Interview with the Vampire (Vampire Chronicles) Paperback – March 18, 1997

Sometimes a book comes along that pulls you in, and takes you far away from what you know, opening doors to other worlds and a life you had never dreamed of. A book that will haunt you for the rest of your life 'Interview With The Vampire' is one of those novels, like Wuthering Heights, Phantom of the Opera, Dracula, Frankenstein, that sweeps you away in it's twists and turns challenging ones psyche with it's soaring breadth of incredible storytelling and imagination.Well, I will tell you, this novel is right at home with these classics.As I read this novel the main story blazed like a great flame and magically lit my imagination and memory leaving an indelible and endearing mark ."Anne Rice's indomitable spirit shines and here you see how her intricate descriptions and talent of invoking deep emotions could fuel a literary career of legendary proportion."In this story Louis relates a tale of his reluctant immortality, a morose and emotionally frail man who has suffered great loss. Taken over by a force a charisma embodied in the likes of the vampire Lestat, a vain, selfish, sadistic, and 'even' *gasp* ..sardonic individual driven by his mercurial and unbridled whims. This book transformed the typical sinister vampire of mysterious gloom and doom into a wild byronic character full of philosophy and ideas, topped with a stylish and dramatic flair. An entrepreneur of acquiring property and means of great wealth. Never mind the old dark and dank castles of old, these immortals live in the lap of luxury in every way. Lestat ,you see, though not the main character somehow seems to dominate the narrative and oddly Lestat has forever seemed to be present in the chronicles even when he is not. I believe he is one of the greatest literary characters of our time and is forever entertaining in his adventures good and bad.In the tale we are transported to New Orleans 200 years ago. In Anne's words gabled houses come to life and you feel as if the tension is real. You can practically hear the crickets chirping in the night and feel the sensation, the desperation Louis conveys. There is a kind of preternatural longing in the progression of the events. Events addressing deep seated subjects that we have at one time or another felt in our psyche and maybe could not articulate?What I found most interesting is this novels structure. It is quite different from any I have ever read. On contemplating this I realized there are passages in 'Interview' that are very like our deep unconscious dreams, so real and full of odd circumstances you wake remembering the whole but then small fragments come back during the day. There are so many odd occurrences a doll shop, a tower, a subterranean lair, Armand scaling a tower with Louis, fighting monstrous creatures, along with surprising and terrible incidences that fill the whole. There is the main events that shift and change place but will end up uniting in a surprising way.I think it would not be too far fetched to compare this work to a surrealist painting such as Dali. You have the basis of a regular painting. When viewing his work it draws you in, you start to realize a clock is not just a clock it is melting on the landscape in which it lay and is quite altered and with a title like 'Persistence of Memory' the painting stirs the imagination to no end.Here in IWTV you have man transformed to something unnatural a creature seeking comfort and there are relationships but they are severely altered by the vampiric natures of these individuals. The whole question of death and our existence is challenged and begs for conversation on the subject of immortality.Claudia is a lovely young girl eternally trapped in a childs body and the limitations of her stature brings terrible frustration. Those who fall for her compulsive charms are usually teetering on the threshold of doom. Louis is repulsed by his need to kill and tries in vain to fight it with alternatives. His relationships crumble and his inner drive to survive propels him forward. Torn by his desire to love and his circumstantial and inner fluctuating need for independence.One of the greatest inventions that I feel seals this story into immortality is the blending of Theatre and Vampirism. The reality of the vampiric condition is portrayed in a theatrical production luring a mortal audience into an entertainment that is a true twist of the ordinary suspension of disbelief.In Interview Anne Rice raises a production that envelopes you in layers of atmosphere and longing. Many authors draw from deep pain and here Anne Rice transformed hers into a masterpiece.This book prompted me to attend the 'Anne Rice Vampire Lestat Ball'. Check it out @ http://www.arvlfc.com I was amazed at the people who loved her work. It was incredible to walk the streets of New Orleans and get a feel for what she was talking about. 'Interview With a Vampire' opened up a world I never knew. Her presence on Facebook and Amazon has taught me so much about her process and the art of writing and for this I am forever grateful. This year is a banner year for Anne Rice fans in that there is a new book arriving called 'Prince Lestat.' I highly recommend attending the ball if not this year then next. You will most likely see Anne Rice there and see the place where it all began.Did I fail to mention.... I love this book!

Her words are like poetry. I envy the person who knows nothing of the vampire chronicles being introduced. Love the gothic style. Not a scary read but as Anne Rice said, it’s made like the film “Draculas Daughter” where through the eyes of someone immortal can see this as a curse on top of the “food chain” as opposed to others as a blessing. Not scary for those who scare easy but keep in mind the “other kinds” of vampires. Not gory. More psychological and intriguing but I know this books and story so long so well. It needs to be compared to something and reviewed not as a fan but so people know what they’re getting into if they would be interested in being introduced or not. For me I always loved it. Amazing.

My first encounter with Anne Rice's Interview With The Vampire was in the early 1990s when a grade school girl friend had purchased a paperback copy at a yard sale for fifty cents. I remember her clutching it to her chest and kicking her feet in the air while lying on her bed as she exclaimed, "I am in love with this book!"I did not follow her advice and read it for myself. But in 1994, much to the hype of its two leading actors, I was fascinated by the film adaptation which was released while I was working my first job in a movie theater.Six years later I was working in a bookstore and regularly listening to the hype of other vampire fans who lusted after every new book in the Chronicles series. I finally picked up The Witching Hour after being encouraged by a close friend but I put it down before finishing it because I just didn't feel like I was a mature enough reader at the time to enjoy it the way it was intended.But I was turned on to Anne's son and his writing that year after I attended a book signing for his first book, Density of Souls. Now, another 12 years later, I finally decided to read his mother.After reading Anne's latest, The Wolf Gift, just a few weeks ago and being well pleased with it, I decided it was finally time to give her vampires a try. I'd been collecting her books in hardcover with intention to read them at some point and my copy of Interview is a 1976 hardcover 1st edition.It's hard to believe this book came out the year I was born. It definitely reads like a timeless classic and holds its appeal still today. As long as readers are fascinated by vampires, I'm sure Interview will be in print and continue to sell. I was also surprised by how well the book was adapted to film, but that is to be expected since, to my knowledge, Anne did work on the script.My main problem was that it's almost impossible not to picture Tom Cruise as Lestat or Brad Pitt as Louis while reading it. Surprisingly, Kirsten Dunst did not pop into my head as much for Claudia. And I tried desperately to keep Antonio out of my head as Armand since he was my least favorite actor in the movie.I also enjoyed the minor plot lines that were in the book, but not in the movie - the biggest being the presence of Lestat's human father in the beginning of the book.Even though it's one of the shortest books in the Vampire Chronicles, it is definitely not a light read. At 309 pages, it took me just over 2 weeks to read it. Rice is extremely poetic and does tend to over romanticize descriptions. Heavy descriptions of ornate clothing, furnishings, and New Orleans settings really dragged the narrative for me at times, though Rice definitely knows how to paint a picture for her readers.That being said, you do get a definite sense of Louis's struggle (both physical and emotional) with being a vampire. You are in his head 100% even though he's telling the story; his emotional turmoil with who he is and the debate of good and evil is prevalent. But it is often Lestat's pride and acceptance of what he is that drives the book, despite how much Louis despises him. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book in the series which focuses entirely on Lestat.Though this book wasn't completely my forte, I do have an appreciation and admiration for it just because it really did define the genre that we know today. While vampires have become more monstrous and much more accepting of what and who they are, perhaps in a way they all stemmed from the beautiful lost Louie or boastful Lestat.