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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
Updated 6/9/17 - I finally finished it. And now I don't know how to rate it. I listened to the audio version (because that came available first at my library), and the main narrator was terrible to me. So in thinking about a rating, I have to take that experience out of the overall experience of the book. So then I realized that it seemed to me that this book was written by 2 different people. The flash backs were very enjoyable, detailed, but not too much. Almost perfect. But the main story following Alexandra and Bobby was horrid and I almost gave up on the book because of that part of the story.
I also read the bio of Ms Kostova, and I have the feeling that she was trying to express her personal experiences in this book. But it didn't feel like it fit. It felt - wrong.
Sometimes I wanted to rate it 1 star, others 3 or 4 stars. So, overall, I can't come to a rating for this one. It just felt like it was TOO LONG and needed serious editing.
June 2017 - I've only just started the book, so this isn't a proper review. But after reading comments others have made, then starting this book, I had a few thoughts.
The time frame, age of the main character and circumstance just don't fit to me. The flash back memories Alexandra has about growing up in the early 90's seems wrong. Maybe if it was in the 70's, maybe 80's, I could agree and it would fit. But not for the 90's. I don't understand the whole idea of honoring or remembering her brother by blindly taking a job in his favorite country to be close to him. That whole thought process has never made a lot of sense to me, but there are plenty of books out there with that thought process, so maybe it's just me. But it seems so wildly foolish to take a job in a place you've never visited, where you don't know anyone and can't speak the language at all. This almost sends it into the 'fantasy' category for me.
As for her choices at the beginning of the book that so many commented on - no, I wouldn't have made the same choices either - to try to track down total strangers to return the bag. But if she had asked the cabbie to turn around and take the bag back to the hotel and leave it with them, or leave the bag with the police there wouldn't have been much of a story, would there?
I have the feeling that no part of this story will be believable at all. But maybe if Alexandra were younger - say, a school trip and she was 17 or something - it would have worked out. Still unrealistic and unbelievable, but then you could write it off as a YA adventure. I think that might have been why The Historian worked for me - the character's age.
I also read the bio of Ms Kostova, and I have the feeling that she was trying to express her personal experiences in this book. But it didn't feel like it fit. It felt - wrong.
Sometimes I wanted to rate it 1 star, others 3 or 4 stars. So, overall, I can't come to a rating for this one. It just felt like it was TOO LONG and needed serious editing.
June 2017 - I've only just started the book, so this isn't a proper review. But after reading comments others have made, then starting this book, I had a few thoughts.
The time frame, age of the main character and circumstance just don't fit to me. The flash back memories Alexandra has about growing up in the early 90's seems wrong. Maybe if it was in the 70's, maybe 80's, I could agree and it would fit. But not for the 90's. I don't understand the whole idea of honoring or remembering her brother by blindly taking a job in his favorite country to be close to him. That whole thought process has never made a lot of sense to me, but there are plenty of books out there with that thought process, so maybe it's just me. But it seems so wildly foolish to take a job in a place you've never visited, where you don't know anyone and can't speak the language at all. This almost sends it into the 'fantasy' category for me.
As for her choices at the beginning of the book that so many commented on - no, I wouldn't have made the same choices either - to try to track down total strangers to return the bag. But if she had asked the cabbie to turn around and take the bag back to the hotel and leave it with them, or leave the bag with the police there wouldn't have been much of a story, would there?
I have the feeling that no part of this story will be believable at all. But maybe if Alexandra were younger - say, a school trip and she was 17 or something - it would have worked out. Still unrealistic and unbelievable, but then you could write it off as a YA adventure. I think that might have been why The Historian worked for me - the character's age.
Two stories that don’t really need to be juxtaposed. This was a tough one to get through because it meandered a lot more than it needed to for the first half.
Elizabeth obviously knows and loves Bulgaria, and in some ways this is a love-letter to the country.
The only reason I did not give this book 5 stars is I was disappointed in the ending. It seemed rushed and forced to me, like she decided the book was long enough and she needed to finish it.
Other than that, the writing is beautiful. The structure is very similar to The Historian, with the same intricate attention to detail and the same kind of structure to the story. I would definitely recommend it.
Other than that, the writing is beautiful. The structure is very similar to The Historian, with the same intricate attention to detail and the same kind of structure to the story. I would definitely recommend it.
