Book review
Aug. 11th, 2005 09:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lwoodblooI read a lot.
That's an understatement.
So, every time I read something new, I think I'll post about it.
Every six or seven pages or so, I just wanted to fuck dan brown in the ass with a reliquary. Now every single pseudo academic with a lick of history is going to want to write some passably historical supernatural novel in exotic locations.
If Kostova had stuck with one set of characters or the other, I would have enjoyed this book much more. Instead, she switches back and forth between the daughter and her father, which hopelessly confused me at several points. The only tip off that it's one or the other is that there are quotation marks at the beginning of the father's paragraphs. (it's epistolary. look it up if you don't know) Because Kostova splits the book up like this, I felt like both portions ended up partially formed, good but not finished. Does that make any sense? For example, the daughter didn't feel at all characterized by the end. The father, on the other hand, comes off much better. He ends up coming off dignified, courageous, and heroic, by turns.
Positives abound, though. Kostova draws you into the history of the Carpathians and eastern Europe. You fall in love with Bulgaria and Hungary. The supporting characters are richly written and engaging.
All in all, a decent read. I've read worse.
Grade: B
That's an understatement.
So, every time I read something new, I think I'll post about it.
Every six or seven pages or so, I just wanted to fuck dan brown in the ass with a reliquary. Now every single pseudo academic with a lick of history is going to want to write some passably historical supernatural novel in exotic locations.
If Kostova had stuck with one set of characters or the other, I would have enjoyed this book much more. Instead, she switches back and forth between the daughter and her father, which hopelessly confused me at several points. The only tip off that it's one or the other is that there are quotation marks at the beginning of the father's paragraphs. (it's epistolary. look it up if you don't know) Because Kostova splits the book up like this, I felt like both portions ended up partially formed, good but not finished. Does that make any sense? For example, the daughter didn't feel at all characterized by the end. The father, on the other hand, comes off much better. He ends up coming off dignified, courageous, and heroic, by turns.
Positives abound, though. Kostova draws you into the history of the Carpathians and eastern Europe. You fall in love with Bulgaria and Hungary. The supporting characters are richly written and engaging.
All in all, a decent read. I've read worse.
Grade: B
