My review of "The Historian," by Elizabeth Kostova

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I had read so many rave reviews of this book, I went into it with great anticipation...despite the fact that vampires are not usually my thing.

Ultimately, despite good writing and a basically interesting storyline, I found myself disappointed.

The daughter in the book doesn't feel fully fleshed out at all. Did it ever even mention her name?

I did like the narrator, her father, very much, and Helen was a terrific character.

There were times that I read eagerly and couldn't wait to see what would happen next. Other times, I felt like I was plodding through a dull textbook that barely held my interest.

Then when we finally get to meet the object of everyone's interest, fear, research, etc, it feels like an anticlimax...and not even as frightening as you might think.

I think the book would have greatly benefitted by shrinking it down to about half its size.

I don't regret reading it, but it didn't live up to my expectations. And unlike a lot of other readers, I actually preferred her sophomore book, "The Swan Thieves" to this one.



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