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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
3.5
Most of the writing was quite nice and we'll done but I also found myself skipping ahead if certain passages dragged on. The story was different, but I can't say I was really dedicated to any of the characters.
Most of the writing was quite nice and we'll done but I also found myself skipping ahead if certain passages dragged on. The story was different, but I can't say I was really dedicated to any of the characters.
Good. Much better than The Swan Thieves (which I dnf'd at fifty pages due to boredom) but not nearly as gripping as The Historian. The multiple story layers do not mesh well and it takes nearly half the book for the real crux of the story to start firing. The first half is this strange, meandering tale of an American girl (who although 26 is annoyingly naive) who winds up with a box of cremains and the oddball cabbie who helps her try to find the cremains' family members. The second half, though, is comprised of a beautiful, gutting story about a gifted musician arrested in a Stalin-era purge in Bulgaria and who survives through sheer force of will. This portion of the novel is where Kostova's talent as a writer lies. (The ending feels extremely tacked on and hasty, in my opinion.)
This book takes place entirely in Bulgaria. It starts with an American woman, Alexandra Boyd, dropped off at the wrong hotel by a taxi that is now gone. She is trying to decide how to get another taxi and get to the hostel where she has a reservation when she steps up to stop an elderly woman from falling. The two men with her thank her before they get into their taxi. She asks permission to take their picture and they leave after she takes the picture. Only then does she discover she has mistakenly taken one of their bags. She opens it and discovers an urn of ashes.
The book goes back and forth between her efforts to return the urn and the arrest of the dead man in 1949 by the Bulgarian secret police on false charges. The narrative of the horrific labor camp to which Stoyan Lazarov is sent is not for a squeamish person. It reminds me of One day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, which I read over 50 years ago. There are some sinister men following Alexandra and her taxi driver friend as she tries to return the urn
The two narratives do connect at the end of the book for a very satisfying ending.
This book brought back memories of my two months in Bulgaria, volunteering as a UN Sanctions Assistance Monitor in the summer of 1993 during the Bosnian war.
Some memories:
Shopska salad--greens. sliced cucumbers& tomatoes covered with shredded sheep's cheese
Doorways into shops with ribbons or bead from the top of the doorway to the floor.
Excellent and very cheap wine. I was at a restaurant with colleagues. I ordered a glass of wine. I spoke almost no Bulgarian. The waitress spoke very little English, but told me that I could not order a glass of wine. I must buy the whole boutelika, which turned out to be $2 for the bottle.
The Rila monastery, not mentioned in the book, but a UNESCO World Heritage site that I visited. Alexandra visits a fictional monastery driving through fictional mountain villages that are familiar to me.
Some quotes:
Fall of the Berlin wall "Actually, it was all to the credit of Pink Floyd. They built the wall and they made it fall down one little piece at a time."
Doorway "In the field beside them stood a doorway, all by itself--no house, no door--just the frame and a few concrete blocks."
Smile "That smile--so handsome it made the sun come out."
I am counting this for Bulgaria in my UN mystery challenge.
Violinist "He said the violin should be able to tell the truth and it should be able to cry."
An easy 4.5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this book.
The book goes back and forth between her efforts to return the urn and the arrest of the dead man in 1949 by the Bulgarian secret police on false charges. The narrative of the horrific labor camp to which Stoyan Lazarov is sent is not for a squeamish person. It reminds me of One day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, which I read over 50 years ago. There are some sinister men following Alexandra and her taxi driver friend as she tries to return the urn
The two narratives do connect at the end of the book for a very satisfying ending.
This book brought back memories of my two months in Bulgaria, volunteering as a UN Sanctions Assistance Monitor in the summer of 1993 during the Bosnian war.
Some memories:
Shopska salad--greens. sliced cucumbers& tomatoes covered with shredded sheep's cheese
Doorways into shops with ribbons or bead from the top of the doorway to the floor.
Excellent and very cheap wine. I was at a restaurant with colleagues. I ordered a glass of wine. I spoke almost no Bulgarian. The waitress spoke very little English, but told me that I could not order a glass of wine. I must buy the whole boutelika, which turned out to be $2 for the bottle.
The Rila monastery, not mentioned in the book, but a UNESCO World Heritage site that I visited. Alexandra visits a fictional monastery driving through fictional mountain villages that are familiar to me.
Some quotes:
Fall of the Berlin wall "Actually, it was all to the credit of Pink Floyd. They built the wall and they made it fall down one little piece at a time."
Doorway "In the field beside them stood a doorway, all by itself--no house, no door--just the frame and a few concrete blocks."
Smile "That smile--so handsome it made the sun come out."
I am counting this for Bulgaria in my UN mystery challenge.
Violinist "He said the violin should be able to tell the truth and it should be able to cry."
An easy 4.5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this book.
Kostova's writing is so immersive and vivid, so elegantly crafted! It's always a pleasure to read her work. I felt the real meat of the story came pretty late, but well worth the journey.
I liked this book. I thought the setting was lovely and liked learning more about Bulgaria. I also liked the characters. I liked the slow build and I didn’t really see where this book was going or how everything connected until about 75% of the way through, which was a nice change from the predictable books I’ve read recently.
However, I also found the entire premise of this book completely absurd. I just do not think a single person would spend days traipsing back and forth across a foreign country, with a stranger, delving into every aspect of an unknown family’s life. I found it really difficult to enjoy the first part of the book because I was so incredulous about the main characters’ choices. But once I decided to set that disbelief aside, I enjoyed it a lot.
