Helpful Score: 8
Weighing in at nearly 600 pages, The Swan Thieves is a novel about obsession and art. It's also a story about love lost and found. The basic plot lines up like this: Robert Oliver is a well-known and somewhat eccentric painter who is arrested for going to the National Gallery, whipping out a knife, and tries to disfigure a painting there. Luckily, a guard stops him in time. After his arrest, he is put under psychiatric care, and his doctor, Andrew Marlow, wants to know why he did it. All he would say is that "I did it for her" and that he "did it for the woman I love." (20) After that, he doesn't say a word for a year, not to Marlow or to anyone. Marlow wants to understand not only what prompted Oliver to do this, but also why he refuses to speak. The only clues he has are some old letters, written in French (and which he has translated) to which Oliver seems greatly attached, and a painting of a beautiful woman, done by Oliver. Marlow's investigations take him back in time about 100 years, back to the France of the Impressionist period of art. There are actually three stories interwoven here: first, the story of Robert Oliver as told mainly by women who loved him; second, the story of Beatrice de Clerval, one of the writers of Oliver's letters, and third, about Marlow himself, and what he discovers about himself in his journey into Oliver's life.
Although the story grabbed my attention at first, for most of the first half of the book I waited for something interesting to happen. Then as things started to pick up in the second half, suddenly everything became very clear. It is throughout the second half of the story that the past becomes more involved with the present, where most of the action takes place. Although the reader doesn't really figure it out until the very end, I had this flash of insight and I knew exactly what had driven Robert Oliver crazy. Lo and behold, when the truth is revealed, I was right. And I hate when that happens.
Kostova lets many voices tell their own stories; however, once I started reading the various modern-day narrations, they didn't come across as individual or distinguishable from any of the other characters. And also, dialog just didn't ring true. In Kate's story, for example, which was a conversation between herself and Dr. Marlow, the dialog was stilted, filled with descriptions and verbiage that one person just wouldn't use with another in personal conversation. The same was true with Mary. I never really felt like I got to know anyone in this story, and I especially didn't think Marlow's character was believable or strong. Another negative -- after all of the time and energy I put into this book, the ending (with its explanations) didn't take very long, and just sort of zoomed right on up there.
Overall, the story was good, and the journey to the end was okay. I like books about people caught up in obsessions, and in that arena, the author did a great job. I loved Kostova's The Historian, but to compare the two wouldn't be fair. I would recommend The Swan Thieves to people who enjoy love stories more than I do, and to people who like history interwoven with the present. Once again, however, I find myself swimming against the tide of people who were wowed with this book, so it's one of those you have to read for yourself rather than take my word for it. I do, however, predict it will be a bestseller very shortly.
Although the story grabbed my attention at first, for most of the first half of the book I waited for something interesting to happen. Then as things started to pick up in the second half, suddenly everything became very clear. It is throughout the second half of the story that the past becomes more involved with the present, where most of the action takes place. Although the reader doesn't really figure it out until the very end, I had this flash of insight and I knew exactly what had driven Robert Oliver crazy. Lo and behold, when the truth is revealed, I was right. And I hate when that happens.
Kostova lets many voices tell their own stories; however, once I started reading the various modern-day narrations, they didn't come across as individual or distinguishable from any of the other characters. And also, dialog just didn't ring true. In Kate's story, for example, which was a conversation between herself and Dr. Marlow, the dialog was stilted, filled with descriptions and verbiage that one person just wouldn't use with another in personal conversation. The same was true with Mary. I never really felt like I got to know anyone in this story, and I especially didn't think Marlow's character was believable or strong. Another negative -- after all of the time and energy I put into this book, the ending (with its explanations) didn't take very long, and just sort of zoomed right on up there.
Overall, the story was good, and the journey to the end was okay. I like books about people caught up in obsessions, and in that arena, the author did a great job. I loved Kostova's The Historian, but to compare the two wouldn't be fair. I would recommend The Swan Thieves to people who enjoy love stories more than I do, and to people who like history interwoven with the present. Once again, however, I find myself swimming against the tide of people who were wowed with this book, so it's one of those you have to read for yourself rather than take my word for it. I do, however, predict it will be a bestseller very shortly.
