The Historian by Kostova

When I selected The Historian, I misinterpreted the book jacket. I was under the impression that it was a memoir of a women's discovery of her family roots. It is written in that tone and is chock-full of historical facts of ancient eastern Europe. She gives a very meaty history of Vlad the Impaler and some other nasty guys. However, it soon became apparent that things weren't what they seemed when Draculaesk things started to occur in the storyline. So, here's the real deal. The young heroine recounts her memoirs of travels with her father, a historian. The story begins in Amsterdam where the young heroine resides with her father. She the uncovers a message of foreboding plied between the pages of a strange book found in her father's library. The story proceeds to take the reader all across Europe with quality time spent in Turkey, Transylvania, France, and Budapest, as the heroine learns about her father's past and her ominous family tree. This turned out to be a fresh new version on good old Dracula. If I'd have realized it was a Dracula story, I would never have read it. I'm glad I didn't know; There was so much history of 15th century Vladimer (who had an impact on all of the regions we'll be visiting), insights into the Hungarian psyche, and just great travel writing. Now I want to go to Turkey, too. One interesting note on Hungary: They nod their heads up-and-down for no, and side-to-side for yes.

Historical Fiction on Eastern Europe

Catching the Sunlight by Harriet Hudson.............................Budapest Poland by James Mitchner .....................................................Poland The Mercy Seller by Brenda Rickman Vantrease ...............Prague Prague by Arthur Phillips ................................................Budapest The Tin Drum (Die Blechtrommel) by Gunter Grass* ..............Berlin Shadows of Berlin by David Bergelson* ...............................Berlin The Weather in Berlin by Ward Just* ...................................Berlin, The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova ......................Budapest (in part) The Trial by Frank Kafka .......................................................Prague Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally.....................................Krakow * recommended reading per Fly Solo

The Search Begins

In anticipation of our choir tour to Eastern Europe next summer, I've started my travel research. About a month ago, my usually relaxing trips to B&N or Borders became crazed missions for literature on Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. I started in the travel section but realized I wanted more of a feel for the culture and the people than I would find in most tour guide books (I'll save this category for spring). Next, I moved down the aisle to the memoirs of other travelers. I found a zillion good memoirs related to France and Italy, but none for Eastern Europe. However, I did find Fly Solo: The 50 Best Places on Earth for a Girl to Travel Alone by Teresa Rodriguez Williamson. There are three of our cities included in the guide Berlin, Budapest and Prague. Williamson provides much of the same information a typical guide book gives but with lots of practical advice that only a local would know. At our next choir meeting, I'll be sharing this information with my fellow travelers - don't want to break any copyright laws. For the rest of you bloggers, you'll want to check it out at your local bookstore. If anyone knows a good memoir on the above areas + Krakow, please share. p.s. I did find some good historical fiction books but I'll save those for another post.