However, I also found the entire premise of this book completely absurd. I just do not think a single person would spend days traipsing back and forth across a foreign country, with a stranger, delving into every aspect of an unknown family’s life. I found it really difficult to enjoy the first part of the book because I was so incredulous about the main characters’ choices. But once I decided to set that disbelief aside, I enjoyed it a lot.
Great historical read
I read The Historian several years ago and although I don't remember particulars, I've always thought back on it as a favorite book. The Shadow Land did not disappoint. It was an intricate story full of Bulgarian history and geography. A good book makes you want to read further and I definitely want to learn more about Bulgaria. I really enjoyed the plot and how even though it was somewhat slow at times, it was always purposeful.
I read The Historian several years ago and although I don't remember particulars, I've always thought back on it as a favorite book. The Shadow Land did not disappoint. It was an intricate story full of Bulgarian history and geography. A good book makes you want to read further and I definitely want to learn more about Bulgaria. I really enjoyed the plot and how even though it was somewhat slow at times, it was always purposeful.
Worth reading but definitely not up to par with her other books.
I've been reading lot's of historical fictions, lately. Some of them about communism in different countries. This one told a story about how war and communism had ruined lives and dreams of several generations in Bulgaria. It was good to know but it was a drag. Characters were unrealistic and altruistic which was irritating. And now once again I remembered why I don't read mystery novels.
The Shadow Land is a gripping, suspenseful novel telling the largely untold horrors of the communist experience in Bulgaria. The Shadow Land is beautifully written, pulling at the reader's heart strings at every turn.
I first encountered Elizabeth Kostova when I tackled The Historian ages ago. The tome still sits on my bookshelf. I was less than thrilled with her second novel, The Swan Thieves and as a result, I approached requesting The Shadow Land with a bit of trepidation.
Within two chapters, I was sucked into The Shadow Land. Within two days, I was 50% complete with a close to five hundred-page novel. The story, the characters and the scenery were magnificent. Kostova does a beautiful job describing the scents and sounds of Bulgaria. I could see, feel, hear and smell the country. By the end of the novel, I want to visit Bulgaria and experience it for myself. So score one for Kostova for taking me mentally to a country I never before considered visiting.
The story itself takes two paths. In the present we follow Alexandra, a troubled American travelling to Bulgaria for a teaching job when she is unexpectedly thrown into a life threatening situation. Her journey, from page one to the last, pulls her out of her shell and helps her to see life in a new light. Her journey and her forced reliance on strangers to complete her journey teaches a wonderful lesson. Sometimes we get wrapped up in our own problems and issues that we forget that others might be able to offer some comfort or share in an experience that will allow us to understand ourselves and/or the world better.
The second path is in the past following a doomed violinist in an Eastern-Bloc country post World War II. And I couldn’t help but compare this novel with The Last Lament and since both novels take place during a similar time period. For some reason, I have more of a connection to Stoyan’s story in The Shadow Land than Aliki’s story in The Last Lament.
Stoyan’s story is only told in the present tense as it happens to him. Perhaps this, coupled with the fact that Stoyan is an adult vs. Aliki’s being an adult reflecting back on the past provided a “real-time” connection with The Shadow Land. Stoyan understood more (or as much as you could during the Communist rule in eastern Europe) the implications of his actions or inactions at the time. There were also more breadcrumbs in the story to lead to the resolution of the mystery.
Only two things stand out as issues.
What was the point of Alexandra’s brother’s disappearance in the opening chapters?
The ending, compared to the rest of the book, was just a little perfect, somewhat lackluster and not as strongly written as the rest of the novel.
The book, as a whole, was well written as Kostova managed to pull me running through a rather lengthy emotional novel in less than a week. Since the rest of the story was so tightly woven, I was hoping for a bit more punch at the end.
This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews
Within two chapters, I was sucked into The Shadow Land. Within two days, I was 50% complete with a close to five hundred-page novel. The story, the characters and the scenery were magnificent. Kostova does a beautiful job describing the scents and sounds of Bulgaria. I could see, feel, hear and smell the country. By the end of the novel, I want to visit Bulgaria and experience it for myself. So score one for Kostova for taking me mentally to a country I never before considered visiting.
The story itself takes two paths. In the present we follow Alexandra, a troubled American travelling to Bulgaria for a teaching job when she is unexpectedly thrown into a life threatening situation. Her journey, from page one to the last, pulls her out of her shell and helps her to see life in a new light. Her journey and her forced reliance on strangers to complete her journey teaches a wonderful lesson. Sometimes we get wrapped up in our own problems and issues that we forget that others might be able to offer some comfort or share in an experience that will allow us to understand ourselves and/or the world better.
The second path is in the past following a doomed violinist in an Eastern-Bloc country post World War II. And I couldn’t help but compare this novel with The Last Lament and since both novels take place during a similar time period. For some reason, I have more of a connection to Stoyan’s story in The Shadow Land than Aliki’s story in The Last Lament.
Stoyan’s story is only told in the present tense as it happens to him. Perhaps this, coupled with the fact that Stoyan is an adult vs. Aliki’s being an adult reflecting back on the past provided a “real-time” connection with The Shadow Land. Stoyan understood more (or as much as you could during the Communist rule in eastern Europe) the implications of his actions or inactions at the time. There were also more breadcrumbs in the story to lead to the resolution of the mystery.
Only two things stand out as issues.
What was the point of Alexandra’s brother’s disappearance in the opening chapters?
The ending, compared to the rest of the book, was just a little perfect, somewhat lackluster and not as strongly written as the rest of the novel.
The book, as a whole, was well written as Kostova managed to pull me running through a rather lengthy emotional novel in less than a week. Since the rest of the story was so tightly woven, I was hoping for a bit more punch at the end.
This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews