This was the book that never wanted to end. I was so excited to receive an ARC from NetGalley because I remembered how much I loved reading The Historian so many years ago. This is similar in some ways...there is both adventure and mystery, but MY GOD the stream of consciousness levels in this novel are unsurpassed.

Alexandra arrives in Bulgaria looking to find a fresh start, or some kind of answers many years after the disappearance of her brother, but on her first day there's a bit of a luggage mix up and she ends up with an urn containing the ashes of Stoyan Lazarov, a man who died two years earlier.

Then, strange things start to happen. As she looks for the family to return it to, she realizes she's being followed. What unfolds is the heartbreaking story of how Stoyan Lazarov lived and died. The plot was certainly interesting, but it doesn't start to unfold until about 70% in, and it's a commitment to reach the conclusion after that. Not as strong as The Historian, but if you're looking for a book that isn't afraid to delve into the details, this is it.

Wow.

I finished this book late on Friday night, and I struggled to sleep afterwards. Instead, I lay in bed contemplating the ride I had just finished. Was it really over? Did I like how it ended? I needed time to consider everything, to let it sink it, to see what parts really resonated the most.

Don't worry, I won't spoil it for you. :-)

This book employs the ever-popular method of switching between two time periods. Sometimes I'm distracted by it, and other times I love it. I fall in the latter perspective with this book - I thought that the timeline switching actually enhanced the book for me. Besides, I honestly needed a break from the historical viewpoint, which is quite dark (in the sad kind of darkness way - not the mysterious kind of darkness way). The present perspective kept me grounded in today's world, while still considering what had happened in the past and how it affected people years after the events.

I fell in love with the primary character, Alexandra. Due to a mistake in the taxi cab line, she ends up with something that belongs to another person (this isn't a spoiler - it happens almost immediately in the book). She tirelessly tracks down the owner of the items - this girl has gumption and perseverance and courage.

I also thought the author did an incredible job at describing music, something difficult to do through words vs through using our ears. I could practically hear the music, and I might have even danced my feet one or two times. How music is *used* in the historical viewpoint was fascinating, and I found it completely possible.

The other thing I have to comment on is the ending. Don't worry - spoiler free! - but I have to say a few words about it. This is why I stayed up late, considering my thoughts. There's a little bit of an action scene toward the end. It felt scattered, confusing, a little too quick paced relative to the rest of the book. BUT this part is told from Alexandra's perspective, and I imagined I was her. Was the story told in a way that someone who was there might have witnessed it? Absolutely. I believe the way that part was told was completely intentional. Consider this when you read it, and you might arrive at the same conclusion I did: the author has fantastic talent.

Highly recommended.

The following review was posted to my Goodreads account on 20 March 2017, the day after I finished reading the novel..

I was so excited to be approved for this book because I absolutely loved The Historian, although I had read it when it was first released and had only vague memories about why I loved that book. Although I had read The Swan Thieves more recently, but still a few years ago, I was hopeful that the reasons why I was less enthusiastic about that book were absent from The Shadow Lands. Unfortunately, I had postponed reading this novel until the day the digital galley was due to expire from my library because of its overwhelming length.

Overall, I did enjoy The Shadow Lands. At first, I was put off by the hyper-detailed description of Alexandra herself and her arrival in Bulgaria. All that minutiae just felt unnecessary to appreciate who she was, what she was about, and why she was in Bulgaria. But once the action started, the overwhelming details abated and I found myself engrossed in the story. I literally started reading at seven in the morning, and raced through the pages until my conference call at two-thirty in the afternoon. When the book was supposed to expire an hour later, I was only on page 390 of 478. However, I felt so invested in the novel that I knew I would have to borrow it from the library to find out how it ended. Fortunately, either there was a glitch in my software or I was mistaken about the time the book was due to expire, as I was able to finish the book after I returned from an evening obligation. I definitely appreciated how all the lose threads were tied up as things came crashing together at the end.

I do appreciate experimentation in a novel, so I enjoyed the shifts in perspective between the short chapters and the leaps backward and forward in time. It always seemed clear to me whose story was being told and who was telling it. I also appreciated the rather smooth integration of the education on the history, culture, and geography of Bulgaria. Even though I had studied East Europe history in college and lived in Central Europe in the early 1990s, Bulgaria was still rather foreign to me. The country itself figured as prominently in the story as any of the characters, as the oddities that kept befalling these characters would have seemed outlandish in any other milieu.

I would recommend The Shadow Lands to any of my friends who enjoy historical fiction or who enjoy a good adventure story. While it is still too early to tell, since I finished the book less than twelve hours ago, the story is haunting enough that it may warrant my re-reading in the distant future. After, of course, I re-read The Historian.

I received this book free from the publisher through NetGalley. I thank them for their generosity. In exchange, I was simply asked to write an honest review, and post it.
Having read The Historian I went into the novel expecting this to be another horror/supernatural tale. It wasn’t, but it was a satisfying read nevertheless. Kostova is a master at weighing out every word so that each matter and her novels are more of painting than a book. At times I felt as if I were in a documentary or traveling through the rough countryside right along with the main character. The Shadow Land is the convoluted story of a young woman’s journey to lose and find herself at the same time. Alexandra travels to Bulgaria to teach English as well as subconsciously atone for her brother’s unsolved disappearance when they were on a family hike years prior. On her first day in the country, Alexandra stumbles into a real life mystery after she inadvertently stops to help an elderly couple and their mysteriously handsome son into a cab. To her dismay, she finds that bags get switched and she is now in possession of a set of cremains. Stumbling to the nearest taxi, she meets a young taxi driver/poet/activist (he does it all!) named Bobby who quickly becomes just as intrigued and committed to finding the missing family as Alexandra. Soon they realize that this is not an ordinary mission, but one that may cost them their lives. The novel takes us through the cities, remote villages and winding roads of Bulgaria and introduces us to a rich pantheon of characters that over a few chapters become like old friends. Even their canine sidekick has a quirky and unique personality. Slowly and deliberately we learn the back story of the characters including the man whose cremains they are trying to lay to rest. At times the pace drags or switches abruptly to a different time and setting (my reason for not giving it 5 stars), but like a fine wine or a rich dessert, the book should be savored and enjoyed.
Written by: Elizabeth Kostova
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date: April 11th, 2017
Rating: 4 Stars
Genre: mystery, historical fiction

Elizabeth Kostova's "The Historian" is one of the best, if not THE best book; I have ever read....so I started this with high expectations. I was not disappointed, this is an enthralling tale of a woman's search through the Bulgarian countryside for a missing family and the mystery surrounding the patriarch's life. Ms. Kostova is a fantastic writer and I thoroughly enjoyed The Shadowlands!

A captivating tale of the tragedy of the Soviet regime and the endurance of people.

I had no idea of the adventure that was in store for me when I began reading The Shadow Land. After a somewhat slow and meandering start, Elizabeth Kostova pieced together many layers of her story and told it in such a way I never could guess what was going to happen next.

Kostova’s vivid description of the Bulgarian countryside had me going to the internet to look at the pictures and her descriptions were spot on. Bulgaria is a country that I didn’t know much about, so I enjoyed reading about the history and political struggles of the country and how the people have been affected by all the changes they have endured.

I especially loved the way Kostova added such interesting characters to the story. The most elderly had so much to tell, having seen so many changes in their lifetime. The addition of the Bulgarian folk tales was a wonderful touch to the setting of the story.

If you love history, adventure, mystery, travel and beautiful writing, you will love The Shadow Land. There are some surprising twists to the story, so this book is best savored and enjoyed instead of plowing through at a fast pace.

