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thesawyerbean's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A dark, eerie and dramatic memoir of the life and experiences of a vampire named Louis, told in the context of an interview with a terrified but intrigued boy.
The story unfurls before us, laced with treachery, eroticism, death, love and a lot of blood; paced with twists, turns and climaxes; and underpinned with a nuanced discussion on existence and the concept of good and evil.
What made me not enjoy it as much as I could’ve was the lack of connection with the protagonist. I know fundamentally he is supposed to be evil as a murderous vampire, but I think in reading vampire fiction we suspend the vilification of this inhumanity as one both expected and understood. However, the seeming obsession in contemporary vampire fiction of making important characters have involvement in the slave trade/confederacy is so off-putting and honestly needless. In addition, his relationship with Claudia (although a grey area considering her actual temporal age), was very strange and gave off similar vibes to that in Lolita. Overall my empathy with Louis was extremely stunted from the get-go which made the rest of the story quite the slog.
That was a shame indeed, as the writing is incredible - vivid, atmospheric and poetic. If my gripes with the characterisation were non existent I’d be tempted to give it 5 stars just for that. As an important part of the vampire canon I’d say this was worth the read, especially for spooky month.
The story unfurls before us, laced with treachery, eroticism, death, love and a lot of blood; paced with twists, turns and climaxes; and underpinned with a nuanced discussion on existence and the concept of good and evil.
What made me not enjoy it as much as I could’ve was the lack of connection with the protagonist. I know fundamentally he is supposed to be evil as a murderous vampire, but I think in reading vampire fiction we suspend the vilification of this inhumanity as one both expected and understood. However, the seeming obsession in contemporary vampire fiction of making important characters have involvement in the slave trade/confederacy is so off-putting and honestly needless. In addition, his relationship with Claudia (although a grey area considering her actual temporal age), was very strange and gave off similar vibes to that in Lolita. Overall my empathy with Louis was extremely stunted from the get-go which made the rest of the story quite the slog.
That was a shame indeed, as the writing is incredible - vivid, atmospheric and poetic. If my gripes with the characterisation were non existent I’d be tempted to give it 5 stars just for that. As an important part of the vampire canon I’d say this was worth the read, especially for spooky month.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Slavery, Stalking, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
dayla_fm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Everyone in this book is either angry, having an existential crisis, hungry, or horny.
Also, Lestat is an asshole who made me feel a LITTLE bad for him a couple of times and Louis needs to see a therapist.
I read as part of a book buddy read with my friends and that was great because when you read this, you really need to discuss the homoeroticism and the anger one might feel over certain situations.
Also, Lestat is an asshole who made me feel a LITTLE bad for him a couple of times and Louis needs to see a therapist.
I read as part of a book buddy read with my friends and that was great because when you read this, you really need to discuss the homoeroticism and the anger one might feel over certain situations.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Racial slurs and Slavery
Minor: Death and Violence
theheartisanarrow's review against another edition
about a couple hundred pages in
as much as i tried to enjoy this, and as much as the beginning caught me, the craftsmanship of some of the writing didn’t make up for what is in my eyes a lack of plot (or just the slowest pace i have ever encountered) and way too many infuriating bits. i adore a lot of vampire literature, some of this could be down to me only having a german version of this available, and knowing this one’s background and impact, i‘ll probably revisit it (or the film at least) someday, but for now it’s not for me.
as much as i tried to enjoy this, and as much as the beginning caught me, the craftsmanship of some of the writing didn’t make up for what is in my eyes a lack of plot (or just the slowest pace i have ever encountered) and way too many infuriating bits. i adore a lot of vampire literature, some of this could be down to me only having a german version of this available, and knowing this one’s background and impact, i‘ll probably revisit it (or the film at least) someday, but for now it’s not for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Pedophilia
mothstrand's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Child abuse, Violence, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Blood, Grief, Racism, Gore, Toxic relationship, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Slavery, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Incest, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Racism
Minor: Abandonment, Confinement, Excrement, and Stalking
13octopus's review against another edition
dark
funny
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Xenophobia
Minor: War
arianappstrg's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
4: 'It didn't have to end like that... I don't accept it... You talk about things that millions of us won't ever taste or come to understand. And then you tell me it ends like that... You don't even understand the meaning of your own story, what it means to a human being like me'. And that sums up how I feel about this book.
I totally respect how much of a revolution this book was when it was first published not only because it breathed fresh air into the vampire universe/trope/canon but also because of the socio-political context of the period. You can read the story through various themes and events in American history such as opulence and crumbling economies, stardom, AIDS, the Vietnam war, corruption, homosexuality and art. It indirectly touches on all the above, whether that is through its elegant exploration of death, religion, existential dread or our sublime connection to nature and twisted need for blood, control and terror.
