I really could not put this down. How refreshing, after all that Twilight crap, to read a vampire novel where the vampire is actually a bad guy! ( )

Story about Vlad Dracula, the history wrapped in a fictional account of one family's experience. Boring and ending was disappointing ( )

A quest for the dark secret behind a mysterious symbol found on a page of an ancient book. This is the literary person's Dan Brown. More Umberto Eco than Brown, actually. The plot is interesting and twisty and very fast moving. I couldn't stop reading this book until I was done. There is love, exotic secret societies, tales of Turkish conquests in later Middle Ages, and the big finale, which tops all. Not only this is a great book with a great plot, but it also has a very satisfying ending -- which is often not the case for many good books. I highly recommend to anyone who loves Umberto Eco and looks down on Dan Brown! ( )

I knew I was going to love this book within just a few paragraphs because it's so beautifully, gracefully written. I am smitten by tales of taking trains through old European cities, searching through libraries...

Only half way through so far... and can hardly wait to get back to it!

I really like this vampire book because the vampire is Dracula and the bad guy. ( )

I seem to have a thing lately for really long books. Although, at 642 pages in hardcover, this one wasn't all that long. But it was really good! Its narrator is a young woman who gets involved in a hunt for Vlad Tepes—Dracula. It begins when the narrator (who's never named, as far as I can recall), who's sixteen at the time the story begins, finds a strange book with a woodcut of a dragon in the middle of its otherwise blank pages in her father's library in their home in Amsterdam. Reluctantly, her father begins to tell her the story behind the book, which came to him when he was a graduate student in America.

Told mostly in the form of letters and journal entries, the narrative weaves between the young woman's story, her father's, and her father's university advisor's, as they all search for the secret of the book, which appears to lead to the location of Dracula's tomb. Ranging across some fifty years and half a dozen countries, it's rich in legend and historical detail.

My only problem with the book—and it's a small cavil—is that it's all written in the same style even though it has numerous different narrators, which sometimes makes it a little confusing to keep clear on whose story we're following at any given time. Otherwise, it's an engrossing new take on the Dracula legend. ( )

A very good, rich literary horror story. I loved the cultural ethos. Overall the novel is 100-150 pages too long and the sudden demise of Dracula in a brief, undramatic fashion far too matter of fact. But this is an excellent read. ( )

(unabridged audiobook read by Justine Eyre and Paul Michael): An interesting take on the Dracula legend told mostly in the form of letters from various people who hunted him. Though a bit slow and academic in some places, by and large it's a fascinating psuedo-history lesson. ( )

An odd and interesting tale of Dracula told from an historical point of view. The main character, Paul, finds himself on the trail of the infamous Dracula. He is accompanied by the mysterious Helen Rossi, who is searching for her father. The story flits back and forth between past and present, England and war-torn Europe. This is not your average vampire story - you will leave it feeling relieved that Vlad Tepes is long gone and that Dracula does not exist; a piece of you, though, will always wonder about those blurred lines between fiction and reality. ( )

This book is officially one of my favorites. Finally veering away from a complete make believe, romance vampire type book, this novel throws real history and real daily life into the mix making it an amazing believable story. I also loved how there was lots of traveling and amazing descriptions (although some were a little to long). My favorite described Venice perfectly `` You`ve got an eye for atmosphere, Venice is famous for her stage show, and she doesn't mind if she gets a little run down, as long as the world pours in here to worship her.Wait till evening and you wont be disappointed. a stage set needs a softer kind of light than this. You`ll be surprised by the transformation`` Now, the reason i only gave it four stars is because Kostova went a little overboard with describing everything, thus making it a little too long. But i have been recommending this book left right and center. ( )

I just can't pin down how I feel about this novel. At times the plot felt plodding - and I found the detail not enriching, but overwhelming, drowning out the actual plot progression.