There were a few minor details that bothered me and the story seemed to drag a bit in places, but overall I really enjoyed it. This was a very different story than The Historian and reading it made me remember why I wanted to read more from Elizabeth Kostova.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine/Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

A sad novel of immense beauty. Dark and vast, like Bulgaria, where it is set. American Alexandra Boyd has a hole caused by the disappearance of her brother, so she moves to Sofia to teach English. As soon as she gets there, she accidentally finds herself in possession of an urn with human remains. With the help of Bobby, a taxi driver, she will do all possible to return them, which will put her and all the people she gets in contact with, in danger. Alexandra and Bobby slowly learn the story of the man in the urn, Stoyan Lazaro. He was a gifted violinist who had to endure a nightmare in a Communist work camp. The horrors of the Nazi regime are highly known, but it was shocking to learn that it happened under the Communists too. There are different timelines and points of view, and I could't figure out what one of the central mysteries was, but it does't matter. The heart of the story is not so much the mystery as the lives of these people - then and now. All the characters are perfectly built, and Bobby the taxi driver now feels like a long-lost friend after reading about him. It is a slow read, with some very grueling passages, but it is worth the effort.

4.5 Stars

This book is a train with many cars, the old kind, moving clumsily along a track at night. One car contains a small supply of coal, which splits out into the passageway when an internal door is opened. You have to step over piles of slippery black grit to get through the corridor. Another car contains grain, shipped for export. One car is full of musicians and instruments and cheap overnight bags, nearly half an orchestra sitting according to their friendships and rivalries in the seats of the second-class compartments. Another car contains bad dreams. The final train car has no seats but instead is full of sleeping men, who lie crushed together on their coats in the dark. The door to that one has been nailed shut from the outside.

Alexandra Boyd is seeking something, a peace of some kind she’s unable to find at home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, a home where she once roamed with her brother Jack. Where Jack walks no more, missing since the day they had an argument and she told him to “get lost.” Trying to get away from all the memories for a while, she arrives in Sofia, Bulgaria with an upcoming teaching position, teaching English to Bulgarian students. Bulgaria – Jack’s favourite country on the atlas when they were young, which was that perfect shade of green. Alexandra’s favourite always Yugoslavia.

"A land that looked nearly untouched by history, a Grimms' fairy tale setting in Alexandra's eyes."

She had shown the note with the name of the hostel written in Cyrillic script, to the Airport taxi driver, and trusted him to deliver her to the correct place. After she’s dropped off, she realizes too late that this is not the place, and in her confusion she ends up standing next to an older woman, an elderly man in a wheelchair, and another, younger, man while they’re trying to hail taxis. A brief conversation ensues, their English is sufficient for that. She is so pleased with meeting such friendly people, she asks if she could take a photo of the first people to be kind to her in this country, so new to her. With bags placed in proximity, amid the need to get the elderly man in the cab first, a bag of theirs ends up among Alexandra’s things, and it is only after she is safely in her own taxi driving some minutes away that she realizes the mistake. And even later, she realizes the gravity of that mistake. It isn’t just someone else’s precious family possession she holds in her hands – it’s their actual family – an urn containing the prah, their ashes.

Kostova effortlessly weaves in fairly-tales, horror stories of prisoners in camps, the beauty of so many places in Bulgaria, love stories, and messages of hope. Some parts are heartbreakingly sad, horrifying, other parts let enough of the good through, so you can breathe easily and calm your heart, and perhaps even charm you. All through, the past that haunts Bulgaria is woven through this story until it meets the present, those who know of the stories but never really knew.

Music is a profound presence in this story, as one of the main characters of the past was a violinist, classically trained, and I found myself wishing I could listen to these pieces as I read through those sections. The descriptions of various locations are often so lovely that I would pause and read them once more. I felt as if I had been transported to the setting, again and again, by music or the magic and power of Kostova’s writing.