Rice humanizes vampires, makes them flawed and vulnerable and pits them against the great binaries; life and death, good and evil, God and Satan, knowledge and ignorance. To this day, I have never read a vampire story that subverts, so discreetly and intrinsically, what we think we know about vampires and human nature. It looks beyond the traditional vampire storyline, strives to be engaging, contemporary and subtly political and refreshingly philosophical. Honestly, you think you're reading about vampires, you think you're falling into that great abyss of fantasy and escapism only to discover that this immense abyss of blood-drinking, sensual killing and existential crises, gradually, starts looking back at you. In our own unique way, we are immortal. We delight in blood. We seek a deeper meaning in life. We lose ourselves. We curse our emotions and go numb. In the end, we are really not that different from Louis, Lestat and Claudia.
There are a few things I would like to say about religion and the quality of the writing. Exploring religion and the nature/existence of God seems to be one of Rice's main objectives, at least, in this first book and though she uses her extended metaphors, similes and all that magical imagery very well the theme does feel overly recycled after a while. I know New Orleans has marvellous sites, churches, and cemeteries for religious worship. I know that the quest for and questioning of God, defying God, living like a God, acting like a God, is part and parcel of the vampire's existential madness. However, there is no need for it to be explored on every other page. I caught myself wanting to skip most of Louis' religious rumblings to get to the bits where he talks about his emotions, his connection to human beings, his love of life and all things beautiful. Rice does a great job unravelling these aspects of her characters, especially when it comes to Louis but I feel there should have been more balance between the grand narratives she chose to explore. At times, I felt she was addressing me directly on the subject of God, like the author was present more than the character. It read like 'now, let me walk you through my PowerPoint presentation on my religious realisations' which is not a bad thing at all, it's just that there is too much of it.
Lastly, I am new to Rice's vampire verse, this is literally the first book of hers I read, but can someone help me understand that freaky 'father-daughter/lover-lover' (and that's a direct quote from the text) dynamic between Louis and Claudia? I feel this needs to be addressed 😂. It was simultaneously engrossing and gross. It is quite possible that human rules when it comes to parenting do not apply to vampire parents and I get that but the number of times Louis describes Claudia as an object of sexual interest is borderline pedophilic 😂. Now, because my little brain is sick and loves reading about all these twisted dynamics I found it, as I said, engrossing but at the end of the day, it didn't really bode well with my morals and took me places I'd rather not go. Still, I thank Anne Rice for making me confront topics I am not comfortable with. Something tells me she is doing exactly that in other books as well.
I totally respect how much of a revolution this book was when it was first published not only because it breathed fresh air into the vampire universe/trope/canon but also because of the socio-political context of the period. You can read the story through various themes and events in American history such as opulence and crumbling economies, stardom, AIDS, the Vietnam war, corruption, homosexuality and art. It indirectly touches on all the above, whether that is through its elegant exploration of death, religion, existential dread or our sublime connection to nature and twisted need for blood, control and terror.
Rice humanizes vampires, makes them flawed and vulnerable and pits them against the great binaries; life and death, good and evil, God and Satan, knowledge and ignorance. To this day, I have never read a vampire story that subverts, so discreetly and intrinsically, what we think we know about vampires and human nature. It looks beyond the traditional vampire storyline, strives to be engaging, contemporary and subtly political and refreshingly philosophical. Honestly, you think you're reading about vampires, you think you're falling into that great abyss of fantasy and escapism only to discover that this immense abyss of blood-drinking, sensual killing and existential crises, gradually, starts looking back at you. In our own unique way, we are immortal. We delight in blood. We seek a deeper meaning in life. We lose ourselves. We curse our emotions and go numb. In the end, we are really not that different from Louis, Lestat and Claudia.
There are a few things I would like to say about religion and the quality of the writing. Exploring religion and the nature/existence of God seems to be one of Rice's main objectives, at least, in this first book and though she uses her extended metaphors, similes and all that magical imagery very well the theme does feel overly recycled after a while. I know New Orleans has marvellous sites, churches, and cemeteries for religious worship. I know that the quest for and questioning of God, defying God, living like a God, acting like a God, is part and parcel of the vampire's existential madness. However, there is no need for it to be explored on every other page. I caught myself wanting to skip most of Louis' religious rumblings to get to the bits where he talks about his emotions, his connection to human beings, his love of life and all things beautiful. Rice does a great job unravelling these aspects of her characters, especially when it comes to Louis but I feel there should have been more balance between the grand narratives she chose to explore. At times, I felt she was addressing me directly on the subject of God, like the author was present more than the character. It read like 'now, let me walk you through my PowerPoint presentation on my religious realisations' which is not a bad thing at all, it's just that there is too much of it.
