Book Review: The Swan Thieves

I recently finished the new book by Elizabeth Kostova, The Swan Thieves. As I mentioned in a previous post, I was super excited to start this book. Her Kostova's debut novel, The Historian, is one of my most favorite books ever! The plot of Swan Thieves really intrigued me. Here is a synopsis from Kostova's website, theswanthieves.com:

"Robert Oliver, a renowned painter, has brutally attacked a canvas in the National Gallery of Art. What would compel an artist to destroy something he values beyond all else? From the confines of his hospital room, Oliver maintains a stubborn silence, offering only the briefest explanation before he stops speaking altogether: "I did it for her."

But who is she? Psychiatrist Andrew Marlow prides himself on his ability to make even a stone talk, but he gets nowhere with Oliver. Driven at first by professional curiosity, and then by a determination that disrupts his ordered, careful world, Marlow embarks on an unconventional pursuit of the answers his patient won't provide, and on a journey into the lives of the women Oliver left behind."

I studied the French Impressionists when I was in France, and love it. I love their artwork, and this story had a lot of descriptions and talk of some of the more famous paintings. Of course, I got even more excited to read this book when I opened it up and saw the opening quote of the book. It's by Edouard Manet (one of my faves!), and it says:

"You would hardly believe how difficult it is to place a figure alone on a canvas, and to concentrate all the interest on this single and universal figure and still keep it living and real."

I thought this quote fit the story perfectly, what with Robert Oliver and his obsession.

So now that I've finished the book and have had time to absorb everything, I can truthfully say that I really loved it. I know it's had a lot of mixed reviews. Some people loved it, some thought it was boring, too long, etc. I have to say, if you aren't into painting or the study of paintings or Impressionism, you might think this story is boring. I, as I stated above, adore this kind of stuff. So I loved and totally took in all the long passages about the paintings :)

I also really loved the way Kostova wrote this story. It's told through the eyes of a few different characters. Psychiatrist Andrew Marlow is the main character, and I loved him. I thought he was funny, smart, but also very true to his age. I'm not a 50-something year old man, by any means, so I can't say his portrait is 100% accurate. But looking at him from the point of view of a 21 year old girly, it seems like Kostova did a very good job at capturing him and his thoughts. We get to meet some of the characters through old letters too. I loved this because for the most part, you only get one side of the conversation, so then you have to guess at what the other person said.

I don't want to give the whole story away, so I'll just say that I really liked the ending. I think it happened a little bit quick, especially when the rest of the story was so long, but still thoroughly enjoyed it.

All in all, I'd give this a 4 out of 5 stars. Not as good as The Historian, possibly because there isn't any imminent danger from a real vampire. But this story is still suspenseful-you're wondering what could possibly have made Robert Oliver snap the way he did. I actually liked how I knew the answer to that before Marlow. While I was reading, I was on the edge of my seat wondering when he'd figure it out.

Happy reading! Review of Letter to My Daughter coming up next :)

Weekend!

What a week it has been! I finished The Swan Thieves, started and finished Letter to My Daughter (reviews of both books will be up asap!), and started Alison Croggon's The Crow. I also finally have Waiting for Columbus Thomas Trofimuk!! I've wanted this book for months, ever since I saw The Book Lady's post about it back when I was in France.

I celebrated my 21st birthday (which was crazy and oh so fun!) with my twin sister Heather. I had of course my first legal drink in public in the USA. And it was free :) Because, as the waiter so nicely put it (in an adorable South American accent, too!), "you are twins?! That is SOOOO cute!!". Yes. I have to admit. We are pretty cute.

I also finally got myself a job! The months-long search for an income has finally come to an end! And I will be cleaning houses. I'm pretty excited. Of course, it's not the ideal job. But hey, it's definitely better than retail! Now I'll have more money to support my Alex Band/knitting/reading habits :) Because I'm one of those weird people who spends way too much money on 1)concerts (and travelling to them), 2)expensive wool yarn (preferably alpaca), and 3)books, because I love taking notes in them and underlining my fave parts. Can't do that in a library book!

So hopefully later today or tomorrow I'll have some new reviews up :) It all depends. Happy Memorial Day weekend to whoever is reading this!

Xo
kk

Weekend Readings

It is scorching today, and I do NOT do well in the heat :( At least last night was spent at Gramma's, where the AC is always on full-blast! My house doesn't have any AC..

I got a lot of reading done yesterday. The family and I had to go to my Aunt Lois's house to spend an afternoon, to celebrate the birthday of one of my cousins and the graduation of another from college. I decided to bring a book along, since usually these family events are long and boring (and my cousins are usually either working or run off with friends, leaving me to deal with the old ladies). The Swan Thieves was too big to fit into my purse, so I brought another book, one I'd started reading yesterday morning. It's called Letter to My Daughter, by George Bishop.

