Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed on 4/20/2012 + 1223 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

This was a very long novel (over 900 pages in this paperback edition, the hardcover was over 600 pages) and it took me about 3 weeks to read but I thought it was definitely worth reading. It told the story of a family's search for the historical Vlad Dracula who apparently had been changed into a vampire after death in accord with Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula". The book is more than a horror novel, although it does have a lot of chilling moments. It delves into the history of Vlad and his fight against the Ottoman empire in the late 15th century. A lot of the book takes place in libraries and old monasteries in a search for clues about where Vlad was entombed after his death. It is told from three different perspectives and points in time: the 1930s, 1950s, and 1970s. Part of the search takes place in 1950s Hungary and Bulgaria during the Cold War. Kostova did a great job of weaving the different stories together, giving the reader the feel of being among rare and unknown books in the libraries and monasteries, as well as the political situation in Eastern Europe during the Cold War. Overall, I did enjoy this for these reasons but I think the book could have been shortened somewhat - there is so much detail that may not have been needed. I have read other reviews of this novel at Amazon and elsewhere and the reviews have been pretty mixed but for me I thought the time spent was worth the effort. I haven't read Stoker's Dracula but have added it to my TBR pile to read soon.

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