The Historian” is a novel with all the trappings of a blockbuster. Surpassing “The Da Vinci Code” in almost every aspect, “The Historian” is a hefty volume that is almost impossible to put down. It is an atmospheric thriller with an improbable-but-plausible plot, exotic locations, multidimensional characters and an engaging style that unobtrusively hooks and then reels in the reader. And unlike Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code,” the ending is thoroughly satisfying. There is no head-scratching puzzlement about loose ends left dangling.
For a first novel that took 10 years to research and write, “The Historian” reads like Elizabeth Kostova has been doing this all her adult life. The text is seamless, with the story woven through plot lines that ultimately converge. Resisting the easy lure of blood, gore and the supernatural, she asks but one favor of the reader, and it fits comfortably alongside the brisk narration.
The story centers on a missing historian with a tremendous secret. After learning of her father’s secret, the daughter sets out to finish his quest – to find the real Vlad the Impaler, later known as Dracula in popular fiction.
Kostova’s characters are very real, and their adventures are exciting. There are no dreams or nightmares, no premonitions. The reader doesn’t have to slog through 50 pages to get to the point. Kostova has written a true thriller and, like a good guide, leads the reader through a labyrinthine plot, which in a lesser novel would be distracting. Here, each diversion exists for a purpose.
In many respects, “The Historian” is a masterly bouillabaisse of scholarship, history, anthropology, folklore and superstition. It is a story of pursuit for the answer to the ultimate mystery, and Kostova never pauses to paint the scenery or color the people the pursuers encounter.
Ironically, this is a first novel that cannot be skip-read or skimmed. Every page adds to the story, and the suspense never flags. It helps if the reader understands the short distances in, but totally different flavor of, Eastern Europe. The sights and sounds abound, and the author’s craftsmanship may be detectable only through a second reading. Like the finest of stories, this book begs to be re-examined once the reader is finished.
The story is laid out by a 16- year-old girl (writing some 30 years later). It features an internationally known historian who propels the plot with his urgent, passionate quest. When the historian disappears, he becomes the subject of a search, which is narrated by his protégé to his own daughter, who calmly describes hair-raising experiences. At one point, each of the three is searching alone, following clues left in the memoirs while almost stumbling over the others.
The deeper they probe the more involved they become with monastic life and ancient religious beliefs. The reader is struck by their tenacity in pursuing questions they probably don’t want answered; yet they need the knowledge to continue on.
What might have been a ho-hum genre thriller is elevated far beyond the routine by the clarity of Kostova’s methodical writing. She has written a book that cleverly inserts the reader into the narrative as an important partner in the travels throughout the Balkans and medieval France and Spain. It’s a difficult trick to achieve, but by the end of the first chapter, the reader is thoroughly engaged – and will remain so until the final sentences.
Several critics have nicknamed this the “Godfather” tactic – named for Mario Puzo’s clever manipulation of the reader into cheering on the bad guys, converting criminals into protagonists. More significant, what Kostova does is to make the reader care and worry. The main characters never drift out of focus or become detached from the thrust of the story.
In short, this is a book to pick up for summertime reading. Be warned, however, that it exercises an almost hypnotic spell. Perhaps more than any other quality, the book’s atmosphere is such that you can smell the ancient libraries, the dry warmth of a peasant cottage in Bulgaria, and the dampness of the crypts.
Brian Richard Boylan is a novelist, historian and author. He lives in Minneapolis.
The Historian
By Elizabeth Kostova
Little, Brown., 647 pages, $25.95
