Ok, full disclosure – I read this book a while ago thanks to a copy from NetGalley. And when I started reading it, I originally read the blurb for the plot of “The Historian,” so I thought there were going to be vampires. Embarrassingly, it took me about halfway through to realize – there are no vampires in this book! But the fact that I continued to think there was a hidden sense of foreboding and horror lurking just under the surface speaks to Kostova’s writing abilities – the way she can say so much with language without actually saying it.
Enjoy the rest of my “The Shadow Land” book review to see if you’ll like this slice of historical/modern-day fiction!
That Eastern European Life
“The Shadow Land” tells the tale of Alexandra, a young but not necessarily naive American who’s suffered hardships – her brother got lost on a hiking trip and never returned. It’s this dark past that gives her life and voice within the frame of the story.
It’s this cataclysmic event that initiates her trip to Bulgaria. Right from the first page, I identified with her experiences as a foreigner. Her arriving in the city and taking a taxi with wide-eyed innocence and awe at her surroundings so closely mirrors my own experiences abroad. Even her run-in with the police force is just so on-point. It’s clear Kostova is intimately familiar with this landscape and weaves a fanciful tale that’s both heartfelt and authentic. It perfectly captures that feeling of wide-eyed naivety when you land in a foreign country that still reeks of communism.
The story is delicately woven with flashbacks to Stoyan’s own suffering, which is both poignant and inspirational. His fortitude in the face of death and despair really gives the reader a sense of his true nature and why it’s so vital that Alexandra return his ashes.
Final Thoughts
I don’t want to spoil too much of the story, but I will say it holds a magical allure without stepping outside the boundaries of realism. The journey Alexandra goes on to return the ashes is like the trials and tribulations of an epic hero, though in a much more modern sense. In her journey, she learns about Stoyan, she learns about Bulgaria, but most importantly, she learns about herself.
The Shadow Land
[The story] holds a magical allure without stepping outside the boundaries of realism. The journey Alexandra goes on to return the ashes is like the trials and tribulations of an epic hero, ...
