Sunday, February 21, 2010
I finished!
I did it! I read the enter book, The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova. For those who are wondering if this is the longest book I have ever read, it is not. It's just that I struggled with this book at the beginning. (See previous post here.) I took two breaks over the course of this read, and read two other books--Dot.Dead by Keith Raffel and The Italian Secretary by Caleb Carr--both interesting and decidedly different works. But each time I returned to The Swan Thieves, I was drawn in. Kostova's writing is like sailing--you drift along for the ride and enjoy the beauty of the ocean around you, never once considering there might be something more gorgeous elsewhere, but every once in a while you have to take a break. It's not a that a strong wave crashes into you or anything, you can just only take so much beauty and litheness at once. I needed the short-sentenced writing of Raffel and the supernatural familiarity of Carr and Holmes to help me make it through Kostova. Her book is unusual. It is one long character sketch. One looooooooong character sketch. It is fascinating and you can see how much she enjoyed writing it the entire way through. I think any writer would truly enjoy reading this book, for you can see her craft laid bare in each sentence.
But in the end, I made it through and I am proud. February Challenge answered!
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so who stole the swan, and did they give it back? :)))
ReplyDeleteI've decided to skip this one- I just tried to make my way through The Historian and had to put it down. The descriptions were lovely, but the story was so slow I simply couldn't get into it.
ReplyDeleteI have it on audio (17 CDs) and I have started on several occasions to listen, but knew I really couldn't get into it like I wanted to. It does sound interesting. I've got to start listening.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure it's my cup of tea either. 17 CDs Mason? Really? That would take me a year. Or more. Maybe forever.
ReplyDeleteDez-I won't tell!
ReplyDeleteStephanie-It must be one of those books that you either love or hate. I loved it.
Mason-I recommend making it through it. But take your time, and if you take a while, that's ok, too. I gave myself permission to take breaks, and I'm glad I did!
Jemi-It's a long one! But her writing is sooooooooo beautiful!
I think I would have a problem with this book. I don't favor books with long descriptions and flowery phrases. I would really need to be in the mood.
ReplyDeleteann
So what would be your review on this one?
ReplyDeleteI plowed through this in two days as part of a reading challenge. And while I'm happy I read it, it was a reminder that description, no matter how beautifully executed, can plod. I alternated between admiring Kostova’s gorgeous writing and tearing my hair out waiting for something to happen. IMO, there was too much craft laid bare, and not enough passion.
ReplyDeleteAnn Elle- Probably not for you, though I wouldn't call it flowery.
ReplyDeleteDiane- I won't go there. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars on Shelfari, and that's as close to a review as a I'll get.
VR- I agree with a lot of what you said. At her book signing she said that someone told her to move the plot forward in the book--action happening earlier--but I don't think she did that enough.
Congrats on finishing it! I want to take a peek at the description everyone's talking about, but I think I would get frustrated quickly. I made it through long lists of cities that supplied soldiers etc in Herodotus' "The Histories", but there was some great action, intrigue, and sort of an overall story to help me through. One looong character sketch I'm not too sure about.
ReplyDeleteHmmmmm . . . "one long character sketch" doesn't exactly light me up. I admire good writing, but I need plot to go with the words.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I liked about The Historian -- the plot was complex, plus she wrote well.
Congrats on finishing!!!! Weeee...still on track with the challenge!
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