Greetings,
I am someone who very much appreciates the arts, even the type of arts that I don't partake in. Or that I'm not necessarily good at. So, I do enjoy some crossing over of mediums when it comes to that. So, it was inevitable that I would pick up a book by a writer who clearly has an appreciation for the art of painting. It was also inevitable that I would pick up a book by a writer who I have enjoyed in the past. Therefore, after wanting to do so for a very long time, I finally read The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova.
The Swan Thieves is the 2010 follow up to Kostova's wildly successful book, The Historian. A book, mind you, that I have already reviewed and very much enjoyed. Again, her writing delves into history, but this time her focus is more on the world of art, specifically paintings, as I mentioned. The story here starts when a renowned artist, Robert Oliver, is arrested because he nearly attacks a painting in the National Gallery. Subsequently, a psychiatrist named Andrew Marlowe is called in to take over the care of this new patient. While Oliver reveals little to nothing about himself or his motives, Marlowe is forced to dig deeper than he ever has for answers. In his search, he discovers a few people who have had an impact on Oliver, one that would even be considered an obsession to him, and Marlowe realizes that they are as much of a mystery as Oliver himself.
As with her previous novel, Kostova does a bit of time jumping in this, as well as changing perspectives quite a bit. We get the perspective of Marlowe, as well as two women in Oliver's life. Those are the present day stories. But we also are told the story of characters from the far past, through narrative as well as letters, which tie in to the present, and tell a very compelling tale. Interestingly enough, we don't get much of anything from the view of the artist Robert Oliver, which leaves him as much of a mystery to us as to the people around him in the book. But, in regards to all this aforementioned jumping around, it's not that confusing at all. We always know the where, the when and the who.
One more thing that Kostova carried over from The Historian is her attention to details. Her books are very detailed and that lends itself to the descriptions and the actual writing. The good news here is that all those details didn't bog down the progression of the story as much as it could have. Now, when I talked about her first book, I did mention this way of writing with her and I also may have mentioned that, despite how well it's written, one more trip to the editor might not have been the worst idea. Just to help the whole thing move a bit more. I didn't have that issue with this book, personally. In my opinion, whether it was because of better editing or a better story or something else, I found it much easier to get through and I read it much more quickly. To me, that's a very good thing, although, I do like to take some time with her books, just to let all the good detailing and info sink in. True, I would not put anything of hers on a 24 Hour Readathon TBR.
I suppose I ended up liking this book better than her first, which is an opinion that not everyone agrees with. But, for me, I was just drawn in to the story and the characters more than I was in The Historian. By the way, I'm not knocking that first book. I still think it's great. I just had more of an emotional connection to this one.
In closing, I would recommend The Swan Thieves, especially if you like Elizabeth Kostova's other work or if you're a fan of the world of artists and painters. It deals a lot with what a person can go through because of a gift they may have and how it can effect their whole life. As a type of artist myself, I can certainly relate to that and appreciate it greatly.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
