History is history, and sometimes there is a history within history that is found in history. The novel is voluminous, the novel is atmospheric, the novel is well-developed - I must give credit where it is due. However. At the same time, it was a bit unengaging, a slow read, which was also the case for me with Stoker's novel at one time.

With both pluses and minuses at the same time, there are too many travels in the book. If it is a place where I have personally been and where many descriptions are familiar to me, such as Istanbul or Budapest, then it is a plus, but if not, then it is a minus. It was precisely by reading this novel that I realized that the times when I read with enthusiasm the travelogues of other people, being able to look at distant countries at least through their eyes, have passed. Now it is much more interesting for me to first form my own impression.

P.S. I am not ready to accept the word "miracle" into my vocabulary.

4.5 stars !!

This book is truly a gem. It is gothic, romantic, and richly researched, with a bloody (lol) interesting plot. The details are so vivid that it feels like you are right there in the story. The twists and turns keep you on the edge of your seat, and the dreamy romantic feel adds an extra layer of charm.

It reminded me very much of The Shadow of the Wind by Zafon. Both books have a similar atmosphere and style, with a focus on mystery, history, and love. The characters in this book are well-developed and complex, and you can't help but root for them.

I am really looking forward to reading Kostova's second book at some time. I have a feeling that it will be just as good as this one. If you are a fan of gothic romance and historical fiction, then this book is definitely for you.

Vlad the Impaler is a truly fascinating figure.

His story is one that has intrigued historians and the general public alike for centuries.

The article provides a well-written and interesting perspective on Vlad, delving deep into the history of that part of the world.

It offers valuable insights into the political and social context in which he lived, as well as the events that led to his notoriety.

The research that went into this article is evident, and it makes for a compelling read.

Whether you are a history buff or simply interested in learning more about this enigmatic figure, this article is definitely worth a read.

It will leave you with a greater understanding of Vlad the Impaler and his place in history.

Overall, it is a great piece of work that showcases the author's knowledge and passion for the subject.

I flipped through the book. A person who delves into books all day greets every new book like a friend, even like a temptation.

"The Historian" is a luxurious novel! It presents a dark vampire story, but it is extremely beautifully and engagingly written. I read it unconsciously and didn't want it to end. Elizabeth Kostova has created a superb gothic atmosphere, telling exciting adventures related to the legendary Vlad Dracula. The action takes place in different countries, and the present intervals are elegantly combined with curious retrospectives. After a while, I will definitely return to this literary treasure!

It was pleasant for me to enter the library again. It smelled like home to me. This library was a neoclassical treasure trove, all in dark mahogany, with balconies, galleries, and frescoes. My eyes, however, were riveted by the rows of books, hundreds of thousands of books, threatening the walls from the floor to the ceiling, impeccable rows of red, brown, and gilded covers, with their hard as marble spines and smooth fore-edges, with their torn pages on their hinges, brown like old bones. I wondered where they had hidden them during the war and how long it had taken to reorder them on the restored shelves.

Tale centers around the question of whether Dracula truly persists in vampire/undead form.

Most of the story is conveyed through backstory and letters. This, in and of itself, is quite an accomplishment for a novel.

Those who have an appreciation for History and a mystery with esoteric/intellectual elements will likely find this tale captivating. There is also a significant focus on academic types and their personalities. So, make sure you are willing to spend time with such characters.

I found it highly entertaining. Even though I skimmed certain parts, I persevered all the way through the novel. That's the impatient side of me, I guess. Heh. I felt the climatic ending was a bit off, but I won't say more to avoid giving spoilers.

It is worthy of a bestseller ranking, especially if you have an appreciation for historical details.

Enjoy.

CHARACTERS/DIALOGUE: B to B plus; STORY/PLOTTING: B minus; DRACULA MYTHOLOGY: B minus; HISTORICAL INPUT: B plus to A minus; WHEN READ: 2005 (revised review 11/10/2012); OVERALL GRADE: B.

