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A review by bruisedtigers
Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
"I allowed myself to forget how totally I had fallen in love with Lestat's iridescent eyes, that I'd sold my soul for a many-colored and luminescent thing, thinking that a highly reflective surface conveyed the power to walk on water.
What would Christ need to have done to make me follow him like Matthew or Peter? Dress well, to begin with. And have a luxurious head of pampered yellow hair."
I'm not surprised people find this book boring or difficult to get through, since it is a novel entirely of poetic waxing. It certainly is slow, especially in the back half, but it makes the depth of Louis' gothic misery really feel all-encompassing. It feels helpless and hypnotic. It's frightening and miserable. So many lines hit like a punch. Everything with Claudia is absolutely heart-wrenching. I know it's not for everyone, but I loved feeling swallowed up in it.
I feel like we stopped actively acknowledging that most modern vampire lore comes from Anne Rice. She absolutely changed the genre and we still feel it fifty (fifty!) years later with nothing else coming close. My rating is biased, perhaps, but I just enjoyed myself.
What would Christ need to have done to make me follow him like Matthew or Peter? Dress well, to begin with. And have a luxurious head of pampered yellow hair."
I'm not surprised people find this book boring or difficult to get through, since it is a novel entirely of poetic waxing. It certainly is slow, especially in the back half, but it makes the depth of Louis' gothic misery really feel all-encompassing. It feels helpless and hypnotic. It's frightening and miserable. So many lines hit like a punch. Everything with Claudia is absolutely heart-wrenching. I know it's not for everyone, but I loved feeling swallowed up in it.
I feel like we stopped actively acknowledging that most modern vampire lore comes from Anne Rice. She absolutely changed the genre and we still feel it fifty (fifty!) years later with nothing else coming close. My rating is biased, perhaps, but I just enjoyed myself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence, and Grief