Lastly, I am new to Rice's vampire verse, this is literally the first book of hers I read, but can someone help me understand that freaky 'father-daughter/lover-lover' (and that's a direct quote from the text) dynamic between Louis and Claudia? I feel this needs to be addressed 😂. It was simultaneously engrossing and gross. It is quite possible that human rules when it comes to parenting do not apply to vampire parents and I get that but the number of times Louis describes Claudia as an object of sexual interest is borderline pedophilic 😂. Now, because my little brain is sick and loves reading about all these twisted dynamics I found it, as I said, engrossing but at the end of the day, it didn't really bode well with my morals and took me places I'd rather not go. Still, I thank Anne Rice for making me confront topics I am not comfortable with. Something tells me she is doing exactly that in other books as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Confinement, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Slavery
Minor: Pedophilia
A note on the pedophilic element of this novel. For me personally, it's minor and it's indirect but it's most definitely there. It's something in the way Louis describes Claudia, in his whole body language with her and in the thoughts he has about her. And then there is Rice's parallelism of the relationships between father and daughters and lovers which I feel might be disturbing and triggering for people. It was for me so I thought a heads-up was in order.sofipitch's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A book that has lived in my mind rent free since I read it. Another book I wish I could forget so I could reread it.
9/22:
I read this book in Dec 2020 and promptly became obsessed with it and the Vampire Chronicles. I still am, I reread this in anticipation of the TV show which I am loosing it with excitement looking forward to us. This book and series and author has a lot of flaws and I think rereading IWTV with the knowledge of what AR's later books would be like and the themes she will just keep hammering without any self relfection (pedophilia and incest) did bring out it's flaws even more. But still I can't not love this book it means so much to me I can barely put it into words. At least not something as short as a review, maybe a 40 page essay. The characters and everything they go through just feels so real to me and feels like it captures emotions that before I myself didn't know how to put into words. So despite all it's flaws and the fact that I would very willingly have fought Anne Rice in a Denny's parking lot (or would popeyes be more appropriate? 😂) this book is probably my absolute favorite book of all time and means the world to me. This reread took so long compared to how quickly I read other books a) bc I have like half the book underlined with lines or scenes I like and mostly b) because the emotions it invoked are so strong I often had to take a break
9/22:
I read this book in Dec 2020 and promptly became obsessed with it and the Vampire Chronicles. I still am, I reread this in anticipation of the TV show which I am loosing it with excitement looking forward to us. This book and series and author has a lot of flaws and I think rereading IWTV with the knowledge of what AR's later books would be like and the themes she will just keep hammering without any self relfection (pedophilia and incest) did bring out it's flaws even more. But still I can't not love this book it means so much to me I can barely put it into words. At least not something as short as a review, maybe a 40 page essay. The characters and everything they go through just feels so real to me and feels like it captures emotions that before I myself didn't know how to put into words. So despite all it's flaws and the fact that I would very willingly have fought Anne Rice in a Denny's parking lot (or would popeyes be more appropriate? 😂) this book is probably my absolute favorite book of all time and means the world to me. This reread took so long compared to how quickly I read other books a) bc I have like half the book underlined with lines or scenes I like and mostly b) because the emotions it invoked are so strong I often had to take a break
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Blood, Grief, Child death, Gore, and Mental illness
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Pedophilia, Racism, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Death of parent
cookieclutter's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, and Grief
Minor: Drug use and Pedophilia
jashanac's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Characters:
Louis was a bit insufferable for me personally. Melodramatic, constant, unending navel-gazing... couldn't get over hating being a vampire... just, not my cup of tea.
Worldbuilding/Atmosphere:
very gothic, dark atmosphere to the book, for sure.
Writing Style/Authorial Voice:
The navel-gazing really just did me in. I essentially dnf-ed this because the final 100 pages I BARELY read, not gonna lie.
This would be a book well-suited for critical literary analysis in an literature class, but for just a leisurely read, it was too much of that for my personal taste.
I don't necessarily need or want themes to be spoon-fed to me all the time, but I also don't want to feel like I need a literature class discussion to understand all of the vague philosophical meanderings in the narrative.
Also all of the pedophilia references were uncomfortable, to say the least. Calling a literal 5 year old "sensual"... just WHY?? I'm sure Rice had her reasons and it's all very grand and intellectual, but just casually reading this book it made me personally quite uncomfortable.
Did not really enjoy this reading experience overall (clearly).
Louis was a bit insufferable for me personally. Melodramatic, constant, unending navel-gazing... couldn't get over hating being a vampire... just, not my cup of tea.
Worldbuilding/Atmosphere:
very gothic, dark atmosphere to the book, for sure.
Writing Style/Authorial Voice:
The navel-gazing really just did me in. I essentially dnf-ed this because the final 100 pages I BARELY read, not gonna lie.
This would be a book well-suited for critical literary analysis in an literature class, but for just a leisurely read, it was too much of that for my personal taste.
I don't necessarily need or want themes to be spoon-fed to me all the time, but I also don't want to feel like I need a literature class discussion to understand all of the vague philosophical meanderings in the narrative.
Also all of the pedophilia references were uncomfortable, to say the least. Calling a literal 5 year old "sensual"... just WHY?? I'm sure Rice had her reasons and it's all very grand and intellectual, but just casually reading this book it made me personally quite uncomfortable.
Did not really enjoy this reading experience overall (clearly).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Child death, and Animal death
Moderate: Pedophilia
lavender_ani's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Child death
Moderate: Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Self harm, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Confinement, Animal death, and Slavery
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