So, yeah, Dracula ended up being a complete wuss. I mean, he wasn't prepared, got shot, and died. How did he manage to live for so long? Derp, derp, derp. All that build-up over hundreds and hundreds of pages, and he turns out to be a wussbag. Derp much?

I'm truly disappointed. I had such high hopes and really wanted to love this book soooo much. I have an absolute passion for vampire stories, and Dracula holds a special place in my heart with its long and detailed expository letters and journal entries. The idea of historians being enlisted by Dracula was fascinating to me. However, much to my dismay, I didn't end up loving this book.

So, why is that? Well, let me break it down for you. Firstly, I was extremely annoyed by the fact that we never get to learn the name of the main character. I didn't find this mysterious or intriguing at all. Instead, it just frustrated me. Secondly, the historical research in the book was incredibly dry. I dreaded coming across section after section where I had to wade through fabricated primary sources. It would have been so much better if the characters could have boiled it down for me, the reader, rather than slowing down the plot in such a way. Thirdly, the plot was choppy, unclear, and convoluted in terms of the timeline. Instead of building up tension with continuous and engaging action, it lost the sense of menace by jumping around so much.

What did I really want? I craved more scenes like the one on the train. There, the young unnamed girl is all alone in a train car with a stranger. Even though she can't see his face, which is hidden behind a newspaper, she can sense the menace radiating from him. Is it Dracula? What is he going to do? That was just about the only moment when I actually felt like I was reading a proper horror story and felt genuine fear for the characters. But unfortunately, that feeling fizzled out to nothing. Because Dracula ultimately did nothing. Oh, sure, later he brings them to his lair and they have a talk. Great. But it was all rather dull and uninteresting.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova is a captivating retelling of the Dracula story for the 21st century. It offers a fresh perspective, with less emphasis on traditional gender roles and more focus on history and research. Kostova, a well-educated writer, spent considerable time researching and crafting this novel.

The narrator, a teenage girl, travels through Europe following the letters of her father and his mentor. The book is mostly in letter form, but Kostova adds action, emotion, and character reactions to make it more engaging.

The premise is that Dracula, or Vlad the Impaler, is still alive in the 20th century. The three story lines intersect when each person receives a copy of an ancient book with a dragon woodcut, the symbol of Drakulya. They travel through European cities, tracking Dracula and each other.

At the end, it is revealed that Dracula is a lover of history and books, and has been building his library for centuries. The professor is turned undead and staked, while the narrator's father leaves thinking his wife is dead. The narrator finally finds Dracula, her father, and her mother, and they unite to kill Dracula once and for all.

Although this review may make the book seem simplistic, Kostova's research is evident. The result is a detailed and lengthy novel that takes readers on a journey through Europe, old documents, and a centuries-old adversary. For more book reviews and author interviews, visit BookBanter.

I truly enjoyed this reread to a great extent. It remains one of my all-time favorite books. I was extremely thrilled to embark on the journey with Paul and Helen.

As a lover of books and history, I couldn't help but wonder if I would have been able to resist the invitation extended to Bartholomew Rossi. It's quite an interesting thought.

Moreover, imagining what Vlad would have made of modern social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and even Goodreads is quite a fascinating exercise.

Oddly enough, I have not been able to fully immerse myself in either of Kostova's other novels. However, this particular one, for me, is nothing short of perfect. It has a certain charm and allure that keeps drawing me back, making it a truly remarkable literary experience.

I look forward to many more rereads of this wonderful book in the future.

I really need to give a reason that this book received such a low rating from me.

First of all, I must admit that the majority of the book was truly amazing. It was filled with mystery, and the descriptions were so vivid that the author completely pulled me into this story. The book is over 700 pages long, and I couldn't help but rush through it, eager to find out what the great mystery was. However, to my great disappointment, the ending was silly and rushed. I felt so cheated that I was even tempted to throw this massive book, but I knew it would cause a great deal of damage.

I have the feeling that the author simply grew tired of her story. She couldn't find a convenient way to end the book, so she just kind of stopped. The mysterious reason for the entire story, the tension-building clue that was sought after in Turkey and Romania (described in such great detail that I felt as if I had been there), turned out to be ridiculously absurd. When the truth was revealed about the evil, dastardly plan of an ages-old vampire, it was so innocuous that it seemed like a blasphemy against the Dracula myth. It was truly a letdown after such a promising start.

