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The Swan Thieves, by Elizabeth Kostova
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Andrew Marlow, a psychiatrist, has a perfectly ordered life--solitary, perhaps, but full of devotion to his profession and the painting hobby he loves. This order is destroyed when the renowned painter Robert Oliver attacks a canvas in the National Gallery of Art and becomes Marlow's patient.
When Oliver refuses to talk or cooperate, Marlow finds himself going beyond his own legal and ethical boundaries to understand the secret that torments this silent genius, a journey that will lead him into the lives of the women closest to Robert Oliver and toward a tragedy at the heart of French Impressionism.
Moving from American museums to the coast of Normandy, from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth, from young love to last love, THE SWAN THIEVES is a story of obsession, the losses of history, and the power of art to preserve human hope.
- Sales Rank: #79280 in Books
- Brand: Back Bay Books
- Published on: 2010-11-03
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.50" h x 1.63" w x 5.50" l, 1.15 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 592 pages
Features
From Publishers Weekly
[Signature]Reviewed by Katharine WeberElizabeth Kostova made a dramatic debut in 2005 with her megabestselling The Historian. The first debut novel to hit the New York Times bestseller list at #1, The Historian has been published in 44 languages, has more than 1.5 million copies in print, and there's a Sony film in the works. A hefty, quirky, historical vampire thriller that took 10 years to write and for which a reported $2 million advance was paid, The Historian has managed through sheer bulk and majestic grandeur to confer upon itself the literary weight of Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, even as it offers up some of the easy delights and generic writing skimps that put it on the Da Vinci Code shelf.The Swan Thieves revisits certain themes and strategies of The Historian, chief among them an academic hero who is drawn into a quest for knowledge about the central mystery, only to develop an obsession that becomes the driving force of the plot. Each chapter marks a point of view shift from the previous one, with the narrative shared among a variety of characters telling the story in a variety of ways. The events range from the present moment back to the 19th century of the painters Beatrice de Clerval and her uncle Olivier Vignot, whose intertwined lives, letters, and paintings are at the heart of the story.This time out, Kostova's central character, Andrew Marlow, has a license to ask prying questions as he unravels the secrets and pursues the truth, because he is a psychiatrist. (Before Freud, genre quest novels depended on sleuths like Sherlock Holmes to play this role.) Even though Marlow comes across as a sensible, trained therapist, after only the briefest of encounters with his newly hospitalized patient, the renowned painter Robert Oliver, Marlow develops an obsessive desire to solve the mystery of why Oliver attempted to slash a painting in the National Gallery. Marlow is himself a painter, and the Oliver case has been given to him because of his knowledge of art. But Oliver is uncooperative and mute, though he conveniently gives Marlow permission to talk to anyone in his life before falling silent. Oliver's inexplicable behavior, which includes poring over a stolen cache of old letters written in French, triggers what I can only call a rampant countertransference response in Marlow, whose overwhelming obsession becomes a strange and frequently far-fetched journey of discovery as he persists to the point of trespass and invasion. Is this the crossing of the ultimate border promised by the ARC's jacket copy, the enactment of the fantasy of one's therapist developing an obsessive fascination that blots out all other reality?Less urgent in its events than The Historian, The Swan Thieves makes clear that Kostova's abiding subject is obsession. Legions of fans of the first book have been waiting impatiently, or perhaps even obsessively, for this novel. The Swan Thieves succeeds both in its echoes of The Historian and as it maps new territory for this canny and successful writer.Katharine Weber's fifth novel, True Confections, will be published by Shaye Areheart Books in January.
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Review
"The many ardent admirers of The Historian will be happy to learn that The Swan Thieves offers plenty of the same pleasures." ―Washington Post
"A must-read for lovers of historical fiction....The Swan Thieves shows the same meticulous historical research and scene-setting description that elevated The Historian from a vampire tale to a work of art." ―Associated Press
"A compelling story....Fans of The Historian have been waiting a long time for a new work from Kostova. They won't be disappointed." ―Denver Post
"Kostova's eloquent prose possesses the power to both transport and inspire." ―BookPage
"Kostova knows how to craft a breathless ending." ―Entertainment Weekly
About the Author
Elizabeth Kostova is the author of the international bestseller The Historian. She graduated from Yale and holds an MFA from the University of Michigan, where she won the Hopwood Award for the Novel-in-Progress.
Most helpful customer reviews
190 of 208 people found the following review helpful.
A beautiful mystery about art and love.
By Alayne
(Written in December) If you've read Kostova's first novel, The Historian, then you know she likes to tell a long story; and you know that it will be rich, and deep, and full of life and mystery and intrigue and suspense. If you haven't read The Historian then I highly recommend it. The good news is that you can get it now, whereas The Swan Thieves will not be released until January 12, 2010. I actually feel a little bad that I am reviewing this now, since it's not released for a while, but I want it to be fresh in my head, and I promise I won't spoil it.
The Swan Thieves begins by introducing us to Dr. Andrew Marlow, a psychiatrist whose newest patient is Robert Oliver, a painter who attacked a piece of artwork at the National Gallery of Art. Robert has been recently divorced from his wife Kate, has abandoned his latest girlfriend, and now refuses to speak. Since his patient refuses to talk, Marlow must delve into Robert's personal life to find the mystery behind Robert's display of violence and lack of communication, as well as discover the identity of the woman he paints over and over. In doing so, Marlow discovers a long hidden secret and scandal in the world of 19th century art.