I read a lot of books about this time in history because I curate selections for a Polish American book club. Although this novel represents a prison camp in a different country, many of the elements of this tragic story are familiar. The bright twist on the novel is a political mystery and a romance. I would probably give this book another half star if allowed. This author can write! I do love her style and her desire to raise awareness of Bulgaria’s painful history under communism. I also appreciate her depiction of a gay character where the sexual orientation of the character is simply a characteristic and not central to the story. That is good allyship and a nice realistic detail in the novel.
Wow, just wow. In many respects, this was a difficult story to read, full of underlying grief and pain, and slow moving. But it was written like a tapestry of the past and present woven together with some gothic mystery and tension. Beauty is added by the determined humanity of the main characters. It takes place in Bulgaria, the adopted homeland of the author, and gives us a look at the conflicted lives of its people in modern history, of which I was embarrassingly unaware. Warning: physical abuse in labor camps is a prevalent theme.
Yawn. Toooooo sllllloooooooowwwwwwww. Just not in the mood for this one.
Absolutely amazing. Kostova continues to be an astounding writer. Her detail is so impressive that you feel like you can smell the landscape and eat the food - but it doesn't take away from the story, only enhances it. A wonderful journey.
I received The Shadow Land to review through Netgalley. Admittedly the cover drew me in and the description intrigued me.
I'm surprised that I enjoyed the book as much as I did because early on there were stylistic elements that I found difficult to wade through. Specifically the perspective changes between chapters were a little choppy to start and the protagonist failed to draw me in on her own merits. At times the pacing compelled me to put the book down out of frustration.
The story follows Alexandra, an American who travels to Bulgaria for nostalgic reasons and lands herself in the middle of intrigue and tragedy. However, Bulgaria itself is the story's true protagonist and driving force which is why I rated the book as four rather than three stars. At times the exploration of Bulgaria held back the pacing and story resolution. Although Alexandra frustrated me for her youth and general inexperience, the story she follows through the past was enough to keep me turning the pages.
The real story follows Stoyan through the past and into the present as Alexandra tries to return something which winds up in her possession that she considers too precious not to return to the people who have lost it. It is this story which is compelling but also where I felt that Kostova's choices as a writer were frustrating. Stoyan's story is at the center of the book and rightly so. However, Alexandra's part in the story feels contrived to make Bulgaria relatable to perhaps a romance or young adult audience because she is often very much a young girl wondering if the men around her find her attractive and blushing over them. Her own past and how it ties in with Bulgaria didn't entirely feel like it fit nor did it feel like there had been a general resolution by the end.
Faults aside I would recommend the book because Kostova does accomplish some beautiful things in the course of the book. Stoyan's story kept me enthralled and I enjoyed the way aspects of the story tied together. If you like a little romance and lightness beside heavier subjects I think this book accomplishes that fairly well. If you like travel and atmosphere it has that too. The aspects I didn't enjoy were worth putting aside and I enjoyed the ride albeit with a few bumps.
I'm surprised that I enjoyed the book as much as I did because early on there were stylistic elements that I found difficult to wade through. Specifically the perspective changes between chapters were a little choppy to start and the protagonist failed to draw me in on her own merits. At times the pacing compelled me to put the book down out of frustration.
The story follows Alexandra, an American who travels to Bulgaria for nostalgic reasons and lands herself in the middle of intrigue and tragedy. However, Bulgaria itself is the story's true protagonist and driving force which is why I rated the book as four rather than three stars. At times the exploration of Bulgaria held back the pacing and story resolution. Although Alexandra frustrated me for her youth and general inexperience, the story she follows through the past was enough to keep me turning the pages.
The real story follows Stoyan through the past and into the present as Alexandra tries to return something which winds up in her possession that she considers too precious not to return to the people who have lost it. It is this story which is compelling but also where I felt that Kostova's choices as a writer were frustrating. Stoyan's story is at the center of the book and rightly so. However, Alexandra's part in the story feels contrived to make Bulgaria relatable to perhaps a romance or young adult audience because she is often very much a young girl wondering if the men around her find her attractive and blushing over them. Her own past and how it ties in with Bulgaria didn't entirely feel like it fit nor did it feel like there had been a general resolution by the end.
Faults aside I would recommend the book because Kostova does accomplish some beautiful things in the course of the book. Stoyan's story kept me enthralled and I enjoyed the way aspects of the story tied together. If you like a little romance and lightness beside heavier subjects I think this book accomplishes that fairly well. If you like travel and atmosphere it has that too. The aspects I didn't enjoy were worth putting aside and I enjoyed the ride albeit with a few bumps.