Helpful Score: 2
This writer is rather "wordy" to say the least but having read "The Historian" I knew what to expect there. I really love her style and this book didn't dissappoint me. Her first book was a mystery with a little love story and the second is love with a little mystery.
Helpful Score: 2
The Swan Thieves is Elizabeth Kostova's second novel, following The Historian (which I have read three times). Before anything else, I'm vastly impressed by Kostova's ability to balance the sheer volume of research and source material needed to tell this story. (Either book could easily double as a doorstop, flower press, or step stool.) I can't really talk about Swan Thieves without a nod to The Historian, which told the story of Dracula through layers of narration, via letters spanning centuries, as well as through an unnamed (?) first person narrator. (It's far more complex and interesting that it sounds, trust me.)
Kostova takes the same multi-layered approach in Swan Thieves. The story is relayed to the reader by multiple narrators, all funneled through middle aged psychiatrist, Andrew Marlow. Dr. Marlow has undertaken the treatment of a painter, Robert Oliver, who inexplicably snapped and attacked a painting at The National Gallery of Art. Once institutionalized, Oliver paints the same woman over and over, in various period garb, in a multitude of settings. In his search for the root of his patients psychosis, and the identity of his mysterious subject, Marlow seeks out Olivers former wife and lover, each of whom shares her story about life with Oliver.
This present day story is told alongside that of Béatrice de Clerval, a (fictional) late 19th century French painter and contemporary of Monet, and her relationship with her husbands uncle, also a painter. Each character in the story is an artist (of varying ability - Marlow dabbles, where Oliver is a master). Also featured is the myth of Leda and the eponymous Swan.
Although I dont believe Swan Thieves quite lives up to The Historian, it could be that I am prejudiced by the subject matter vampires are much more interesting to me than paintings. Its a good book, dont get me wrong, but its too long (as was The Historian), and the ending, complete with a heavily foreshadowed Snidely Whiplash-esqe villain, was a bit too quick and neat for me. It reminded me a great deal of A.S. Byatts Possession, although thats due to the stylistic layering of stories and sources, not the writing style.
It was a good read, but unlike The Historian, not a book that I'm likely to pick up again.
(This review first appeared here http://southerngirlinexile.blogspot.com/2010/07/elizabeth-kostova-swan-thieves.html)
Kostova takes the same multi-layered approach in Swan Thieves. The story is relayed to the reader by multiple narrators, all funneled through middle aged psychiatrist, Andrew Marlow. Dr. Marlow has undertaken the treatment of a painter, Robert Oliver, who inexplicably snapped and attacked a painting at The National Gallery of Art. Once institutionalized, Oliver paints the same woman over and over, in various period garb, in a multitude of settings. In his search for the root of his patients psychosis, and the identity of his mysterious subject, Marlow seeks out Olivers former wife and lover, each of whom shares her story about life with Oliver.
This present day story is told alongside that of Béatrice de Clerval, a (fictional) late 19th century French painter and contemporary of Monet, and her relationship with her husbands uncle, also a painter. Each character in the story is an artist (of varying ability - Marlow dabbles, where Oliver is a master). Also featured is the myth of Leda and the eponymous Swan.
Although I dont believe Swan Thieves quite lives up to The Historian, it could be that I am prejudiced by the subject matter vampires are much more interesting to me than paintings. Its a good book, dont get me wrong, but its too long (as was The Historian), and the ending, complete with a heavily foreshadowed Snidely Whiplash-esqe villain, was a bit too quick and neat for me. It reminded me a great deal of A.S. Byatts Possession, although thats due to the stylistic layering of stories and sources, not the writing style.
It was a good read, but unlike The Historian, not a book that I'm likely to pick up again.
(This review first appeared here http://southerngirlinexile.blogspot.com/2010/07/elizabeth-kostova-swan-thieves.html)
Helpful Score: 1
I read The Historian a few years ago and loved it, not being a fan of vampires at all. It intrigued me so I was looking forward to a similar experience with The Swan Thieves, especially since I'd just read The Luncheon of the Boating Party, and the two books shared a similar theme.....art and French Impressionism. I also hadn't read a "big" book in a while and wanted to settle down with a nice, long story. Well, it was long. I did not like the pace of this book, the character of Mary, or much else unfortunately. I got to about page 350 and started skimming to get to the end. A friend at the library told me the mystery did get resolved, so I plowed ahead and finished but was glad to be done with it. It makes me want to re-read The Historian to see if I had a lapse of taste....or the author did.
