Book Review: The Historian

I had no intention whatsoever of diving into Romanian history, until I saw this book, The Historian by Elizabeth Kosovo for sale at Goodwill for only 2 dollars. It was like a scene out of a novel, allured by it's mysterious hardback cover as I reviewed it in the store. On the back cover was a dawning of Constantinople, on the side pamphlets were excerpts from the book, and on the inside cover was the map of Europe during the Cold War. I was so intrigued by the book alone that I just couldn't pass up on this deal. It's one of the first books I've ever bought from Goodwill. Although it was slightly used, the condition was still in very good shape. 

However this wasn't entirely some random purchase in the dark. Although I wasn't planning to buy the book on that particular day, I've actually had this book on my Goodreads list for some time now. Historical fictions have always been a favorite genre of mine, and this one seemed right up my alley (especially after many great reviews, and a good recommendation from my cousin Laura). So I decided why not dive into a Romanian setting pertaining to the infamous Vlad the Impaler and his connection to Dracula. I was actually just finishing up my World War II phase with an emphasis on the eastern front and this seemed like the perfect segue to a new phase. I even decided to read Bram Stoker's Dracula as a pre-cursor to Kostova's massive fiction novel. 

The novel was written in 2005, and is a behemoth of a book at 642 pages. The general sense I got before reading it, was that it would be an academic thriller, on par with Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series (or even Indiana Jones for that matter). These are my favorite types of books loaded with great historical insight in the midst of some mysterious adventure. The protagonist must use their scholarly knowledge to unlock the mystery which will save themselves or even humanity. This was definitely the case for The Historian, however it got a little complex with the generational and multi-perspective storytelling. I'll dive into that piece more during my review. First I want to cover the plot synopsis. 

The Plot

The story begins in 1972 Amsterdam, when the narrator (a 16 year old young girl) discovers a mysterious book with the image of a dragon inside it. She shows the book to her melancholic father, Paul who then begins to tell her the story about the book. Since it is a difficult topic for him he shares the story piece-by-piece as he takes his daughter across Europe on his diplomatic travels. Paul begins his story in the 1950s as a graduate student where he first came across this book. He presented the book to his favorite historical professor Bartholomew Rossi to help him make sense of it. At this point Rossi then begins his tale which goes back to the 1930s. 

It is revealed that the book pertains to Vlad the Impaler and the Order of the Dragon. Rossi describes how the book inspired him to do deep research on the mysterious historical character whose body was never found (which often led to associations to undead vampire tales). Rossi becomes obsessed with his research and journeys to Romania. There he visits the Snagov Monastery and discovers that Vlad's body is not there. He then goes as far as Istanbul feeling he is quite close to some great revelation. He is however threatened by mysterious characters and events which cause him to abandon his search. After finishing his tale, Rossi hands his research notes to Paul, with a fervent belief that Vlad Dracula is still alive.

After the two meet, Professor Rossi suddenly disappears. Paul feels quite certain his disappearance had something to do with their discussion since it was the last time the professor was seen. Paul decides to begin an investigation into the book and Rossi's notes, in hopes that maybe he can locate his dear professor. Paul's dissertation is on Dutch mercantile trade and he knows nothing about Transylvania and the history of Vlad the Impaler. However during his studies at a library, fate unites him with an attractive Romanian woman named Helen who is coincidentally reading the book Dracula by Bram Stoker. She later reveals that she is the daughter of Professor Rossi and is specializing in this study, so as to outshine her father. While at the library they are attacked by an evil librarian who bites Helen in the neck. Paul comes to her rescue and fights him off and chases him out of the library. The librarian is then struck dead by a car. 

The story then jumps back to present time back in the 1970s, where the narrator has now grown fascinated with the tale of Vlad Dracula. During her research she also begins to witness mysterious events and characters. She then receives a letter from her father Paul who states that has gone on a quest to find their lost mother. He then continues his story from the 1950s via a series of letters to his daughter. While she reads his letters, she goes on her own quest to locate her father first by traveling to Oxford University in London. There she meets one of Professor Rossi's old colleagues Master James, who also had received a copy of the dragon book of Dracula. Master James sends the narrator away however and appoints his graduate assistant Barley to escort her back to her home in Amsterdam. In reading her father's letters however the narrator convinces Barley to join him on the search. 

The 1950s story continues now from Paul's letters where he recounts his new found alliance with Helen following the library incident. They decide to travel to Istanbul to study the archives of Sultan Mehmed II, who was Vlad's sworn enemy throughout his lifetime. There they meet another scholarly professor named Turgut Bora who also confesses to have received a copy of the dragon book. Turgut joins them on their search of Mehmed's museum where they share great historical insight. At this point they are revisited once again by the same librarian as before who appeared to be killed by a vehicle. This time Helen pulls out a pistol and shoots at him, but the librarian is able to escape. They are all quite convinced now that this librarian is an undead vampire, perhaps even Dracula himself. 

