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Jan
22
Book Review: The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
2010 at 11am Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
Published January 12, 2010 by Little, Brown
I had high hopes for The Swan Thieves. I enjoyed The Historian, Kostova’s debut novel, quite a bit, but it was sluggish toward the middle, and the ending felt rushed, and I wound up wondering why, exactly, the book needed to be as long as it was. But it was a solid debut, and I attributed many of the perceived weaknesses to typical first novel growing pains….and I hoped Kostova would learn from them (and that her editor would be a bit more heavy-handed with the red pencil) the second time around.
I’m sorry to say that’s not quite the case, but The Swan Thieves is an improvement.
In The Swan Thieves, psychiatrist Andrew Marlow takes on an intriguing patient, a painter who has been arrested for attempting to stab a painting at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. The patient, Robert Oliver, does not speak to Marlow except to give him permission to talk to whomever he needs to talk to in order to find out what pushed Oliver over the edge. Oliver’s refusal to speak is only one of his eccentricities, as Marlow soon notices him painting the same woman over and over, obsessively reading a bundle of old letters, and retreating further and further into himself.
A painter and great appreciator of art himself, Marlow is determined to solve two mysteries: who is this woman Oliver can’t stop painting, and what drove him to attack a treasured work of art? How are the two related?
In his search for the answers, Marlow interviews Oliver’s ex-wife Kate who provides the novel’s second narrative voice. Then Oliver allows Marlow to read the bundle of letters, which turn out to be an exchange between a nineteenth-century artist named Beatrice de Clerval (an invention of Kostova’s) and her husband’s uncle Olivier Vignot. As in The Historian, these letters play a large role in creating atmosphere for the story and providing clues to the modern-day mystery, and they become the third narrative line. When Marlow tracks down Mary, one of Oliver’s former lovers, he finally begins to unlock some of the man’s secrets, and because Mary writes Marlow a series of letters explaining her history with Oliver, she becomes the fourth narrator of this fascinating story
These deftly woven lines of narration were, for me, the highlight of The Swan Thieves. Kostova uses the format beautifully, allowing her characters to learn things they could only learn from each other, and this makes the mystery feel richer and more compelling. Because Oliver will not speak, Marlow (and we, the readers) are forced to take his ex-wife and former lover at their word and to allow them to fill in the missing details we need to understand the complex and confusing man. But, of course, Oliver’s ex-wife and former lover could have their own motives, so while they’re not exactly unreliable narrators, one does have to wonder how much they can be trusted.
The other highlight of The Swan Thieves is Kostova’s well-researched, richly evocative discussion of art and the artistic process. Through Beatrice de Clerval’s epistolary exchange with Olivier Vignot and Kate and Mary’s recounting of the obsession they witnessed in Robert Oliver, Kostova creates a full and enchanting portrait of a man consumed and driven mad by his passion. The book is chock full of interesting (if not entirely necessary) bits of art history and gorgeous European scenery and atmosphere, which enable readers to imagine themselves right into the characters’ experiences.
Really, the majority of The Swan Thieves is quite lovely, and I was rather taken with it in the beginning. In fact, for the first couple hundred pages, I was well on my way to making this a five star read. But then I started having reader’s deja vu. The book becomes sluggish toward the middle, and, again, the ending feels rushed. Kostova spends about 540 pages unfolding the mysteries at the heart of this story and then wraps it all up in the last twenty pages, and it just felt all too neat and tidy (and more than a little predictable) for me.
I want to love Elizabeth Kostova for her beautiful prose and carefully researched, fully realized settings and her skillful use of multiple narrators and narrative formats, but all of the warm and fuzzy feelings I have for her in the beginning are diluted by my frustration with the unnecessary length of her books and their rather unsatisfying endings. Because really, I’m not afraid of big books, but if you want me to read 561 pages, you better make it worth it, and The Swan Thieves falls just short. This was a reading experience made enjoyable by wonderful writing and a psychological mystery but weakened by poor pacing.
I will probably continue to read Kostova, but I will also continue to hope for a tighter story and better editing. 3.5 out of 5.
Hey, FTC: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher.
No related posts.
This was a very well thought out and very well written review. Thank you.
Thanks, Susan! I really appreciate it.
I’m okay with the length of The Swan Thieves (I’m even doing an audio reread right now) because of how lovely and descriptive her writing is. I also loved the entirety of The Historian. I can see, however, how some parts of her books would annoy people a bit.
Thanks for your review. I haven’t read any of her books yet but have been hearing so much about Swan Thieves – the length does intimidate me especially if it doesn’t move quickly.
The good news is that the first 300 pages do move quickly. The bad news is that the middle drags. But still worth a read.
I was enamoured with The Historian, so much that I really didn’t notice any of the lagging or rushing. I just didn’t want it to end. But your critique is one that I’ve heard in a few reviews. I just ordered it on audio from the library, and we’ll see how that goes.
If you didn’t notice it in The Historian, I think you’re even less likely to notice it in this book (except, of course, if the idea has been planted in your head by reviews like mine and you end up looking for it) because the writing is more beautiful and even more engaging.
I liked this more than you did! I was just captivated by Kostova’s prose, so I got caught up in the story.
THE HISTORIAN is the Book That Lives in Infamy for me. In April 2007, I was almost 3/4 done with it…and I haven’t picked it up since. I completely agree with you about it bogging down in the middle, and being longer than necessary. However, I have not officially given up on it – the bookmark is still in it where I left off.