There is a part that deals with the ugliness of the past, a past we know a variation of, or think we know, or maybe even know a bit about it. We’ve heard or seen a paragraph or two or a documentary or perhaps saw a special show on it once upon a time. And we’ve become complacent thinking this was so long ago, it’s the past and not the present – and, perhaps more importantly, we didn’t live it. People die, ideas don’t. They return, reincarnate. We need to remember that people let this happen. Allowed this to happen, maybe even when they didn’t want it to happen.

Overall, this is lovely. An assessment of the power we have to find significance and faith, optimism in the past, despite the despair. To remember, to cherish those things worth cherishing and to leave behind those things that have the power to destroy.

I will remember you, will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories
- Sarah McLachlan “I Will Remember You”

Recommended

Pub Date: 11 Apr 2017

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine!

Elizabeth Kostova in this novel takes the reader to Bulgaria where protagonist Alexander Boyd travels to learn more about Eastern European cultures. Mourning still for her brother, lost when on a family hike, her luggage is mistakenly mixed, and she ends up with a urn of cremated remains. Alexander feels a strong need to get the remains back to their rightful owner. So begins this thrilling journey into a communist country of history not always understood and communist government methods.--Le Coeur de l'Artiste

The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova may not be as clear of a departure from her first novel--The Historian--as some may believe.

No. There is no longed-for return of Dracula or any of his minions. However, there are many sorts of monsters, some that cast larger shadows than Dracula could ever manage.

In The Shadow Land, Kostova weaves a fictional account of a horror that might remind one of the holocaust. However, this horror is one that few westerners have heard of. It happened in Bulgaria during its "communist experience" which took place during between 1944 and 1989.

The tale begins with a stunning prologue that compares the novel to a train--not a speedy bullet train, but one that exudes noxious fumes as it clatters along meandering rails carrying unexpected cargo.

The tale begins in modern times when readers meet the protagonist, Alexandra, a young woman who travels to Bulgaria to teach English. Upon arriving in Sophia, she inadvertently becomes entangled in a convoluted mystery when she comes in contact with a Bulgarian family and ends up in possession of their most sacred treasure.

Later, she teams up with an interesting and surprising cohort, a young taxi driver with secrets of his own. Together, they go on an extended voyage across Bulgaria in search of answers.

Kostova reveals her love for Bulgaria by clearly painting the beauty of the country and the kindness of its people. She takes readers along for the ride, offering them the ability to join the travelers on their voyage of discovery. However, she makes it plain that there is another Bulgaria, one that hides in the shadows of the past.

From time to time, the action flashes back to the past and tells the tale of Stoyan Lazarov, a gentle artist and his loving family. By doing so, Kostova enhances the reader's ability to relate to what happened in that sad shadow land and forces them to assimilate the horror.

Unfortunately, readers who want a fast-paced, flash-bang tale will be very disappointed. Kostova luxuriates in her complex descriptions and the extended back-story of Lazarov and his family, perhaps spurred by her personal ties to Bulgaria.

It could be said that The Shadow Land is an act of love on Kostova's part, an attempt to bring light to dark secrets.

Readers who enjoy luxuriating in complex, extended tales will love The Shadow Land. On the other hand, readers with a lack of patience or who want a quick read may jump off the train and choose not to complete the voyage of discovery.

rougeskireads

This is supposed to be a mystery. While it starts out as one, it turns into a story of Bulgaria and the culture there. While there is noting wrong with that, it isn't what I was expecting. The writing is beautiful and the descriptions extraordinary. If you're looking for a good mystery, though - look elsewhere.

It took me forever to finish this book, but most of that time was spent reading about the first 50% of it. The first half dragged on, and I was about halfway through before I had any idea what the real story was going to be about. The second half of the book was much better, but I feel like the climax was oddly rushed.

I also wasn't terribly fond of Alexandra. I found it strange that she developed this odd obsession with Neven after having only met him for a few fleeting seconds. It was also odd to me that at times she seemed to have a romantic interest in Bobby, despite him being gay...but then they found Neven and it was almost as if Bobby didn't exist.

