Title: Interview With The Vampire
(The Vampire Chronicles #1)
Author: Anne Rice
Genre: Fiction, Paranormal, Fantasy
First published: 1976
Finished reading: November 19th 2014
Pages: 342
“In the spring of 1988, I returned to New Orleans, and as soon as I smelled the air, I knew I was home. It was rich, almost sweet, like the scent of jasmine and roses around our old courtyard.”
I was really tempted to DNF this novel. I’m not sure if it was because of the incredibly slow pace, if it was just a typical case of not-for-me or if Interview With The Vampire is really that bad. But what I can say is that it took me ages to finish a book this short and I cannot say that I enjoyed the ride. Sure, some of the prose is actually quite beautiful, but the pace is so slow that I kept wondering if I shouldn’t start a different novel instead. (Which I actually did at one point.) The story of the vampires Louis, Claudia and Lestat itself is quite interesting but just couldn’t connect to Anne Rice‘s writing; therefore my hours reading Interview With The Vampire became something close to torture. I can honestly say I only finished it for the Bookish Bingo challenge, and I’m not sure if I want to read more of Rice‘s work in the future. (Although Lestat has been recommended to me!)
Louis is ready to tell the story of how he was made a vampire and what happened to him afterwards. He is being interviewed by a human, and slowly we get to know more about him and the city of New Orleans where he lived. A vampire named Lestat turned him into a vampire in search of Louis’ money and property. Louis cannot accept his new life and hates himself for having to kill humans to survive. Lestat isn’t the best vampire teacher around and cares more about living comfortably than actually explaining the fundamental things about vampire life. Just as Louis wants to leave, Lestat turns a little girl, Claudia, into a vampire. Louis hadn’t killed her when he took Claudia’s blood, and Lestat turned her so Louis was forced to stay and take care of her.
Claudia is more vampire than Louis will ever be, and soon she is becoming tired of Lestat. She wants to escape to Europe with Louis, but first they have to get rid of Lestat… Which is difficult since he is immortal. They finally go to Europe anyway in search of more vampires… And encounter quite a few on the way. One of their final stops is Paris, where Louis meets Armand and other vampires. Louis is enchanted by Armand, but Claudia doesn’t like him nor the other vampires… And because she is afraid Louis will leave her, she forces him to turn a woman into a vampire. They aren’t as safe as they thought though; a surprise is waiting for them when they visit the theatre Armand owns…
Like I explained before, I just couldn’t enjoy this novel. The pace was so slow that I had to force myself to keep reading… Even when some of the prose is actually quite beautiful. Maybe this was just a typical case of a book that wasn’t for me, since it has actually a high rating on goodreads, but I wouldn’t recommend reading Interview With The Vampire to anyone. But hey, that’s what different opinions are for, right?
It could just be that literary styles have moved on, you know? This book was amazing for its day, at that time… but that was when the idea of a vampire as a sympathetic, even sexy lead character was pretty radical and different. I remember loving the book when I first read it, but that was ages ago, and I have to wonder how I’d react if I read it now. For what it’s worth, Lestat is a lot more fun, but the rest of the books after that are just not worth it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That might be it, although I actually prefer how Anne Rice describes the vampires in her novel over ‘newer’ versions like Twilight or The Vampire Diaries. I might try Lestat at some point, but probably not any time soon… The slow pace was really a turn off.
LikeLike
“For what it’s worth, Lestat is a lot more fun, but the rest of the books after that are just not worth it.” I disagree with that. If you prefer the ‘The Vampire Lestat’ style, read ‘The Vampire Armand.’ That was one of the most enjoyable books from The Vampire Chronicles for me!
LikeLike
As you know, I loved “Interview with the Vampire”. But I also have to admit that it is the weakest part in the series. I totally understand why you’re not that interested in reading further parts. However, I think you should try. Try “The Vampire Armand”. This is still the one I liked most. One more chance for Anne Rice, please. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha I will definitely try a different title in the future… Maybe at a time I don’t mind a slow pace? Who knows, if Interview With The Vampire was the weakest novel in the series, I might actually like the next book. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have to agree with your review. I appreciate Anne Rice’s beautiful prose, but her pacing? Not so much 😦
LikeLiked by 1 person
My thoughts exactly! The pace is so slow that is it more entertaining to watch a snail race. 😉
LikeLike
I agree with your review. I read this book a few years ago and struggled to finish it. I like Anne Rice but this one just did not do it for me. I have yet to read any of the other Vampire Chronicles books but they are still on my to be read list even though I wasn’t too keen on Interview. I also have to say that I hated the movie version too. Tom Cruise as Lestat…. YUCK! I love the Queen of the Damned movie with Stuart Townsend as Lestat though. It’s one of my favorite movies.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This was my first Anne Rice read, so I cannot compare it to her work… Which books did you enjoy? Her prose is definitely promising…
And I haven’t seen the movies myself, but just imagining Tom Cruise as Lestat is already wrong in so many ways… I definitely won’t be seeing that movie, but Queen Of The Damned sound promising. 🙂
LikeLike
I have read the Lives of the Mayfair Witches series and liked them. I also read the Sleeping Beauty books but those were WAY too dirty for me. I’m surprised I read all three!
Yeah I definitely would not recommend seeing Interview the movie… As if Tom Cruise wasn’t bad enough as Lestat, add Brad Pitt as Louis and Kirsten Dunst with Shirley Temple-esque hair as Claudia and Christian Slater as the interviewer… Not good. Oh and I believe Antonio Banderas was Armand. Yikes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good to know, thanks! I will try the Lives Of The Mayfair Witches series next to see if I like that series better.
And I think you have fully convinced me it is a very bad idea to watch the movie version… What a terrible choices of actors to interpret those roles!
LikeLike