Reviews

I’m only giving it 3 stars cause it spawned such a fun movie. I think the book would have been better if Louis didn’t narrate to the reporter, which I found interrupted the flow at parts. The book was boring and slow paced to me and I really had a hard time getting through it. Maybe for the 70s it was wild and maybe if I hadn’t seen the movie I would have enjoyed it more.

mince's review against another edition

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This takes SO LONG to get going. I have zero interest in any of these characters.

akookieforyou's review against another edition

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3.0

*3.25*

“ 'Listen, keep your eyes wide,' Lestat whispered to me, his lips moving against my neck. I remember that the movement of his lips raised the hair all over my body, sent a shock of sensation through my body that was not unlike the pleasure of passion....”

This book was quite a different experience from what I had anticipated; in some ways better, and in others worse. I will admit that I had quite high expectations from this, partially because I enjoyed the film, and partially because this has been regarded as one of the best vampire books ever. But I think that truly depends on what you want from a vampire story.

Things I Liked
-The depth to all the characters. It really added something that made them feel real, and even made me have some sympathy for my most disliked character in the book, Claudia.
-How Anne Rice managed to make me feel Louis's despair and sorrow throughout his story, and how undesirable I found being a vampire after hearing what he suffered.
-Louis. He's a really good character that is extremely relatable and likable (mostly). For me that is such an important quality to a main character.
-Lestat. I know he is mostly just a villain in this novel, but you can see the hints of something deeper going on inside. I'm always a sucker for extremely complex characters such as this.
-This book revolutionized the vampire. Without this, we likely wouldn't have half of the vampire stories that we do today.

Things I Disliked
-The rare respite from all of the depressing thoughts and empty feelings made it really hard and arduous even at times to read.
-For me, certain scenes dragged on too long, and it got a touch boring.
-What happens to Louis after Paris. I can understand it to some degree, but it feels too bleak and upsetting. I completely agreed with the interviewer when he shouted at him.
-The ending. I found it to be extremely underwhelming, and a little disappointing. If I wasn't aware that there are more novels in the series, I would be infuriated by how completely unsatisfying it was.

In conclusion, I liked this book but it isn't and will never be a favorite. Hopefully I will adore the sequels more.

hollyway's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

I first read this book in 2007 when I was 12/13. It was probably the first real adult book I read and became an instant favourite. That was almost twenty years ago!! So I thought it was time to revisit it and figure out whether Interview with the Vampire qualifies as a favourite book or merely a foundational one.

Well, I can safely say it is a favourite, favourite, favourite, and I knew within pages that it would be. The narrative voice is impeccably dramatic, rich and spellbinding, the characters are iconic and the world is built up for us in descriptions so gorgeously original that I couldn't help but soak up every word. I was surprised and pleased with how genuinely creepy and disturbing it was at times, as well as hypnotically beautiful.

Beyond simply being effective in its style, this is a deeply philosophical novel in the vein of Frankenstein. Louis' eternal anguish over his very nature is agonising. Though he is lamenting life eternal and the parasitic nature of the vampire, it all echoes very human concerns. Themes of grief, love, hate, lust, self-loathing and the very meaning of life reverberate throughout every page of this novel - but never preaching to the reader, merely searching hand in hand for answers to unanswerable questions.

Though I struggle to conceive of what the hell I got out of this book at the ripe old age of 12 lol (I have to imagine that 90% of it went over my head) I'm not at all surprised at the way the characters and their relationships stuck with me over the years. No matter my distance from the novel, no matter the fact that I have never watched the movie all the way through and haven't yet watched the new adaptation, Louis and Lestat have remained vivid in my imagination this whole time (I'm surprised at how little I remembered of Armand, though, cos um. oh my god?). They are the kind of characters that truly take on a life of their own, tuck themselves in your pocket and travel on with you. I'm glad I met them when I was a kid and it was a pleasure to get reacquainted with them.

God I love reading!!!!

kat_fields's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This is a book that works well as an audiobook.

an_honest_synopsis's review

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adventurous dark emotional 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

3.5

𝑯𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑺𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒑𝒔𝒊𝒔: A centuries-old vampire recounts his immortal life.

𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘: I've seen the movie, multiple times (hello every 90s heartthrob). I'm watching the AMC series, which is fantastic and everyone should watch it. I thought I should finally get around to reading the book and I remembered why I gave up on it so easily in college. So wordy. One paragraph takes up an entire page. Never felt like I was making a dent.

𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒗𝒔 𝑴𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒆: The movie is mostly true to the book with a few minor edits. There are a couple of scenes that are completely removed from the movie, but I don't feel they would have added to the story. There was one key aspect of their time in Paris that was changed and I'm not entirely sure which version I prefer.

𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒗𝒔 𝑻𝑽 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒘: There are a lot more liberties in the TV show including race and ages of some of the characters, and Louis' origin story is more authentic to the book. The TV show is in an earlier section of the book ending in Part 1. Pretty sure Season 2 will take place in Paris, so we'll see how that plays out.

𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏: If you want to read the book I wouldn't discourage you, but the movie does a good job.

julyover7's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-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

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