The author does make Bulgaria sound like a beautiful country, despite its terrible history. I did enjoy the descriptions of the landscapes and the history.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I think this book would have been a lot better if it was a lot shorter. For me, it was just WAY too long. I was 1/3 of the way into it and was still thinking why am I still reading this? It seemed like the girl and the taxi driver would drive for hours, get to their destination and either no one would be there or Neven would not be there. A relative would be there and they would have an address and then they would get back in the taxi and drive for hours again. The violinist led a very sad life and I was not aware that they had camps that long after the war, so I did learn that. However, the lead up, for me, was just too long.

And then the ending was like three pages long and it was done.

Thanks to Random House/Ballantine for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

When Alexandra Boyd arrived in Sofia, Bulgaria, she was anxious to get to her hostel and rest. She had made the long trip to Bulgaria to teach English at a local school and also to grieve the loss of her dead brother who was fascinated by the country. However she stopped at a fancy hotel where she saw an elderly couple and a younger man struggling to leave the hotel with all their baggage and a wheelchair. Alexandra decided to help them get to their cab.

After they left, she discovered that one of the group's bags had gotten mixed up with her bags. Further inspection revealed that the bag contained an elaborate urn with the ashes of a musician, Stoyan Lazarov.. So Alexandra sought the help of a cab driver and embarked on a trip across Bulgaria to find the family of the deceased musician. In the process, she also discovers the hidden history of Bulgaria when it was under Communist rule between 1944 and 1989. She found out what life was like in the Communist work camps that dotted the country and existed to punish those Bulgarians who were seen as troublemakers.

This is a long book with detailed descriptions of the horrors of the work camps and the dismal life in an Eastern Bloc country during the Communist regime and afterward. The author made many visits to Bulgaria after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. She has many friends and family in Bulgaria and used them as resources for her book.

I am a huge fan of historical novels with a good modern mystery intertwined. Kostova has done this in her previous books with great success. The Shadow Land is a solid novel with a weak ending.
The Shadow Land begins as a perfect immolation: lush description of faraway places, intriguing characters, and a sense of danger all lurk with in the pages. We follow Alexandra who has come to Bulgaria to teach English and accidently comes into possession of someone's ashes. Her desire to return them to their proper owner put herself and her new friends as she he has no idea who ashes she has in her Stop correcting possession.
Sadly, the emotional build up of Alexandra and the dead man's story comes to a cliché ending. The ending did not give true emotional closure for either the legacy of the dead man and the resolution of the resolution of Alexandra's situation was so swift that it seemed rush.
The Shadow Land is a solid novel with a weak ending.

I was hoping to love this, I was eager to devour this book just like I did Kostavio's book The Historian. I must say I was quite disappointed. I felt that the story dragged for far too long. Too many inadequate details made for a very long read.
I do appreciate all the research the author did to give the reader a very vivid view of the country. I felt like I was back in this country the imagery of the landscape was rich.

I feel that Elizabeth Kostova's books are not to be missed, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read this one. This book is rich with history and portrays Bulgaria as a splendid setting for both the current and historical storylines.

In this story, a young woman, Alexandra, inadvertently takes a bag that belongs to an elderly couple. She is very dismayed to discover that it contains a box with the ashes of their loved one. As she tries to find them to return the box, she experiences a journey that takes her not only into Bulgarian communities, but also into the lavish history and political unrest of the area. This is a mission that will change Alexandra forever.

Alexandra's journey, both physically and emotionally, was one I thoroughly enjoyed, and I loved the historical information that was given about Bulgaria. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest review.

I've been struggling with how to rate The Shadow Land. While reading it, the story felt like a solid 3 stars, but since finishing it, my mind keeps going back to various aspects of the story. In particular, the historical flashbacks to Stoyan Lazarov's life, the fascinating descriptions of how he visualized the violin music he practiced, the haunting details of his time in the Bulgarian work camp, and the interwoven tales of the lives he touched, all add up to a memorable and compelling story.

