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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
Excellent sense of place, you can tell how much she loves Bulgaria! The narrative was compelling and the history and story not one that I've read or studied before. Simple and beautiful. 4.5
Alexandra, carrying her own burdens from her personal grief, flees to Bulgaria to teach English as a way to try and jump start her life. Almost as soon as she arrives, a chance encounter leaves her accidentally holding another family's precious item...and she desperately tries to find them to return it. It's a trip that takes her all over Bulgaria, helps her make a lifetime friend, reveals much of the history and brutality of life in Soviet Bulgaria (before 1989), and possibly puts her life in danger many times as it becomes clear that the item in her possession is not as harmless as it appears.
Kostova has an interesting habit of combining art history with sociopolitical history and the mystery/thriller genre that is just right up my alley. Her writing is lovely - she is great at really making you feel the sensations her characters are seeing/hearing/smelling/tasting/feeling, both the beautiful and the not-so-beautiful. This story is deeply engaging - I read the last quarter of it in one sitting, staying up far too late one night because I couldn't stop reading. I had to keep slowing myself down to really read the language and experience the story - I wanted to race through because the plot was so engaging, but I didn't want to miss the reading experience, either. I wanted more closure on Alexandra's personal grief, but maybe it wasn't necessary to the story.
Kostova has an interesting habit of combining art history with sociopolitical history and the mystery/thriller genre that is just right up my alley. Her writing is lovely - she is great at really making you feel the sensations her characters are seeing/hearing/smelling/tasting/feeling, both the beautiful and the not-so-beautiful. This story is deeply engaging - I read the last quarter of it in one sitting, staying up far too late one night because I couldn't stop reading. I had to keep slowing myself down to really read the language and experience the story - I wanted to race through because the plot was so engaging, but I didn't want to miss the reading experience, either. I wanted more closure on Alexandra's personal grief, but maybe it wasn't necessary to the story.
Детайли за хората и средата
Романтика между Боби и Александра (?)
Мистерия (заключени в църквата)
Колко дълго ще ги търсят?
Има и мистерия (саботаж)
(Мисля че е Невен - племенника)
(Семеен спор)
Министърат на пътищата е брат на Александра?
Ирина тайна афера с Стоян?
Братът на Александра не е мъртъв
Какво ако Стоян всъщност не е мъртъв (?)
Министърът е Момо!?
Депикция на корупцията и реалността на много от политиците днес
Съдбата на хората след комунизма
Планът на Момо да направи отново мини с затворнически труд също произлиза от прякора му Мечката (историята)
Понякога наистина миналото трябва да се забрави
Александра трябваше да бъде с Боби а не с Невен
Романтика между Боби и Александра (?)
Мистерия (заключени в църквата)
Колко дълго ще ги търсят?
Има и мистерия (саботаж)
(Мисля че е Невен - племенника)
(Семеен спор)
Министърат на пътищата е брат на Александра?
Ирина тайна афера с Стоян?
Братът на Александра не е мъртъв
Какво ако Стоян всъщност не е мъртъв (?)
Министърът е Момо!?
Депикция на корупцията и реалността на много от политиците днес
Съдбата на хората след комунизма
Планът на Момо да направи отново мини с затворнически труд също произлиза от прякора му Мечката (историята)
Понякога наистина миналото трябва да се забрави
Александра трябваше да бъде с Боби а не с Невен
This book dragged on and on and on... and the payoff was not so fantastic.
I'm a very big fan of Kostova and have been eagerly awaiting her next book for ages. As usual, it was incredibly well researched and beautifully written. I do think it took a little too long for the plot to pick up, but once it did, it was well worth the wait. I thought the ending could have been fleshed out a little more, but overall it was great. The descriptions of the scenery were beautiful and the characters were very likable.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
An engrossing novel that shows how tightly the threads of past and present are bound to human histories. While I haven't yet traveled in Bulgaria, my time in the Balkans and Eastern Europe impressed upon me how quickly we try to put the past behind us, to the detriment of moving forward into something better than that past.
Part mystery, part road-trip, part historical, part suspense. Add a dash of just enough sentimental heart strings.
Really enjoyed it. The book dives into the history of communist-era Bulgaria in a very intimate way.
It wasn't perfect - there were some elements that I found a tad too cliché or far fetched - but these did not detract from my overall enjoyment of an engaging tale.
Really enjoyed it. The book dives into the history of communist-era Bulgaria in a very intimate way.
It wasn't perfect - there were some elements that I found a tad too cliché or far fetched - but these did not detract from my overall enjoyment of an engaging tale.
Probably 3.5 stars. The characters were lovely, the setting captivating, but you get the feeling that the plot is just a (flimsy) excuse to get the characters together. And you're not sad they do, it's just the whole thing feels a little...hollow...after you finish. Still, I wouldn't be sad if I'd carted it along on vacation with me.
Sometimes an author writes a book that is so good, so lyrical and well written that you wonder if they will ever top it. Ms. Kostova has surpassed her book The Historian. I actually didn't know that she could do that I loved the Historian so much but she has.
Without giving away spoilers, be prepared to be caught up in a world familiar yet so richly drawn it feels almost surreal. The use of verbal imagery in this novel made me long for it to go on and on and on.
One note: Not all of the characters are all that sympathetic or likable so if you are a reader who needs characters you can fall in love with, this is not your book.
Without giving away spoilers, be prepared to be caught up in a world familiar yet so richly drawn it feels almost surreal. The use of verbal imagery in this novel made me long for it to go on and on and on.
One note: Not all of the characters are all that sympathetic or likable so if you are a reader who needs characters you can fall in love with, this is not your book.