book review the historian elizabeth kostova

*This is one of Melissa’s all-time favorite books and is one of the novels that inspired the creation of Strong Sense of Place. It was strange, I reflected, as we went out into the golden evening of the Byzantine streets, that even in the weirdest circumstances, the most troubling episodes of one’s life, the greatest divides from home and familiarity, there were these moments of undeniable joy. Kostova leads us on an intellectual quest across Eastern Europe in the 1930s, '50s and '70s, and also further back in time to the heights of the Ottoman Empire when Vlad the Impaler was famed as a brilliant military leader and defender of his people against the Turks, but also notorious as the slaughterer of more than 20,000 of his own people. They traipse across Europe, from the Netherlands to Croatia, England, France, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Istanbul to investigate secrets among secrets among secrets.Įqual parts Gothic thriller, detective story, travelogue, and historical fiction, this epic effortlessly keeps track of a large cast of unforgettable (and fanged) characters as they fight for light in the face of an unspeakable evil. Our intrepid heroes are professors armed with good intentions, intelligence, and translation skills, rather than weapons. That decision puts her on a collision course with Vlad Țepeș, the 15th-century prince of Wallachia, a.k.a., Vlad the Impaler.Īs the unnamed heroine searches for her father, he’s on his own mysterious mission and has teamed up with a motley, but endearing, crew of helpers. When her father disappears, she sets out on a quest to find him and to resolve the secrets of the letters. She reads the letters and is suddenly more frightened than she’s ever been. The story begins in 1970s Amsterdam: Late one night, while exploring her father’s library, a teenage girl finds a collection of old letters and a mysterious book that’s blank except for an illustration of a fearsome dragon. Or this: Most of the action takes place in historical libraries, dusty archives, and mountaintop monasteries - or around tables loaded with endless cups of tea, pastries, and Balkan food. If you want more, try this: It’s a spine-tingling page-turner and a celebration of the unbreakable bonds we form with people in the unlikeliest of circumstances. ‘Vampire librarian.’ If those two words have sold you on this book, feel free to stop reading this and get your hands on a copy of the book immediately.

Book review the historian elizabeth kostova