Another Good Read

Another page-turner done and I was sorry to see it end. The tome in question was Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian. Set in the past and present, it follows the trail of a family and friends who hunt for Dracula who is presumed to be "alive" and practicing his vampirical skills.

Check out the review on Salon.com (link above), for more details. Though I'm a die-hard reader and have been called a book slut by my beloved--he's wrong, I won't read anything, anytime, anywhere.

The trip takes the reader through the Balkan states during the 1930's, 1950's and early 1970's as our protagonists are called to search for the elusive Vlad Tepes aka Dracula. Along the way, we are treated to a virtual European travelogue and a picture of life in academia before the internet, when research took place in old libraries and in person. Kostova gives vivid descriptions of the local peoples and landmarks throughout the story. It is almost like being there, and I love that in a book.

A troll through the book reviews at Barnes and Noble shows some mixed reviews, but I had none. There was a small part in the middle that dragged a bit, but nothing too serious, so get out that library card and get reading!