&S#Q@?! Exams.

I finished Interview weeks ago and couldn’t find a good time to sit and write. Then, vacation, and lookie here, a month passed.

Anyway. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice has been a cult favorite of many for thirty years. Basically, it’s another one of these epics that details the entire adult life of its protagonist. Louis was a young man grieving the loss of his brother in 18th century New Orleans. Along came the vampire Lestat who needed cash and a place to put his coffin. Louis craves death, and Lestat gives it to him- physical death, eternal awakeness. The two are polar opposites- Louis is thoughtful and passionate, and Lestat is flashy and arrogant. But Lestat needs Louis, and out of fear of being alone, Louis stays with Lestat, even though he loathes him. Through various schemes *not revealing plot* Lestat procures a child, who they name Claudia. She matures and becomes an adult woman, trapped in a five-year-old’s body. She grows resentful of Lestat, who created her, and she and Louis plot to and kill Lestat, then escape to Europe to find others “of their kind”.

*MUAHAHA CLIFFHANGER SUMMARY* Let’s just say I bawled like a baby.

This book rocks. Seriously. It’s so, so well written. It’s the kind of book that you read with a highlighter in one hand, because there are so many beautiful passages. The wording is luxurious and juicy and plump. The characters are powerfully constructed, the settings sharp and vivid– I was positively glued to it. The book is a waltzing couple under a roof that collapses as they dance. The chandelier clatters to the floor in an explosion of crystal. The musicians stop. Finally the plaster caves in, and still they dance, stepping daintily over the rubble, seeing only each other’s eyes. That’s this book- a dainty spin of delicious disaster.

For all of you who like that Twilight remix vampire/ghost/zombie crap (no offense), read this. This spawned every modern vampire book. Including Twilight. Let us list some interesting coincidences:

-The vampires are beautiful- skin carved of glistening marble. Humans are always physically attracted to them.

-Most vamps live on their own. The ones in groups are called covens. They function as a family.

-Because of moral obligations, Louis doesn’t want to drink people. So he hunts animals!.

-Louis is a masochist who thinks he deserves to be in Hell. He falls in love with a human named Babette.

-The largest coven of vampires is located in a major historical site of Europe. They kill tourists for fun.

-The large coven wants to kill our lovely narrator. Who has a daughter they also want to kill.

Hmmm…. Interview was published in 1976. Twilight, 2005. HMMMM. Just saying, Stephenie.

I am very protective of my favorites. Can you tell?

There’s a really good movie based off this, and several companion books. I’m not going to watch/read them though (I often don’t), because I don’t want my mental pictures ruined. I had to cover my eyes every time they showed the previews for Percy Jackson and the Olympians on TV. I also have this problem with seeing pictures of the author- I hate it! Then when I read the story, I can picture someone creating it. It makes you realize that that it’s not real.

Anyway, read the book. You won’t regret it.