I’m not sure if I’ll read THE SWAN THIEVES or not, but I feel like even if I do, I must finish THE HISTORIAN first. I’ll keep what you said about it in mind.
I’m at the National Gallery like once a month, so this one might be a must for me. I tried the Historian, and failed.
I totally agree with you about The Historian! To top it off for me, with that one, was that I hated the ending. I’m on the fence about this one. If it were shorter, then I’d give it a go for the parts that make it a good book. But I don’t have time for an almost 600 page book that drags at any point!
I read a few other reviews that just raved and raved about this book so it was nice to get another opinion.
Very well-written review! I did not care for The Historian and didn’t recommend it to people when asked. I do like pretty prose, but if the story can’t follow through it’s hard for me to be satisfied reading it, so I probably will not read this book unless I’m in the airport and run out of reading material.
I felt exactly the same way about the historian – it was interesting and I wanted to like it but it just dragged so much in the middle. Sorry to hear that still happens in her Swan Thieves, but it does sound like an interesting read though.
I had those exact same problems with The Historian too, much as I loved it. You’re right: in terms of her prose, Kostova is an excellent writer. But, since you indicate that The Swan Thieves has the same issues, it sounds like she needs to work on condensing her narrative and spacing out the action/development of her plot more, so that stuff just doesn’t get crammed into the last few pages.
I could not get through The Historian at all. My book group was divided in half over it. Those that patienly plodded through it ended up liking it quite a bit, but the rest of us slammed it down and pushed it as far away as possible after only 50 pages or so. Since I had such a visceral reaction to it, I won’t even attempt this book.
Fair enough, Ti….but I do have to say that this book is much more beautifully written than THE HISTORIAN, and it’s not nearly as difficult to adapt to. The letters and journals in THE HISTORIAN felt dense and made for slow going. Though I thought this book was too long, I don’t think it had that problem. It’s much more accessible.
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I just finished ‘The Swan Thieves’ and am feeling rather stupid at the moment!! I read a great deal, and can’t believe I’ve missed something in this plot! The connection between pages 3,4, and the last two pages–560 & 561–who is watching, and who is the lady in the street? As for the book in general, it is a bit long, but I very much enjoyed the descriptive writing–in particular the way Robert’s magnetism and sexuality comes right at the reader. The letters were so beautful–so elegant, but the passion shines through. I can’t go back through 561 pages right now, so-HELP!!
I read the Historian and liked it. It was a page turner for awhile but became laborious as did the Swan Thieves. I found myself bypassing many of the countless descriptive paragraphs about Robert and his appearance. I stayed up late reading and got up early to get to the end. I was confused by the ending but not surprised. It was not a big payoff for all the lead up to.
I liked your review.
I was also confused as the reader above about who was watching and who was the lady in the street. I’d like more of an explanation if you have it.
Thanks.
I think the lady in the street was also Beatrice de Clerval. There’s a reference to it in the very last few pages.
So what did happen in those last few pages. I was really enjoying the book and then I was left totally confused by the last pages.
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I listened to the book while commuting. I have listened to the very ending several times and cannot figure out who the painter is, who the woman walking down the street is, who the wife the painter returns to is. Someone who have deciphered it, please respond.
Wouldn’t every patient love to have Robert’s reapid recovery!
[...] Rebecca from The Book Lady’s Blog feels the novel is sluggish in the middles, she does appreciate the “deftly woven lines of [...]
So- I see there are other readers who didnt understand the final psge-who was the painter watching and who was the woman he watched. and how does this fit in to the story-but I didnt find an answer!!??
Please, would someone who understood, help those like me who didnt?
Now I have discovered from an earlier comment trhat the last two pages of the book are directly connected to the first two pages…yet still dont understand the beginning and ending,
Can someone please clarify the puzzle?
Jan
I just read The Historian and totally agree about the unnecessary length. The plot of The Swan Thieves sounds more to my liking, so I’ll keep it on my list. Thanks!
Patti’s Pages´s last [type] ..THE HISTORIAN by Elizabeth Kostova
Just quickly finished reading the lovely and remarkably captivating “The Swan Thieves,” and was wondering if anybody knew whether the painter (Sisley) at the end of the book is REALLY (the clever) Olivier Vignot? The ending is VERY obscure, but…does anyone really know the answer to the mystery of the beginning and the ending of the book’s reason for being written like that? And, if Sisley is Vignot,…then, that’s a whole new other spectrum to really think about? I wish I could ask Kostova about that. It’s bugging me like bonkers!
This is what I think: The woman in the painting is either Beatrice herself or her maid, wearing Beatrice’s dress. The bundle is the group of sketches for Lida and the Swan…the sketches left in the village as “proof of love”, the sketches discovered by Andrew that led to the unraveling of the mystery. The painter is either Sisley himself, who simply painted the woman because he saw her and decided by chance to put her into the landscape or, perhaps as others have suggested, it was Olivier. My guess is that it was supposed to be an accident, with Sisley as the artist, because the author clearly intended that the reader believe Olivier exiled himself to Algiers to prevent a scandal. Oh, but could the bundle have been a baby that Beatrice brought to Olivier so that he could lay his old eyes on his baby daughter? Yikes! What a great story. I loved it.