this longstanding love of books and libraries, combined with the nerdy excitement garnered from reading a novel about book lovers, led me to the decision to start writing book reviews. again. **
so, book report, number 1! how to start? no longer constrained by the stylistic requirements of professional journalism, i sorta don't know how to begin. i suppose i should give the title and author. it's always important to identify your subject...
"the historian"
by elizabeth kostova.
by elizabeth kostova.
from reading the dust jacket and pseudo-analyzing the cover art, i expected this hefty tome to verge somewhat toward the lurid and overwrought. it is about the search for dracula after all and most novels featuring vampires tend to follow this approach. (i blame anne rice, which is not to say i don't love her.) "the historian" definitely delivers it's fair share of melodrama and angst, but the drama is so rooted in actual history and folklore, it can take itself seriously without delving into self-mockery.
the story follows three generations of historians on an international search for the elusive vlad the impaler. a monster of medieval history, the impaler, or vlad tepes, was a renowned military leader and "turk killer," who was also responsible for the deaths of many of his subjects. though his legacy is soaked in blood, vlad tepes is as much revered as feared in his native land, the romanian province of wallachia. vlad's rule was unquestionably fierce and brutal, but he was one of the only romanian princes successful in turning back the tide of ottoman conquerors. with such success at sustaining autonomy, it is not surprising that so many stories of the impaler linger in romanian and turkish culture. the wonder is at kostova's insistence that her dracula tale be so dependent upon the historical facts and the "most authentic" vampire lore.
the inclusion of the world's most famous blood sucker aside, kostova dismisses or upends many of the tropes of the vampire tale. Gone are the distressed damsels victimized by scary monsters. the women of "the historian" are fierce, determined and utterly capable of overcoming any obstacle. perhaps fittingly, the men are the weaker characters, forever chasing after the more prepared and decisive females. dracula is the only truly imposing male in the novel and even he is eventually thwarted by both female protagonists. ***
though my love of feminist vampire killers is abundant, my favorite thing about "the historian" is that the entire book is based upon the characters' collective love of literature and history. or as i originally said upon finishing the novel, "dracula is a book nerd!" because, in the end, we find that vlad's search for immortality is rooted in his desire to remain part of history forever. taking this one step further, he decides to use his infinite years to keep a secret library, filled with all the literary treasures of antiquity. mindless blood lusty killer? i think not! just an intellectual romanian war lord, with a bit of a superiority complex and a penchant for beautiful manuscripts. now that's a dracula i can believe in!
*see "indiana jones and the last crusade"
**long long ago, when i was just a fancy-free journalism freshman, i dreamed of writing criticism for a literature or entertainment magazine. unfortunately, after 4 years of j-school, i thought i never wanted to write again, professionally or otherwise. but time being a wound healer, 6 years later, here i am writing again. and still being me, the two things i want to write about most are still books and movies.
***though in no way related in tone or narrative, this is the part of "the historian" that i felt directly connected to because of "buffy the vampire slayer." now, i love joss whedon more than is rational, nevertheless, i think he deserves credit for this kind of role reversal in vampire stories.
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