It wasn't a bad book, but something about it just didn't work for me. Perhaps it stems from an overexposure to vampires in today's popular culture. Perhaps it just wasn't my style. All the same, I wouldn't recommend this to a friend. ( )

This book is too long with too much detail, found it difficult to finish. ( )

I loved this story. The writing was just so well done. The author truly made me feel and see this world that she was writing about. I have never wanted to visit Budapest, but I sure do now. The story was compelling and imaginative. It was a fresh take on the Dracula story. And while that story is front and center, the book is about so much more. If you're looking for a book to loose yourself in for a while, this is the book for you. ( )

Great for discussion in book groups for definition of good vs evil. ( )

I have been trying to finish this book since the end of July....it is an ok book, but I guess the subject just couldn't hold my interest. I found out some interesting pieces of information about Eastern Europe and vampires, but couldn't continue.

A professor has disappeared, and one of his assistants goes to Eastern Europe to look for him...it is a thriller, but it just couldn't thrill me enough to finish...I did get through 3/4 of it, but have definitely lost interest...vampires, Dracula, Vlad the Imapler.

I guess I read too many other books in between. It was excellent writing on the author's part, though. ( )

This book was too long,slow-paced and not worth the two months I kept trying to finish it! ( )

Think Davinci Code, with Dracula. Trawling through libraries looking for hints in manuscripts for the location of the tomb of Dracula. The thing I really admired about the book was the way the author described some of the places visited. She has a great touch with describing not just the landscape and the appearance of a place, but the sounds and feelings as well. It is also very well researched. The storyline plays out over a series of flashbacks and letters, and the non-linear timeline works really well here. It did feel a little long towards the end, and the climax at the end is a bit short in comparison with the buildup. Regardless, I look forward to reading more from this author. ( )

I was drawn to this book a number of times (really I was waiting for it to come out in either trade or paperback format) and was not disappointed at all when it finally came home with me. I definitely took my time with this novel as I found it rich and slow yet thoroughly enjoyable.

I believe it is her first novel and it was very well researched. It allows the reader to travel back and forth in time and place and although it got a little confusing at times, I found that if I slowed down my reading and took in every word, it was worth it.

I agree with some other reviews that the journey was greater than the arrival.

I do know that it is a novel that I will revisit one day and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys 'historical' and gothic fiction. ( )

This was my birthday gift to myself a couple of years ago. I have never read Dracula, but I found the idea of this book irresistable. The adventure, the family drama, and the literary history were fascinating. I did find, however, that the ending was a bit predictable. ( )

The Historian plays off of the possibility that Bram Stoker's Dracula actually existed. As I've been reading more vampire fiction lately, I thought why not, I'll give it a try.

Ugh. There were parts that were absolutely delightful to read but most parts dragged on...and on...and on... The story is more or less a story within a story within a story. The daughter is the character we're with through the entire story (though I can't even remember if we learn her name). However, the majority of what you actually read is the story of her father meeting her mother on a search for Dracula, which she is reading through letters and therefore learning at the same time. But the intertextuality doesn't stop there. Sometimes, the father inside the story is telling a story which then the daughter relates to us, and sometimes he tells a story of his professor telling a story which the daughter tells to us. And since I listened to this on audiobook, it was even harder to follow.

On top of that, these people travel a lot. Therefore, you get lots of description of scenery. While the description is beautiful, it gets old after awhile. It also drags the book out too much, in my opinion, making it a bore when less description would have made it a much more interesting read.

And, perhaps as a tribute to Stoker himself, it takes all of two sentences to slay Dracula. What a letdown.

I'm glad I finished this book. It's good if you have a lot of time to kill because it takes so long to get through (it took me two months) but I will most definitely not be reading, or listening, to this again. ( )

The Historian -- a novel about a family's encounters with the historical Dracula, told through novels, letters, and contemporaneous descriptions -- is slow-moving, and assembling the pieces of the puzzle takes a while. If you like action and/or in media res beginnings, it might be tough going.