I'm the kind of person who likes to have a few books going at a time anyway. That way, I have different books for different occasions. Anyway….the book so far is really good. I wasn't sure how much I'd like it. I won it from the LibraryThing.com Early Reviewers givaway a few months ago. It's basically one really long letter than a mother writes to her teenage daughter after they get into a big fight and the daughter runs off. I have a feeling it's going to turn into one of those books I love so much that I don't ever want it to end. And then I'll be forcing it onto all of my friends and family. I love the way the mother is going about telling her daughter about her own adolescence, especially the part where her mother does the "dirty" for the first time. I was very intrigued, because while my own mother is totally awesome, she rarely ever discloses any personal info like that to my sisters or me. I'll stop talking about the 60 pages I've read right now. I'm sure I'll have a review of it up sometime next week :)

So back to my aunt's house. I actually ended up enjoying myself and never even had to pull my book out of my bag! We didn't stay late (thank the gods!) because my mom had to be home by 7 to catch the end of Lost. I got to do a ton of reading of The Swan Thieves this morning though. I slept at my Gramma's house because she wasn't feeling well, and while she was at the lab today with her aid, I had a whole hour of uninterrupted reading! Just about 50 more pages and I'm done! Review will be up later this week!

Book Review: Les Faux-monnayeurs

Today's review is on André Gide's Les Faux-monnayeurs (in English, that would be The Counterfeiters), which I read while I was studying in France this past Fall. Written in 1925, Les Faux-monnayeurs is a pure masterpiece. It was very different for it's time and is still appreciated by students, scholars, and avid readers alike. This novel, when it was written, was fresh and new. It changed the way our novels are written today. (Thank you, Gide!)

As I said above, it's been a few months since I've read this book, but it's still pretty fresh in my mind, and I can honestly say that it's one of my favorite books ever!!!!!!!!! There are so many "intrigues," or plots. The characters are fascinating. My favorite has to be Olivier. I loved the way Gide "painted his portrait." I can't exactly quote from the text, because I have the French version, but believe me when I say that Gide's prose and character descriptions are brilliant. I'm not sure a translated copy would be able to completely capture Gide's work.

Back to the different plots. I'll mention just a few, because there really are a lot, which is one of the things that make this book such a masterfull work of art. One of the main characters is named Bernard, who is struggling with his identity since finding out that his mother actually had him with another man. In other words, the man who has claimed to be his father for the past oh...16 years, is not really his father. And his father knows that. Bernard also has a fascination with Edouard, the uncle of his best friend Olivier. Edouard is a famous writer. Edouard is struggling himself with a number of issues, one of them being his relationship (which is a very awkward one..) with his nefew. There is also the "vilain" of the story, Monsieur Passavant (whose name, if you know French, has multiple meanings, one of which being "not a genius"..). The characters are all connected throughout the story, and I love the way Gide intertwines their stories. A favorite of mine is how he incorporates letters and Edouard's journal to help tell the story. Throughout everything else, there is also the underlying story of the actual counterfeit money.

I could write a whole dissertation just on this novel because it's that great and full of so much genius. I heart it.

And yes, I am completely gushing about this book. I recommend it to everyone. I honestly think it's a book everyone should read at least once, especially anyone who likes picking apart novels and all their social aspects.

I can't rate this novel with stars. All I can say is that it has totally won over my heart, and I feel many re-reads of it coming in my future. If you know French, read it in it's original language. Otherwise, I'm sure it will be awesome in English too, just as long as the translator properly translates Gide's stunning prose and style properly. Now go read Les Faux-monnayeurs (aka The Counterfeiters)!!

The Books of Pellinor

Since I am almost done with Elizabeth Kostova's The Swan Thieves, I thought I'd talk a bit about one of my favorite "saga", the Books of Pellinor. Book 3, The Crow, is next on deck for me. I devoured the first two and I can't wait to finally start this one! So how about some background info on these books.

Written by Alison Croggon (http://www.alisoncroggon.com), this series consists of 4 books. The Naming, The Riddle, The Crow, and The Singing. As I said above, I've read 2 out of the 4. I love these books. And I'm actually a really picky book reader, especially when it comes to fantasy. I got into these books last year after I finished reading the last book in Cornelia Funke's Inkheart trilogy (which I'll talk about in a later post). Funke is my all-time favorite author and I was craving more fun fantasy novels like the Inkheart ones. At the bookstore, I was super disappointed to find so many teen vamp novels. I don't read much young adult stuff anymore, so it was a real shocker to see so much *excuse my "french"* crap on the shelves. Then I saw The Naming, book 1 in the Pellinor series, and with just a quick glance at the plot summary, I decided to take a leap of faith and buy it.

I was not disappointed! The beginning was a little bit confusing because the story takes place in another world, where bards, or people with special magical abilities, live in little townships alongside regular human beings. It gets less confusing if you read the part in the beginning with some background on the world (it's before the actual story starts). These 4 books tell the story of a young girl named Maerad and her quest to save the world she knows from the dark forces that want to take over. I know a lot of people might be like "a quest?? Isn't that a lot like Lord of the Rings??" Well, sort of. But in my opinion the story has more going on. I've never read the LOTR books, so I can't really compare those, but I wasn't a huge fan of the movies. Frodo annoyed me. While the Pellinor books do involve a quest all over the continent and lots of magic usage, they are quite unique, in my opinion. The character development is great! I felt myself connecting with all the main characters. Maerad and her Bard friend Cadvan are my two favorite characters, and I've loved seeing how the two of them started out as untrusting strangers and are now becoming really close friends. Croggon is so good at letting the readers get to know her characters that there were many parts in the first two books where I found myself bawling my eyes out! I read book 2 in France, and I must have looked really pathetic sitting all alone in my little french studio apartment crying hysterically and talking out loud to the book….

So there you have it. A little bit about the series so close to my heart! Hopefully a bit of background info on the story will help you all understand more when I right my review of The Crow in a few weeks!

Review of The Swan Thieves is coming soon!