The Shadow Land: A Novel Hardcover – April 11, 2017

I loved Elizabeth Kostova’s “The Historian”, so I gave this one a go. A little long, but lovely story telling along with very intense subjects of loss, suffering, grief, injustice, political power and oppression, as well as a beautiful description of Bulgaria. The Lazarovy family’s story serves as a reminder of the destructive effects of suppressed speech/ideology, political corruption and abuse of power across generations. Good read.

While it’s hard to top a debut with The Historian (which is still to this day one of my favorites), I can always count on Elizabeth Kostova’s books to be beautifully written with a compelling story. If you have read The Historian you may see some similarities between that and this book: a story set in a foreign country, story revolving around a specific person and the subsequent hunt to uncover the truth about said person’s history. But that is as far as the similarities go. While it didn’t have the same adventurous, scavenger hunt feel as the previous book, The Shadow Land still manages to be compelling on its own merit.Much of the credit goes to Kostova herself. In its own way, the book and its story serves as Kostova’s love letter to the country and history of Bulgaria (she talks about her connection to the country in her Author’s Notes). As you are reading, you get the sense of the respect and admiration of the country itself through her beautiful writing and her great use of imagery to describe it all (I’m always impressed with her use of imagery to bring these foreign place to life), from the mountains to the cities to the small villages. And it’s not only confined to locations, but to the people also. She manages to illustrate the people’s sense of pride and strength with their vulnerability.But while Kostova brings the beauty and elegance of a little known country (speaking for myself at least), she also brings to light the harsh communist regime from 1946 - 1989 through the story of Stoyan Lazarov. And it is Alexandra’s and Bobby’s journey to uncover Stoyan’s story and legacy that made this book compelling. Kostova had a way of making you emotionally involved, along with the main characters, in finding out Stoyan’s secrets and how they affect the current present. You’re not exactly sure what it is, but you always had the sense of its gravity and the sorrow. You know it’s not good, but you feel compelled to know why. And as you uncover Stoyan’s story, you will be horrified, disgusted and saddened by what you learn. However, within the horribleness of that finding, you also discover the strength of one’s desire and endurance to survive, unexpectedly forming lifelong friendships in the bleakest of situations and how much hope and love can fuel you to live. Stoyan’s story is really the story of tens of thousands unaccounted for.Kostova’s books are an acquired taste. They tend to be very effusive in their narrative with slow beginnings resulting in a story that takes a while to develop, hence why not many may like her books. And I’m not going to lie, this book fits in all those categories. And like I mentioned at the beginning, the tone isn’t exactly one filled with excitement and adventure like with The Historian. But if you are like me, and are a fan of Kostova’s previous books, this newest work from her is what you expected from her. Her writing is still as beautiful and able to evoke the appreciation she has of Bulgaria and its people. But she doesn’t shy away from the darkness it carries also. She’s able to narrate the story of a country with all the elegance and grace of one who keeps a special place in her heart for said country.

Traveling to Bulgaria to teach English, 20-something American Alexandra quickly becomes enmeshed in a mystery and political intrigue when she finds herself in possession of an urn of human ashes in a taxi.The young taxi driver Bobby enlists himself in her search for the family missing the urn, up mountain passes, through cities and towns and countryside, into monasteries and cafes and local households, all evocatively drawn.Bobby and Alexandra have tragic mysteries in their own past that they aren’t sharing, but they quickly form a fun and affection bond that includes a mutual love of the written word and lunch.Alexandra’s friendship with Bobby is one of the sweetest I’ve encountered in recent writing ( and the rescued Stoycho is the best dog :-)The dark story of the violinist whose ashes the urn holds reveals itself in patchwork style through the tales of the large cast of characters. Alexandra’s ability to imagine all their experiences again and again is part of her writer’s mind and part of her empathetic heart.Writing full of charm and sensory description and human connection allow us to slowly confront the horrors in this part of Bulgarian history. (The warnings of how quickly repression can descend on any society should not go unheeded). Loss tied to guilt is a recurring theme of the story. But ultimately the message is of redemption.I would love to visit this beautiful country someday when we are able to travel again post-COVID. For now I need to find some Bulgarian food!

The Shadow Land is a fictional book that explores and delves into the very real historical events Bulgaria experienced after World War II. This is not an easy book. There are many hard and difficult subjects that are examined and reflected on. Those difficult parts of the book had me hooked and completely engaged. The rest of the book just wasn't to my taste. It plodded along on a very forced mystery that felt awkward rather than exciting. The writing was definitely beautiful and done by an author who knows her craft, but beautiful writing with a boring plot doesn't equal to much for me. However, like I first stated, the historical portion of this book was interesting, and well worth reading.

Absolutely loved this book!

Describe personajes y ambientaciones de manera muy detallada. La trama interesante y las referencias históricas bien documentadas.

Excellent book, delivery very quick

Não é magistral como “o historiador” e “ladrao de cisne”, mas ainda assim é muito bem escrito e envolvente

I loved this book. I think, having read her two other novels and liked them as well, that you can’t hurry reading her work. Well written, everything is important - even if it doesn’t seem so -to the story as a whole, leading you through the mystery to the answers at the end. It’s also very refreshing as it is set in Bulgaria and made me really want to travel there.