Reviews with content warning for Toxic friendship - Interview with the Vampire

Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

36 reviews

nightfell's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book has the most developed characters of any vampire novel I've read so far. It took a while, but the main characters really grew on me and the ending really left an impression that I wasn't expecting.

It was slow to read at times, especially the beginning, but once I got into it, I was engaged in the story, and by the end, each character arc ended in satisfying and bittersweet ways that further endeared me to them.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves vampires, and would advise them to try to stick with it to the end.

I know Louis and Claudia have a father-daughter relationship...however why did Anne Rice feel the need to have them call each other their lover etc? Like... I know it's not like that but I felt icky sometimes idk if that was just me.

I loved Louis and Arnard, I interpreted their relationship as queer (idk how u wouldn't), and it was funny how Louis would keep internally justify their love as platonic, metor-mentee kind of bond but PLEASE they were spewing the most romantic lines. I was crushed by the ending, they were so close to happiness together.

In the end, I felt so bad for Lestat, and I liked how full circle Louis arc was as he finally understood Lestat, and in a way became like him by the end.

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amotoquinha's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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stooby's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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thesawyerbean's review against another edition

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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.

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melihooker's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A propulsive, dark tale perfect for readers who enjoy the vampire subgenre of horror. Exhilarating at times, but often deeply melancholy and sad.

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bookbelle5_17's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Review of Interview with a Vampire

By: Anne Rice

I had read this years ago for a friend and at the time I liked it, but it was not for me at the time. This time I enjoyed it much more. Louis is a vampire telling his story to a journalist. He is made by the vampire Lestat, who is a vicious creature, but he is lonely. The pair are complete opposite viewing being a vampire in a different, and when Louis decides to leave Lestat makes Claudia. Claudia was a five-year-old girl at the time, and she becomes a daughter to them. She and Louis both become obsessed with how they were made and if there are others like them.

Even though I had already read this it felt like reading it for the first time, because I barely remember from when I read it before. It takes a look at the monstrous nature of vampires, but the romanticism of them as well. Don’t worry the vampires don’t sparkle. It examines the themes of the nature of evil and appreciating your humanity. Lestat had a terrible life, resenting his human existence, and Claudia never got to experience a life. Louis had a loving family, was wealthy, and had privileged existence, he has a human life to miss. He is philosophical throughout and constantly ponders his new existence. He cannot bring himself to feed off human, but prefers animal blood, frustrating Lestat, because he values human life. He wants to know if there are others like him and he questions if he is evil or not. Ironically, his enhanced vampiric senses allow Louis to see the beauty in the world around him. Throughout, there are discussions on what is the nature of evil, particularly when Louis and Claudia meet Armand, a vampire they meet later. His character is ambiguous, and we don’t know if we can trust him. He doesn’t see himself as evil, but Claudia believes him a threat to her relationship with Louis. At times Claudia is a brat and can be just as vicious as Lestat but with a more calculative mind. She is also sympathetic, because she was only five when sired and, in her mind, she ages. She is forever stuck in the body of child. She loves and hates Louis for his role in this. She needs him as Lestat did, but for different reasons. She is also the only one who will admit this. Rice also explores a different kind of love with her vampires that is dark and beautiful at the same time. Louis’ love for Claudia and later for Armand is complicated and pure in its own way. Getting bitten and turned into a vampire is erotic and Rice describes in artful and descriptive way. We see vampires as monsters but despite the implications they feel nothing and have no soul, they seem to feel everything, at Louis does.

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