The Historian

Review 4: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

You can't glean much from the title alone of this fantastic novel, and even the back cover's summary won't tell you much. It will tell you how great the novel is, and how well-reviewed it is - rave reviews that are well deserved.

It turns out that there are actually several historians in the novel. The story of the three generations of history hunters is revealed through letters, personal narratives, and real-time events. Fortunately for us, these historians are not boring text book authors, but are gifted with amazing literary prowess. The entire book is filled with amazing descriptions of Europe's countries and people, so much so that it almost counts as a trip to Europe itself.

Of course,the historians don't spend all their time describing their journeys. As they make their way to and from some of the world's loveliest locations, they are constantly doing what historical researchers do best - researching. Although there are a great many fictional books referenced in The Historian, the way they are found and introduced to us is very real. It is easy to imagine Kostova visiting libraries and poring through ancient books and card drawers to find the historical facts upon which to base her novel, getting first hand experience of her characters' lives.

That's not to say that the novel is all about research and old books. To be sure, there is plenty, and the care and reverence the old documents are shown, the true sense of history, and of a historian's awe at feeling it, touching it truly gives a sense of what some researchers' lives must be like - and it's not boring. But it is not the amazing way in which research is described that makes The Historian an exciting novel. It is the way the research comes to life - the very real reasons that the characters are researching and reading, living the dream (or nightmare) of experiencing history as it happens - the present is always influenced by the past, and only a historian can truly understand what that means.

Unfortunately for the heroes of our novel, that means living a nightmare. The Historian relishes in suspense and creepiness, slowly but surely leading us down a dark path. It is a path that has been tread before, and Kostova continues it, making her story a perfect heir to Bram Stoker's Dracula. The past not only comes alive, it could very well be alive - the truth of which is very much what our good historians aim to find out. In doing so, they take the reader on a cross-continental journey through history and the present day, while the past looms like a specter at the edges of their, and our, vision.

End review: A delightfully creepy take on an old legend - buy it!