If you've read my reviews or follow me on Goodreads, it seems like I have a thing for vampires. From the first 7 books of the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series, 2 books of the Chicagoland Vampires series, all 4 of the Twilight series, plus the retelling of Twilight from Edward's perspective, and now this, all in 2 years, I would not blame you at all if you think I have a weird obsession with these purportedly sexy creatures of the night. I have to state loudly and clearly that these books happen on me by chance. Anita Blake, Chicagoland, and the Twilight retelling were gifted to me, and Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice was picked up at a Little Free Library mere days after a friend suggested we watch the movie together. As someone who always wants to read the book first, I had to take it! The full original Twilight series was my 12 year old self's decision. I can admit to that one.
All that to say, I really don't like the idea of vampires, and I spent quite a few minutes with my hand over my eyes while watching the movie. I don't like teeth marks, blood, tiny children with ringlets, watching people sucking on necks and wrists, and I don't think Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise are attractive, especially while incredibly pale with extra-long teeth.
That said. I much prefer the ending of the movie to the book, and it is one of few movie adaptations I'm not mad about. It misses going deep on some main themes that run rampant in the novel, but it hits the high points in terms of action.
But this isn't a movie review, and here is your Spoiler Alert. Can you really spoil a book that has been out since 1976, and that generated a blockbuster movie in 1994?
"Here are the confessions of a vampire. Hypnotic, shocking, and chillingly sensual, this is a novel of mesmerizing beauty and astonishing force—a story of danger and flight, of love and loss, of suspense and resolution, and of the extraordinary power of the senses."
Let's start with our protagonist, Louis (pronounced the French way). Oh Louis, poor, poor haunted, tortured Louis. It took me a long time to understand Louis. He begs the question of whether a vampire can retain his human views on right and wrong, when faced with the prospect of nightly murder for eternity. When I say he begs the question, I mean he really REALLY begs it. 100 different ways, in 100 different philosophical tangents, he is loquacious and passionate and lyrical and... never-ending. HIs constant inner turmoil can be very tiresome, but I suppose if anyone ever had a right to wax poetic about the meaning of life, it would be the guy who has no real choice but to kill every night or die.
His antithesis, his creator and counterpart Lestat, grew on me. His reckless behaviour, cruelty, and zest for the finer things, including playing with his food, poses a powerful counter to Louis' existential dilemma. Is it really so bad to be cruel, and have a creepy relationship with your "adopted" daughter, when nothing holds meaning because the frames by which we've constructed and bound our morality have broken to accommodate your very existence?
Only Claudia remains an outlier to my understanding of the novel. A young girl Lestat turns into a vampire to both spite and entrap Louis, Claudia grows into a woman in mind and remains a child in body. This is a point of contention with her "fathers" - one of her central conflicts is the coddling, inferior treatment she receives because of her entrapment in that body. In one memorable moment, Louis realizes that he may take liberties with her, such as playing with her hair or pulling her along by her hand, that he would not take if she appeared as a grown woman. I don't think I connected with her as strongly as I did to other characters because I continue to feel like a small child trapped in a large woman's body. Standing at 5'11" at 12 years old, the concept of womanhood was already grating and unwelcome. 89% of the time, it continues to be.
If you like strong description that plays to each sense, vampires, and moral dilemmas, this is a book for you. The first section can be a bit dry, but it speeds up at the halfway point.
If you are prone to calling lamentation "dramatic complaining", and your reasonable nature forbids you from suspending reality for a good chunk of time, this is not the book for you. This is where the movie succeeds. By the end, it has dropped you back in a recognizable (1994) world, where vampires roam.... and even if it doesn't do it for you, it's over in 2 hours and 2 minutes anyway.
Happy reading (or watching!)
Holly
This was good. Hope to read more of it.