Reviewed by Katharine Weber Elizabeth Kostova made a dramatic debut in 2005 with her megabestsellingThe Historian. The first debut novel to hit theNew York Timesbestseller list at #1,The Historianhas 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 Historianhas managed through sheer bulk and majestic grandeur to confer upon itself the literary weight of Umberto Eco'sThe Name of the Rose, even as it offers up some of the easy delights and generic writing skimps that put it on theDa Vinci Codeshelf.The Swan Thievesrevisits certain themes and strategies ofThe 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 ...
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