Book: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

I borrowed this book from my friend Carol who recommended it, though my my friend Marie was the first to praise this novel and insist I would enjoy it way back in 2006...I just failed to pick it up until now. :(

The book is of the adult fiction genre with 656 pages (I believe). As the title indicates, there is quite a bit of history in this novel, though it is a fictional tale. The main character is the teenage daughter of a historian. She stumbles across a very strange book in their library...when she asks her father about it the journey begins.

I particularly enjoyed this book for the wonderful way the author describes the various places across Western & Central Europe that are visited. Particularly how the are described in context to the story/time period of the story. I'm no expert...but things appear to be quite accurate as the setting is prior to the fall of communism.

Another reason I found this one especially intriguing...the subject under the history...what these characters are searching for: the tomb of Vlad Tepes, the Impaler: the actual, real, once live resident of the Wallachian region in Romania, often referred to as Dracula.

Don't misunderstand. This is not a "vampire novel" similar to Bram Stoker's or Anne Rice's...this is a story about Vlad Tepes and where his tomb is/was. I'll leave the out the why...for those of you who choose to pick this one up (which you should). It is not about the vampiric deeds done by the undead, rather more about the life of the man and the clash of cultures during the time he lived.

I found the writing style to be rather "slow" and the pace of the book steady. The story is very enjoyable and the characters are developed well for this novel. They are not the focus, per se. It is more about what brought them to this story and how it is going to play out. The mystery is there and the reader can unfold it as the book continues, which is a lot of fun. The book isn't scary. There are points where I wasn't quite sure what would happen...but no gore or horrific elements.

I enjoyed this book a lot. I loved reading about places I've been and places I'm planning to go. The historical elements seem to be well researched and were intriguing. I highly recommend it!

Bottom Line: When I stumble across a nice copy of this one in a used book shop, it will be in my library!