Vampire book review
Jan. 26th, 2006 04:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
winterElizabeth Kostova, The Historian
It's 1972 and a young girl finds a book in her father's library - a blank book with a single plate of a dragon holding the words "Dracula". When she asks her father about it, in bits and pieces she learns the story of her father, mother and grandfather, and the search that directed their lives - a search of ancient manuscripts and old Balkan monasteries, a search that leads them back five hundred years to the winter of 1476 and a monastery on an island. And the story has not finished yet.
This is a book I can recommend to any Dracula fan in general, as well as to fans of Victorian novels. The structure is parallel, intricate and layered, the descriptions are gorgeous and the Dracula lore is lovingly presented. The plot moves slowly, but surely, and there's a real atmosphere of elegantly presented danger, a restrained Victorian kind without gore or gratuituous horrific imagery. It's a quiet book for reading when you have a headache and need to go somewhere else entirely. Plus, while Dracula is mostly present in spirit, his appearances are lovingly described and dovetail with my inner!Vlad in intensity and cruelty and vision.
It's not perfect - the pacing is off at times, and the ending in particular suffers a bit. Some characters aren't explored as much as they could be, and other plotlines disappear into the void. But still, a lovely read if you're into vampires, especially a certain Wallachian prince.
On a random note, the Polish translation is pathetic at times. It takes a special talent to take a wandering monologue by a character who's a famous expert on eighteenth-century English literature, have him mention Pope, and then translate the next thing he says as "Rape of the PADlock" ~_~
It's 1972 and a young girl finds a book in her father's library - a blank book with a single plate of a dragon holding the words "Dracula". When she asks her father about it, in bits and pieces she learns the story of her father, mother and grandfather, and the search that directed their lives - a search of ancient manuscripts and old Balkan monasteries, a search that leads them back five hundred years to the winter of 1476 and a monastery on an island. And the story has not finished yet.
This is a book I can recommend to any Dracula fan in general, as well as to fans of Victorian novels. The structure is parallel, intricate and layered, the descriptions are gorgeous and the Dracula lore is lovingly presented. The plot moves slowly, but surely, and there's a real atmosphere of elegantly presented danger, a restrained Victorian kind without gore or gratuituous horrific imagery. It's a quiet book for reading when you have a headache and need to go somewhere else entirely. Plus, while Dracula is mostly present in spirit, his appearances are lovingly described and dovetail with my inner!Vlad in intensity and cruelty and vision.
It's not perfect - the pacing is off at times, and the ending in particular suffers a bit. Some characters aren't explored as much as they could be, and other plotlines disappear into the void. But still, a lovely read if you're into vampires, especially a certain Wallachian prince.
On a random note, the Polish translation is pathetic at times. It takes a special talent to take a wandering monologue by a character who's a famous expert on eighteenth-century English literature, have him mention Pope, and then translate the next thing he says as "Rape of the PADlock" ~_~
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(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-26 11:19 am (UTC)I'm the same - most of mine is for role play. I ended up researching the solar system and distance between planets and possible modes of futuristic transportation and gravitation fields and the like for a Cowboy Bebop RP.
That's to say nothing of researching 18th century pirates, Greek mythology, internet hacking, Egyptian burial rites (though I was an Egypt geek long before I realised it), cloning, politics and general life in the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent :) It's also the reason my crossovers are so meticulously detailed in fandoms - I hate to get details wrong.
Also, just randomly, I read the translation of When Love Is Inside you while drinking scalding tea. I think my throat is on fire. But I am a-hurt with mirth.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-26 11:33 am (UTC)Trust me, Liebe is much funnier when it's onstage and Alfred keeps squealing and being all O_O;;; XD
Oh, btw - I'm listening to Notre Dame right now and wow. More detailed commentary later, but... Garou! His voice fits so well :D
(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-26 11:39 am (UTC)I was genuinely astounded by Notre-Dame first time I heard it. It gave me goosebumps and I couldn't do anything but listen to it. It's such a phenomenal piece, but I missed seeing it in London. Unfortunately, the larger audience didn't appreciate the darkness of the story, so it was shut down I believe :-S Plus, they put Kylie Minogue's baby sister in the role of Esmeralda. The woman can't sing for peanuts! The french lady playing her on the CD has sung for the Pope and they replace her with a girl with a voice like a tin whistle :(
(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-26 11:52 am (UTC)Notre-Dame's... hypnotic. The music and singing seems simple, but it draws me in. I could listen to it for ages.
Bad English adaptations seem to be the fate of cool non-English musicals :/ Same thing happened to our Metro when it hit Broadway. But am I mistaken, or is there a video recording of Notre Dame available? Is that any good?
(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-26 11:57 am (UTC)As for english-language translations, they did a fantastic job on it, but it was the casting that went magnificently tits up on this production. The translation was perfect and the original cast did an amazing job being transferred into the English production. And when they started replacing them, they did have 1993 Jesus from Jesus Christ Supersta, who was phenomenal, but then it went downhill, because it wasn't a huge show in one of the biggest theatres.
I haven't actually heard of the video, but it could be because when I got into Notre Dame, I was trying to avoid looking for more stuff to get hooked on ;) I bought the CD on a moment of weakness and imported it after hearing some of the english soundtrack :D
(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-26 12:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-26 12:14 pm (UTC)