Review by bookbelle5_17 - Interview with the Vampire

bookbelle5_17 's review for:

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

5.0

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

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.

Content Warnings