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Interview with the Vampire
Dec. 4th, 2009 02:19 amSome spoilers ahead!
Readability: I give this book a pretty good rating for readability. Although it's definitely not light reading as far as the language goes, if you are not too distracted (or in my case, if you don't distract yourself thinking about pretty vampires and other things), it's pretty easy to follow, but the richly descriptive language does make it easy to get lost in the prose--whether this is good or bad probably depends on taste.
Writing: Impeccable. Obviously, this book is a 'classic' for a reason. As I mentioned, the description is incredible. Unlike some books which shall remain nameless, Rice is infinitely creative in her descriptions of the vampires and their unique appearance. The voice with which she writes is amazingly strong. You forget that you're reading something written by a woman (believe it or not, often I can tell), and are completely transported inside the vampire's mind as he tells his story to the interviewer. Overall, everything about the writing style draws you into the story.
Characters: What can I say about them? Louis is beautifully developed. You travel with him from his transformation into a vampire all the way to the conclusion of his story, as he says: "There is no more." You understand his anguish, longing, love, hate, fear, and growth. He is dimensional, and compelling, and dark. Lestat, too, was extremely interesting. His past is mysterious, and even though you don't know much about him, you have a feel for him as superficially mad, yet deeply tormented. Even the interviewer, who probably only says ten sentences in the whole story, is real and dimensional. You can tell he's terrified to be in the presence of the vampire, yet has this insatiable inquisitiveness. Rice writes her characters expertly.
Plot: The plot was a little meandering for my taste, but still quite strong. The story didn't always necessarily follow logically for me. For example, at one point, they decide to go to Paris and this decision seems a little random, considering they were planning to go elsewhere first. It was semi-explained but it was clearly a place where Rice could have explained a bit more. But overall, it was strong, and obviously kept me interested enough to finish reading it pretty quickly!
Themes/symbols: This was probably the richest, strongest part of the book for me. The symbols and metaphors were everywhere! The whole book, I couldn't help thinking of the book in terms of human experience, and cultural context. (Here are the spoilers, guys!) Louis agonized over his evil--why? Because it was a link to his humanity. He hated it, and held tightly to it. The vampires told him he had to let go of human notions of evil in order to live most fully, but then after human pain at the death of Claudia was too much for him, he became that which he had railed against. He allowed her death and the despair it caused to take away that humanity, and it left him utterly bereft, and turned him into the monster he feared. And yet Lestat, who started out so evil and desperate responded to his own despair by becoming more human, more enfeebled. An interesting statement, considering the era in which it was written (mid-70s). The metaphor for an increasingly materialistic society which values things over human bonds, emotions, and experiences is clear. Rice writes of an innate fear we have of this eventuality, and yet we continue to allow ourselves to be (willingly or unwillingly) drawn down that path, just as Louis was led down the path toward Claudia's demise by his own poor decisions, specifically standing back and allowing Claudia to attempt to murder Lestat. The book is rich in symbolism, exploring humanity, loss of innocence, coming of age, and religion. As Louis loses his faith, he also loses his humanity.
Overall: I give this book a 5/5, and will add it to my new favorites list. It was dark, beautiful, compelling, and fascinating. I can foresee reading it again and again to try to dissect it just a bit more. It's one of those books that can be enjoyed on many levels, from appreciation of pretty vampires and pretty language, to philosophical considerations about religion and the human condition. I recommend it to anybody looking for a good book to read. It flexes to fit what you are looking for.
And now I am going to start reading The Vampire Lestat. I made the mistake of reading the first sentence and got hooked into it before I even finished Interview. I had to force myself to put it down! I find Lestat fascinating, and can't wait to explore him more.
Readability: I give this book a pretty good rating for readability. Although it's definitely not light reading as far as the language goes, if you are not too distracted (or in my case, if you don't distract yourself thinking about pretty vampires and other things), it's pretty easy to follow, but the richly descriptive language does make it easy to get lost in the prose--whether this is good or bad probably depends on taste.
Writing: Impeccable. Obviously, this book is a 'classic' for a reason. As I mentioned, the description is incredible. Unlike some books which shall remain nameless, Rice is infinitely creative in her descriptions of the vampires and their unique appearance. The voice with which she writes is amazingly strong. You forget that you're reading something written by a woman (believe it or not, often I can tell), and are completely transported inside the vampire's mind as he tells his story to the interviewer. Overall, everything about the writing style draws you into the story.
Characters: What can I say about them? Louis is beautifully developed. You travel with him from his transformation into a vampire all the way to the conclusion of his story, as he says: "There is no more." You understand his anguish, longing, love, hate, fear, and growth. He is dimensional, and compelling, and dark. Lestat, too, was extremely interesting. His past is mysterious, and even though you don't know much about him, you have a feel for him as superficially mad, yet deeply tormented. Even the interviewer, who probably only says ten sentences in the whole story, is real and dimensional. You can tell he's terrified to be in the presence of the vampire, yet has this insatiable inquisitiveness. Rice writes her characters expertly.
Plot: The plot was a little meandering for my taste, but still quite strong. The story didn't always necessarily follow logically for me. For example, at one point, they decide to go to Paris and this decision seems a little random, considering they were planning to go elsewhere first. It was semi-explained but it was clearly a place where Rice could have explained a bit more. But overall, it was strong, and obviously kept me interested enough to finish reading it pretty quickly!
Themes/symbols: This was probably the richest, strongest part of the book for me. The symbols and metaphors were everywhere! The whole book, I couldn't help thinking of the book in terms of human experience, and cultural context. (Here are the spoilers, guys!) Louis agonized over his evil--why? Because it was a link to his humanity. He hated it, and held tightly to it. The vampires told him he had to let go of human notions of evil in order to live most fully, but then after human pain at the death of Claudia was too much for him, he became that which he had railed against. He allowed her death and the despair it caused to take away that humanity, and it left him utterly bereft, and turned him into the monster he feared. And yet Lestat, who started out so evil and desperate responded to his own despair by becoming more human, more enfeebled. An interesting statement, considering the era in which it was written (mid-70s). The metaphor for an increasingly materialistic society which values things over human bonds, emotions, and experiences is clear. Rice writes of an innate fear we have of this eventuality, and yet we continue to allow ourselves to be (willingly or unwillingly) drawn down that path, just as Louis was led down the path toward Claudia's demise by his own poor decisions, specifically standing back and allowing Claudia to attempt to murder Lestat. The book is rich in symbolism, exploring humanity, loss of innocence, coming of age, and religion. As Louis loses his faith, he also loses his humanity.
Overall: I give this book a 5/5, and will add it to my new favorites list. It was dark, beautiful, compelling, and fascinating. I can foresee reading it again and again to try to dissect it just a bit more. It's one of those books that can be enjoyed on many levels, from appreciation of pretty vampires and pretty language, to philosophical considerations about religion and the human condition. I recommend it to anybody looking for a good book to read. It flexes to fit what you are looking for.
And now I am going to start reading The Vampire Lestat. I made the mistake of reading the first sentence and got hooked into it before I even finished Interview. I had to force myself to put it down! I find Lestat fascinating, and can't wait to explore him more.