This book has everything I love: history, a dark story, travels through wonderful countries... Truly, all those elements sound great and invite reading. However, my life, I have barely survived these 630 and some pages without screaming or something similar.

The amount of illogicality in this book is truly astonishing. Just one example is the letter from her father that he wrote in a hurry, and the letter extends over more than 50 pages of the book. Or all those wonderful, sympathetic and kind characters, sweet historians, all in a row with wonderful hearts who are looking for Dracula. I could mention more, but it's pointless. I read this book to the end, and I'm proud of myself. Two stars only because of the very nice writing style and the effort put into researching historical material.

It's a pity that the story itself had so many flaws. The plot was often convoluted and didn't make much sense. The characters, although likeable, sometimes acted in ways that were completely illogical. Despite these shortcomings, the author's writing style was engaging enough to keep me reading until the end. I just wish that the story had been better developed and more coherent. Overall, it was an okay read, but not one that I would highly recommend.

I was completely captivated by this ambitious and astonishing travelogue cum thriller.

It truly came as a surprise to me that I would recommend a novel centered around vampires. However, this story stands out as it shows a tremendous respect for Central European history.

The plot twists are filled with palpable suspense, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat. The sub-quest of a daughter seeking her own identity within the story of her mother is both tender and highly relatable.

After enduring Dan Brown's rather cheap and somewhat laughable thrills, it was truly heartening to witness the success of this novel. Kostova clearly has a deep respect for her audience and for history.

I am eagerly anticipating what she will deliver next. I can't wait to embark on another literary journey with her.

January 3, 2014

Dear Khanh of 2006,

I am your older, wiser self. Many things will happen in the years that have elapsed before you become the me of today. You will fall in love, experience the joy and pain that comes with it. You will break hearts, perhaps without realizing the consequences. And yes, you will also have your heart broken. Karma has a funny way of working sometimes. You will change jobs, explore different career paths, and learn valuable lessons along the way. You will graduate from college, a significant milestone in your life.

Most importantly, you will become more intelligent. You will learn the art of advanced thinking, something that college doesn't always fully teach. College often focuses on getting good grades by regurgitating textbooks, but as you grow older, you will begin to read critically. You will learn to appreciate a good book for its true value, and you will be able to identify literary bullshit when you see it.

That's all this book is. Literary bullshit. It is dramatic rubbish, artistic gibberish. It is nothing more than a glorified travel brochure. Seriously, younger Khanh, what were you thinking when you enjoyed this book? You thought it was sweet, romantic, and the writing was beautiful. But really, is that the case? You will soon realize that flowery prose is not necessarily good writing. Correlation does not imply causation, and good writing does not always mean a good plot.

You will also be able to recognize a deus ex fucking machina when you see it. You learned about deus ex machina in AP English, along with other literary devices like symbolism and foreshadowing. But knowing about them doesn't mean much if you can't identify them in a book. And clearly, you didn't see the overuse of deus ex fucking machina in this book upon your first reading.

You will realize that a good epistolary book with multiple characters should have distinct voices for each character. Did you really think this book was realistic when you couldn't tell the difference between the narrative of an old man, an older man, and a girl growing up? The letters and storytelling in this book are absurd, especially when they are told in such excruciating detail. Is that really how people write letters or tell stories?

Fucking letters. Fucking stories. This book's attempts at letters and storytelling, and its epistolary timeline, are overwrought, overdramatic, and completely lacking in sense and rationality. I would rather have a little bit of sensationalism than this dull, uninteresting plot. The story doesn't bring any excitement or hold the reader's imagination. Vlad Tepes is not a real threat. He is like a grown-up high school bully, posturing and scowling, but ultimately not very scary. As an adult, you should know better than to be fooled by this book's aesthetically pleasing but inconsequential claptrap.

Reluctantly yours,

An older, a more erudite, a considerably more critical

- Khanh