Helen and Paul then travel to Budapest to gather more clues and information on the whereabouts of Dracula's tomb. There they meet Helen's aunt and mother who share their experience of Romanian culture and history. Helen's mother tells the long story of how she meet Professor Rossi back in the 1930s in a small town in Romania while he was searching for Dracula. It was a brief love affair and he eventually left her to return to his studies in London. During this heart-breaking story it is revealed that Helen is the descendant of Vlad Dracula. At this point it becomes clear that Paul is madly in love with Helen and the two decide to get married. However they continue their quest and are further guided by Turgut to visit a contact in Bulgaria who is also knowledgeable on this topic.

Their contact in Sofia, Bulgaria is an elder man named Stoichev who lives in a small cottage filled with books. The man is sincere and passionate about his Bulgarian history and convinces the group that the tomb is likely located at the monastery of Rila or Saint George. They eventually find an escort to the lower crypts of the Saint George monastery where they discover the body of Professor Rossi. He is now an undead vampire, and a victim of Dracula. Knowing what must be done, he bids them farewell before Paul drives a steak thru his heart. Before Rossi dies however he reveals his written account of his imprisonment in a book of Saint George. This tells of Dracula's scholarly library and his plot to disperse these dragon books to top academics (such as Rossi, Master James, Turgut, and Stoichev) so as to preserve his historical legacy. After Rossi dies, Paul and Helen find Dracula's tomb empty and are forced to leave the monastery by the local monks and officials. 

Helen and Paul return to America, with their search for Dracula is still unresolved. However they find solace that they have located professor Rossi, and agree to carry on with their lives. They get married in New York City, find suitable work as professors, and have a child together (the narrator). However after several years Helen is still conflicted with the mystery of Dracula. While visiting a monastery in Saint-Matthieu-des-Pyrenees-Orientales in France she bumps into Dracula and jumps off a cliff so as to flee from him. Paul and the local authorities cannot find her and she is eventually presumed dead. Paul must carry on for nearly 20 years raising his daughter as a widowed father and the unresolved search for Dracula.

It is eventually revealed that Helen survived the fall and went on to continue her search for Dracula. She decided not to return to her husband or daughter, in a state of fear and protection for her family but also from herself (since she had been bitten twice by the librarian vampire). The various perspectives finally come to the present point when both Paul and his daughter separately arrive to the Saint-Matthieu-des-Pyrenees-Orientales monastery at the same time. The narrator is joined by Barley, while Paul is at the precipice of unveiling the tomb in the crypt (hoping to find his long lost wife). Instead the tomb is empty once again, and in the shadows appears the dark figure of Dracula. At this moment a brawl ensues with two other mysterious figures, which are later revealed to be Master James and Helen. During the brawl, Helen is able to use her silver bullet gun to shoot Dracula thru the heart which causes him to dissolve into dust. Helen reveals where she has been the last 20 years and is welcomed back by her husband and daughter. It is believed this is the end of Dracula, however many years later the narrator is presented another dragon book. This ultimately implies that Dracula is still alive recruiting historians or now has a minion doing it for him. 

The Review

I just finished the book today and honestly have mixed feelings about it (this could change after some more reflection but right now it's at a slightly-above-average rating for me). I'd say my biggest complain off hand is the way the story unfolds thru multiple perspectives and time periods. Obviously with a historical setting, you have to have reference to the historical period and in this case a reference to the present period. However this present period unfolds in 3 different present-day gaps; first with the professor's story in the 1930s, then Paul's story in the 1950s, and then the present day story of the 1970s. Each of these 3 time periods continue to return and overlap with one another throughout the story told from different perspectives which can make for a complex linear story. You could probably even add a fourth time period when you consider the content of Vlad during the 1450s-1470s. 

I loved the detailed settings of Amsterdam, Istanbul, Budapest, Bulgaria, Romania, and France. I also thought the historical insight was great pertaining to Vlad's life,  his rivalry with Mehmed II, and the symbolic references to Saint George. I learned so much about Vlad the Impaler from this book, and was never aware that his burial location was a mystery. It's no doubt that the mystery of his burial site, along with his many cruel acts led to his associations with the undead vampire lore. The author Kostova creates an original plot here, of an academic hunt for Vlad's burial site while being hunted by mysterious vampires. It's fair to say that this is more of a Gothic fantasy than a historical fiction. While the details pertaining to Vlad Tepes are historical, the ties to vampirism delve into the realm of dark fantasy (but it's in no ways a horror novel). 

I think Kostova is ultimately expanding on Bram Stoker's work of Dracula. Stoker makes it pretty clear in his book that Dracula is the undead body of Vlad Tepes. However Kostova's vampire is quite different from Stoker's vampire. Kostova's version of Dracula doesn't live in a fancy mansion, yet rather hides in the shadows with multiple tombs. He is driven by academic knowledge and the desire to control the historical narrative. He therefore secretly haunts and recruits other scholars to assist in his library collection that falls in line with his own preservation. So in a rather ironic twist the title of the book is not referring to Professor Rossi, Paul, Helen, the narrator, or the many other scholars met along the way. It is actually Vlad Dracula who is the Historian. He is not some bloodsucking demon, rather an undead scholar who lives in libraries feeding on historical immortality.