This book is like an onion; fold after fragrant fold reveals something intriguing, spicy, and a little exotic. It's a mystery, an old fashioned love story, and a new romance all at the same time. It's not simply about a psychiatrist and his patient, it's about the pressure of people's expectations, and the lengths you go to in order to protect the ones you love. It's about art, and passion, and beauty in barren landscapes.
Kostova artfully switches between the present dialogue of Marlow, who is telling this story to us, and the past entries of ancient letters and scenes from the 19th century, as well as chapters from other characters' points of view. She skillfully rotates the other characters so that we're never subjected to second-hand information. It's almost as though there are several stories woven into one, but each of them as lovely as the one before, and the one after. It's a multilayered novel, with more than one question and answer that Marlow, and now the reader, is searching for. Why did Robert attack the painting? Who are the women in his life, and what do they mean to him? How are the ancient letters he reads over and over related? Is Robert actually ill, or is there more to his silence and obsession? I found myself wondering all of these things, and hypothesizing on my own as to what would happen. There came a point, about seven-eighths of the way through the book, when part of the puzzle fell into place and I realized my breathing was so shallow, and my shoulders were so hunched, that I was completely tense waiting for the piece of information I had just received. I had to swallow the lump in my throat and take a deep breath and relax before I passed out on the train. That would have been great, right?
I am not sure which character I like best in this book, because truthfully Kostova's characters are so tangible and realistic that I can't not like any single one of them, even Robert. If you wanted her second book to follow the vampire theme from The Historian, you will be disappointed. But if you want a mystery, an old-fashioned honest-to-goodness mystery complete from fiction and imagination, then this is a book you must read. You will not regret it.
I'm torn between four and five stars on this one. It's a fantastically wonderful, beautiful book and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.
41 of 44 people found the following review helpful.
It could have been so much better
By Molly
The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova tells the story of Dr. Marlow, who has just been assigned to the patient Robert Oliver, a man who just two weeks earlier attacked a painting, stating that he "did it for her." Like a lot of people I loved Elizabeth Kostova's first book The Historian. It was great. The story was interesting and gripping, the characters were alive and deep, and the plot was brilliant. So naturally when I saw this book at the local book store I bought it immediately, hoping for the same kind of experience I had with The Historian. Unfortunately I was disappointed. This book had a lot going for it, but it was bogged down too much by its flaws. I'll start with what I liked about the story.
+ The characters are very well defined. You really get a sense of who they are. I think the one exception to this would be Marlow, who I felt was more of a vessel to tell the story than a character. But other than Marlow the characters are interesting, diverse, and deep.
+ Fantastic main plot. The mystery about why Robert wanted to attack the painting, and who the mystery woman in his paintings is are what kept me reading this book. I kept turning the pages looking for answers, and I couldn't wait to get back to these mysteries. I found myself sucking in every little clue trying to piece the mysteries together.
+ The ending was great. I loved it. I never saw it coming, but looking back I could see little obscure clues that I paid no attention to before. The ending ties everything together quite nicely, without leaving any real loose ends. It ties together the past and the present and makes the whole story make so much more sense.
+ The art trivia and knowledge in this book is easily understood and admired, even by some of the less art savvy readers. I'll admit my ignorance of painting. It's not an art form I have had much experience in beyond going to a few museums, but even I found most of the art references and descriptions easy to understand and enjoy. I will say that some of the characters came off as art snobs for me though.
Now on to the flaws:
-I felt like the entire narratives of Mary and Kate could have either been removed, or been cut down to simply a couple of chapters. I felt like they were long, boring, tedious, and above all useless. They don't really contribute anything to the main mystery, and only really serve to chronicle Robert's love life. It's true that they helped define Robert's character a bit better, and show the depth of his obsession, but other than that they did nothing but prattle on about Mary and Kate's life and problems. I kept getting the feeling that the only reason they were there was to lengthen the story a good 300 or more pages. I also got the feeling that the author was trying to replicate the story telling style from her previous book The Historian, and while it worked great there, it didn't here. Here it just took away from the main story.
-These narratives also create another problem that other reviewers have mentioned- all the characters have the same voice. Mary and Kate sound almost exactly alike. Their word choice, their descriptions, everything about the way they tell their story is exactly the same. There's no personality in it. The only difference I could really find is that Mary calls her mother Muzzie and Kate just calls her mother. Outside of that they could have been told by the same person.
-Another annoying little problem that distracted me in this book is the colossal amount of detail. Detail is something that needs to be carefully balanced when writing. Despite what many English teachers out there are teaching kids there is such a thing as too much detail. In The Swan Thieves the detail is crippling. It drowns out the plot and makes everything seem unnecessarily wordy and drawn out.
So is The Swan Thieves a good book? Yes. It's a great story with a very fascinating mystery of love, obsession, and painting. Do I recommend it? Yes, but I suggest you wait until the paper back version comes out, or check it out of the library. The hardback version is expensive and I don't feel like there is much reread value. I still think Kostova is a great storyteller, and I'm eagerly awaiting her next book, I just think she missed the mark with this one.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
But the book in general keeps you reding it which was good.
By Ladypi
After the historian I was expecting more. The end gave me a feeling that it was finished in a hurry, just not enough. But the book in general keeps you reding it which was good.
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