject that she is obviously passionate about. The voluminous research is a real turn-off. I don't want to read a vampire story and have to sit through a hundred "mountainous countryside" descriptions. There are mountians. The Carpathians.
I get it. Get on with the story. Unfortunately, she never does. Shelves: fantasy , historical-fiction , audiobook , horror , paranormal , gothic , literature-east-european , reads , literature-middle-east. If this book was written as strictly nonfiction, I would have given it 5 stars because the research into the spellbinding topic of Vlad the Impaler, aka Dracula, was extremely extensive! But, overall, a "good read" and "audio-listen" for fans of Dracula!
View all 18 comments. I liked it much better than Dracula! Fourth time for me to read this gothic novel about Dracula both the historical figure and the vampire and those hunting him, and boy does it still amaze me! This novel is so well written and so riveting that I can well turn a blind eye to its flaws and just let myself be blown Fourth time for me to read this gothic novel about Dracula both the historical figure and the vampire and those hunting him, and boy does it still amaze me!
This novel is so well written and so riveting that I can well turn a blind eye to its flaws and just let myself be blown away again and again. Kostova has penned here the perfect armchair traveling book——also known as travelogue——taking us from the States to England, the Netherlands, Greece, France, Turkey, Romania, Hungary, etc.
And last but not the least, Kostova's prose is absolutely beautiful——at times old-fashioned verging on the purple but in a good way ; at others downright effective and straight to the point.
Again, perfect balance equals perfect rhythm. Equals a perfect story. Well, almost perfect You won't be disappointed.
You're in for a treat! Shelves: read-in , audio-book , historical-fiction , fantasy , horror , award-winner. What a wonderfully well researched book for historical fictions fans. Elizabeth Kostova sure knows storytelling and did a terrific job interweaving the search for Dracula The Impaler and Eastern European history. The author takes you through ancient castles, churches, and libraries looking through documents for clues to the whereabouts of the historical Dracula.
The book is entrancing, but a bit slow at times when progressing through over 22 CD's. My biggest complaint is I didn't care for the q What a wonderfully well researched book for historical fictions fans. My biggest complaint is I didn't care for the quickly wrapped-up ending. Otherwise, I enjoyed the mix of historical fiction and light horror. View all 26 comments. The novel ties together three separate narratives using letters and oral accounts: that of Paul's mentor in the 's, that of Paul in the 's, and that of the narrator herself in the 's.
The tale is told primarily from the perspective of Paul's daughter, who is never named. View all 5 comments. Recommended to Shovelmonkey1 by: charity shop ubiquitousness. Shelves: kitten-squishers , read-in , fangs-for-the-memories. I read this at work and one of the builders in the break room looked over the top of his copy of the Daily Star and asked if this was some sort of "how to" book he understood that I was an archaeologist and thus interpreted The Historian to be some sort of quick guide to well, being a historian.
And I sighed my deepest sigh yet, as another tiny particle of my soul curled up, died and flaked off and floated away into the ether. Obviously if I was a vampire I wouldn't have to worry about the Hmmm.
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