Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice

Ok, so first off I'm going to admit that I absolutely loved the movie "Interview with the Vampire".  And not just because it had some wonderful actors in it.  The story gripped me and I felt for the characters.  So now I've finally read the book, and I have to say I'm a little disappointed.  It wasn't nearly as enchanting as the movie and while it was still decent writing, I could take it or leave it.  And this is the first book in a series, even though it could be read as a stand-alone quite easily.

We are introduced to Louis very early in the book, he is after all the main character.  And he is telling his story to a reporter.  You see, Louis has had an eventful life.  Sort of.  Louis is a vampire and he tells his tale from when he was first changed to the years after with Lestat,the vampire who changed him, and with Claudia, the child vampire he inadvertently creates.  When Claudia and Louis leave for Paris they are hoping to find out more about vampires in general, but find out that ignorance could be very dangerous for them.

Louis is our main character.  And he is very deeply described and all his motivations shown to us.  Despite this though I couldn't connect with him in the book like I could the movie.  In fact, he was downright whiny in the book.  Lestat on the other hand we were supposed to not like but I actually rather enjoyed his character.  He was shallow, manipulative, and deeply flawed, but there was something about him that grabbed your attention.  Claudia too was a bit of an enigma.  She is a young vampire, and her mind ages while her body doesn't and that makes her situation very unique.  They really were the main characters of the novel, and there were some other much-described characters in this book, but they were only there to support Louis' story.

There is a lot of description in this book.  So much so that it becomes bogged down and boring some times.  There's only so much you can listen to Louis complain before you start feeling melancholy yourself.  And that's really not a good state of mind to have when you're supposed to be reading a book for enjoyment.  But when Louis isn't moaning and groaning the book is rich with detail and the plot-line very interesting.  Rice really did the vampire world a favor compared to the books of late and made them real but relatable at the same time.  You could picture Louis out roaming the streets in real life, the story just seems plausible in that fantasy-like way.  And some of that detail does involve violence, this probably isn't the best choice of a novel for a young child, but I wouldn't hesitate to give it to a mature teenager.  They could probably handle it.

An ok book, the movie will be nearer and dearer to my heart, but it did spark an interest to read the rest of the series.  Now I just have to get my hands on the next book.

Interview with the Vampire
Copyright 1976
342 pages