Helpful Score: 1
I didn't love this book. Didn't hate it, but didn't love it. My disappointment may be greater because The Historian is one of my all-time favorites. I've read it 4 times. My expectations for Swan Thieves, therefore, were high.
Much of what I didn't like about it centers around how it begins. One of the central characters to the story - Robert Oliver - is rather one-dimensional until around page 70. He suffers from a mental condition, and how he develops the condition remains mysteriously obscure through the first third of the book. This mystery contributes greatly to his rather flat characterization in the beginning.
I could have overlooked this flaw, if the story justified it. But it didn't.
My second criticism has to do with Marlowe, the psychologist handling Oliver's case. He was OTT, again intentionally, which the story didn't seem to justify.
For example, he set it up so that Oliver had paints and art supplies while hospitalized. Since he was in hospital because he was thought to be a danger to himself and others, this development seemed unrealistic to me. I can't imagine leaving a "dangerous" person unsupervised with oil-based paints.
Next, Marlowe starts a process of investigation that takes him to another state and even overseas. OTT. The fact that he didn't use the phone to interview people wasn't explained very well; it was just odd.
Third, Marlowe appears to have his own issues, which I don't want to give away. But neither do I think they were well-developed. It was a sub-plot at best. But I never understood why Marlowe had the issues he has.
Finally, Oliver just walks away at the end. Not cured. But somehow miraculously understanding his manic depression and how to deal with it. Again, it's unrealistic.
I give the book 3/5 stars. I liked the premise, the haunting mystery, the detail about art history - all pluses. But the flaws made me impatient to finish the book.
Much of what I didn't like about it centers around how it begins. One of the central characters to the story - Robert Oliver - is rather one-dimensional until around page 70. He suffers from a mental condition, and how he develops the condition remains mysteriously obscure through the first third of the book. This mystery contributes greatly to his rather flat characterization in the beginning.
I could have overlooked this flaw, if the story justified it. But it didn't.
My second criticism has to do with Marlowe, the psychologist handling Oliver's case. He was OTT, again intentionally, which the story didn't seem to justify.
For example, he set it up so that Oliver had paints and art supplies while hospitalized. Since he was in hospital because he was thought to be a danger to himself and others, this development seemed unrealistic to me. I can't imagine leaving a "dangerous" person unsupervised with oil-based paints.
Next, Marlowe starts a process of investigation that takes him to another state and even overseas. OTT. The fact that he didn't use the phone to interview people wasn't explained very well; it was just odd.
Third, Marlowe appears to have his own issues, which I don't want to give away. But neither do I think they were well-developed. It was a sub-plot at best. But I never understood why Marlowe had the issues he has.
Finally, Oliver just walks away at the end. Not cured. But somehow miraculously understanding his manic depression and how to deal with it. Again, it's unrealistic.
I give the book 3/5 stars. I liked the premise, the haunting mystery, the detail about art history - all pluses. But the flaws made me impatient to finish the book.
Elizabeth Kostova knows how to tell a story. From the first page this book grabs you. The interwined stories, in present and past, are told with detail and care. You feel that you know the characters. The narrative is clear, the diferent voices of the narrators are interesting, and the ending is great.
I read this book in one weekend, I could not put it down.
I read this book in one weekend, I could not put it down.
While I loved Kostova's The Historian, I was not as taken with The Swan Thieves. The character development was outstanding and you really knew the each of them and I cared about them all. The problem for me was that the story didn't progress fast enough. Half way through the book I was wishing Kostova would just get on with telling us what was wrong with Robert. The ending picked up nicely and overall I was glad I read the book.
I wanted so much to love this book. One of my all time favorite books is The Historian so I had high expectations for this follow-up book. I gave the book 3 out of 5 stars. It was good, just not great. I hope her next endeavor wow's me.
I was excited to pick this book up, since I enjoyed the authors first novel quite a bit, and I was hoping it would be as rewarding a book as The Historian. After reading it, I can say I have mixed feelings, so Ill hit my least favorite pieces first.
This is a slow, methodical, and somewhat plodding book at times. Were presented with the idea of Marlow trying to get to the bottom of Olivers illness, but to me it was apparent rather quickly that the illness is just a plot device for Marlow to finally find himself. And all his extra focus into Olivers illness, rather than treating him like the other patients or spending as much time on them, really got to me.
