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additionaddiction 's review for:
The Shadow Land
by Elizabeth Kostova
This is the second book I've read by [a:Kostova, Elizabeth|15724634|Kostova, Elizabeth|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], the first being [b:The Historian|30236962|The Historian|Elizabeth Kostova|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1592232171l/30236962._SY75_.jpg|3061272] which I've read 2 or 3 times and refer to as one of my favorite novels. [b:The Shadow Land|31394293|The Shadow Land|Elizabeth Kostova|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1474474955l/31394293._SX50_.jpg|52067059] is a somewhat similar novel, but also vastly different.
Just as The Historian jumps between the 1930's, 1950's and 1970's, The Shadow Land jumps between the 1940's, 1950's, and late 90's/early 2000's. But whereas The Historian takes place in several European countries, The Shadow Land takes place almost entirely in Bulgaria.
Both novels are beautifully descriptive, with landscapes that come alive in the reverent way that Kostova does so well. However The Shadow Land has a much more personal feel to it than The Historian. All of the characters in this book, with maybe one or two small exceptions, felt incredibly well-realized. Those who were older felt like they had lived lifetimes, and those who were younger felt energetic and intrepid.
The plot itself ranged from light-hearted, to adventurous, to mysterious, to tragic, and almost every flavor in-between. There were also several moments of "coincidence" within the plot which in another novel may have felt cheesy or lazy but here they felt almost magical.
There's a lot of story-telling that occurs in this novel. In a way, it almost reminded me of [b:The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle|11275|The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle|Haruki Murakami|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327872639l/11275._SY75_.jpg|2531376] which is another of my favorite novels. Also similar to that book, there was one particular section which was pretty hard for me to get through, just from the sheer brutality. In fact, while I think I would love to reread this novel someday, that one section may cause me to delay that reread for a number of years. Still, this was a great read, and I'm so glad I finally checked it out.
Just as The Historian jumps between the 1930's, 1950's and 1970's, The Shadow Land jumps between the 1940's, 1950's, and late 90's/early 2000's. But whereas The Historian takes place in several European countries, The Shadow Land takes place almost entirely in Bulgaria.
Both novels are beautifully descriptive, with landscapes that come alive in the reverent way that Kostova does so well. However The Shadow Land has a much more personal feel to it than The Historian. All of the characters in this book, with maybe one or two small exceptions, felt incredibly well-realized. Those who were older felt like they had lived lifetimes, and those who were younger felt energetic and intrepid.
The plot itself ranged from light-hearted, to adventurous, to mysterious, to tragic, and almost every flavor in-between. There were also several moments of "coincidence" within the plot which in another novel may have felt cheesy or lazy but here they felt almost magical.
There's a lot of story-telling that occurs in this novel. In a way, it almost reminded me of [b:The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle|11275|The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle|Haruki Murakami|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327872639l/11275._SY75_.jpg|2531376] which is another of my favorite novels. Also similar to that book, there was one particular section which was pretty hard for me to get through, just from the sheer brutality. In fact, while I think I would love to reread this novel someday, that one section may cause me to delay that reread for a number of years. Still, this was a great read, and I'm so glad I finally checked it out.