On the other hand, if you like slow intricate build-ups, this one is clever. It's very mannered in its combinations of diaries, letters, and so on. I thought it was a bit too neatly put together -- the unveiling was better than what was unveiled. Final conclusion, though, is that it is worth reading: beautifully written in parts, intricately put together, and some fresh ideas on an old story. ( )

The Da Vinci code, only substitute Dracula for Jesus ( )

fiction, historical fiction, Dracula

First of all, before reading The Historian one should read Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Although The Historian is not a sequel or a prequel to that book without reading Dracula first, I believe that one could not fully experience The Historian.

The Historian has several good points. The language of the book is sophisticated. The introduction is written in the style of an authentic thesis/research paper, which was nice.

Although I’m no fan of love stories, the love stories in The Historian were good. Here lust and love and all of the matters of the heart are discussed with elegance.

It was good to see that Helen is not described as ravishingly beautiful as is the custom of most writers to describe the female protagonist as. It’s her personality (although a little unpleasant to begin with), that is described at length. Her keen intellect and her courage, her anger and her love, all of it is shown in an elegant way. It’s wonderful to see that as the story progresses and the more Paul gets to know her the more he thinks of her as beautiful. No love at first sight, couldn’t take his eyes off of her, knew that he couldn’t live without her nonsense! This is how mature love stories should be.

Among the characters the bit players were much more interesting than the protagonists. I especially liked the characters of Professor Bora, his wife and his associate Selim Aksoy.

Now for the weaker points of the story. The father-daughter relationship in the first part seemed a little unreal to me. No father daughter I know share a relationship like that. It seems more like a father-son relationship. The son is in awe of the father and respects him, but at the same time he secretly wants to rebel and speak his mind. It’s only in the second part of the book; when the daughter travels and reads the father’s letters did it feel like a father-daughter relationship to me.

The narrative is kind of heavy. It is chock-full of descriptions of scenery and of historical events. Some people might find it cumbersome. But I suppose if one can patiently read through all of it might turn out to be a rewarding experience after all.

Also, for a long time nothing really happens in the story. They travel, they read various texts, of course all of this is a part of their journey but the narrative does become rather dreary. While reading the book my mind wandered quite a bit from time to time. Even in the final 100 or so pages nothing happens. The pace of the narrative picks up a bit with the merging of the two narratives (the father’s reminiscences and the daughter’s own journey) and then again after Professor Rossi’s final narrative.

In addition, it does get kind of hard to keep track of all the stories. All that going back and forth between the past, the past (!) and the present does make one a little confused.

That is perhaps because the narrative is so even toned. There is really no difference between the voices of Rossi, Paul, Helen and the Narrator. For example, at the beginning of the book the daughter doesn’t sound like a little girl at all. She sounds and acts like a grown up.

In the second part the story is so full of the father’s letters that we hardly get a glimpse of the daughter’s personality and her growth as she continues on her journey. As a result I really didn’t feel any sense of urgency as she tried to find her father. I would have liked more descriptions of the daughter’s journey.

Bram Stoker created such a terrifying tale, that its notoriety outstrips the original folk tale/history. The atmosphere of urgency and fear was the life line of Dracula. That atmosphere is present in the earlier points of this book but it quickly disappears.

As for the climax it is in keeping with the lazy pace of the book. Let’s face it, the writer didn’t actually promise us a spectacular finale. With a narrative that is (although nicely written) a bit of a drag why would anyone expect a big finish? Yes, the epilogue did cause me a pang of sadness. The book could have done without that twist. But that I suppose leaves room for sequels.

In the end all I can say is that while Elizabeth Kostova is no Bram Stoker, she does do a satisfactory job of re-telling a tale that has been rehashed so many times. This is one of those books that you read once, enjoy but soon forget about. So, if I am to sum The Historian in a sentence I would say ‘Enjoyable but not memorable’.

I am reading this now and am in love with it--I love the evocation of compulsive scholarly atmosphere. ( )