To read the rest of my review, please visit my blog.
This is a slow, methodical, and somewhat plodding book at times. Were presented with the idea of Marlow trying to get to the bottom of Olivers illness, but to me it was apparent rather quickly that the illness is just a plot device for Marlow to finally find himself. And all his extra focus into Olivers illness, rather than treating him like the other patients or spending as much time on them, really got to me.
To read the rest of my review, please visit my blog.
Swan Thieves is readable in term of writing style, but is overlong and somewhat lost as far as plot and direction because of the failure of Kostova's editors. Also, the painter, Robert, does not register as true in any sense, making the entire novel almost meaningless.
I started listening to this as a book on tape. It is a much better read. Good reading. Nice character development and a little mystery.
This was a great story that I very much enjoyed. It was one that I had a hard time putting down because I was so interested in ti.
Very interesting and unique. Especially liked the way the book went back and forth from France in the 1800's and modern US. Also the way story was told through several voices.
I too really enjoyed the Historian so I was excited to read this book. The characters were not sufficiently "fleshed out" enough for me to really care about their lives or motivations(which weren't always clear). It was fine as a vacation read but I was thrilled to finish it so I no longer had to lug it around. I purposely left in on a train in Italy :)
The Swan Thieves is an interesting but not entirely successful study of perspective. After talented artist Robert Oliver tries to stab a painting at the National Gallery of Art, he remains resolutely silent in psychiatric care. His psychiatrist, Andrew Marlow—a painter himself—has not nothing to go on except a packets of nineteenth century French letters and gathering history from collateral sources. Although there is much to enjoy about the subject matter (beautiful art, a charismatic and handsome painter, the mysterious origins of mental illness, and the beginning of the Impressionist movement) I didn't really enjoy how it was presented. Marlow is a first person narrator telling the story from many years later, but so are the women in Robert's life. Certain details were unnaturally cropped out. In the movies this would lead to large chunks of flashback, which doesn't allow for much interaction between Marlow and other characters. The letters slowly morph into a third-person narrative from the nineteenth century. Moreover, Marlow's character seemed static, underdeveloped, and questionable as he crosses multiple professional boundaries. However, Elizabeth Kostova's second novel is a well-researched work which might tempt lovers of art and historical fiction.
Not sure how I feel about this. If you are a patient reader, you'll like it a lot! If you tend to figure things out quickly, which I do, it felt like it dragged. A lot of focus around the ain character, but little interaction with him....I think the interaction might have been somewhat more compelling, but that would have probaboly required a conversation. I think the artist was very typically portrayed, moody and obsessed, but not sure about the content of the obsession.
The book/story seemed aimless until about half-way through. The book is told from the point of view of several characters and I knew that was leading up to a crossing of lives and ways, so I kept on reading, hoping for the best. The second half seemed much more substantial, as if Ms. Kostova finally had her feet under her and her direction more clear. The story did become more clear though Oliver's obsession or the reason for it was never completely clear; it seemed to be explained simply by his mental illness.
I enjoyed her prose--the description of Marlow's visit to his father was exquisite, as was the description of Oliver's paintings. I found myself wanting to see the actual paintings and it was disappointing that they don't exist. However, her language made them real in this reader's mind's eye.
Her visual descriptions were much better than most of her character studies.
I enjoyed her prose--the description of Marlow's visit to his father was exquisite, as was the description of Oliver's paintings. I found myself wanting to see the actual paintings and it was disappointing that they don't exist. However, her language made them real in this reader's mind's eye.
Her visual descriptions were much better than most of her character studies.
If you haven't read "The Historian" then be warned you may not appreciate the author's style. She is a consummate researcher who uses lots and lots of fact to advance her plotlines. I don't know if art majors like this book but Kostova's descriptions of paintings sounded quite erudite and accurate to me. I appreciated the details very much. The problem? Whereas "The Historian" used flashbacks and letters quite effectively to move the story, it doesn't work quite as well here for some reason. The "forbidden love" story from 19th century France is one we've heard a million times. This is rather unfortunate as the big twist is supposed to be tied so much into the past. In fact, I did not quite get how the introduction fit in to the ending until I reread it a few times.