The main narrator in the modern storyline, Alexandra, is perhaps the weakest part the book and the reason why I didn't enjoy it as much while reading compared to in hindsight. Her many flashbacks to the disappearance of her brother when she was a child seem unnecessary and bog down the first half of the book. She remains largely a passive observer of events unfolding around her and relies on the various people she meets along the way to solve the problem that she created and move the plot forward. The ending of her story (without giving away any details) seems undeserved and unrealistic given the sacrifices everyone else made for her.

Putting aside Alexandra, the rest of the cast of characters are much more three dimensional and interesting. That, plus the unique historical and geographic setting and very descriptive language make this a must read for historical fiction fans looking for a book to get lost in.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing an ARC for review!

The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova

This is storytelling at its best. I loved Elizabeth Kostova's "The Historian" and I also loved her second book Swan Thieves. I really loved this one as well, except I found this one to tug on my emotions and parts of it was hard to read because it concerns the Russian Gulag. Kostova says in her author's notes that she met and married somebody from Bulgaria. While standing at the site of an old forced labor camp abandoned it gave her the idea for the heart of her story. I had read about the Russian Gulag before and found it to be very much like the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. A person could get arrested and sent to these camps without a trial or sentencing.

These forced Labor Camps were unknown to many, for the people who were aware of them they were afraid. Between the years of 1944 through 1989, when the Berlin wall was torn down tens of thousands of people were sent to these camps. The prisoner's were given little to eat and were cramped in overcrowded conditions. You had to keep working or you could be shot. The only difference between the Gulag and Nazi Germany was that there were not any crematoriums. Prisoner's were humiliated and beaten and shot. Many died from starvation or lack of medical treatment. They might not have shoes in the freezing cold temperatures. I had to stop and think because conditions were so similar to the Holocaust. The author says that in 1962 there were an estimated 100 camps that were active. So this book is hard to read because this is part of the story.

I really loved the writing and I loved all of the character's. It kept me fully engaged throughout the whole novel. Elizabeth Kostova's three books are all Brilliant and completely different from each other. Alexandra and her brother Jack grew up in the North Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains. They were inseparable as children as they lived out in a rural area. They used to take a huge atlas from the bookshelves and had a game that they played together earning them points. Jack's favorite Country was Bulgaria. Alexandra's favorite Country was Yugoslavia.

When Jack and Alexandra got into their teen's they moved to the city and Jack used to be rebellious. One weekend Jack and Alexandra go for a hike up into the Mountain's with their parents. Jack did not want to go on the hike. Alexandra got tired of his grumbling and said something like "Why don't you get lost." Something like that. Jack says to Alexandra "Okay." He really did get lost or something happened because he was unable to be found. Alexandra feels enormous guilt and doesn't want to tell her parent's their last conversation because she doesn't want to make her parent's feel worse than they already do.

Perhaps Alexandra picks Bulgaria to go and teach English when she is twenty-six years old, because it was Jack's favorite Country. She is a very caring person and the taxi she takes from the airport confuses where she is staying. Instead of going to a hostel she ends up getting dropped off at The Hotel Forest. Alexandra sees three people come out of the doors at The Hotel Forest. A white haired old man named Milen Radev is sitting in a wheel chair. Pushing the wheelchair is Neven an older man than herself, and Vera who is old and is gripping her son Neven. Because there is not a ramp for the wheel chair these three catch Alexandra's attention. The tall man named Neven helps his mother, Vera and Milen Radev down the stairs. Alexandra offers to help them because she is a kind person. She scoops up some of their bags and hands them to the three as they get into a taxi. Neven happens to mention that they are going to the Velin monastery.

When Alexandra gets into her own cab she discovers that she has one of their bags. She tells the taxi driver named Bobby that she opened the bag and opened an ornate urn and found human ashes. So she asks Bobby if he will bring he will drive her back to The Forest Hotel, because she thinks that at this point, the three have discovered they are missing the ashes. Bobby goes into the Forest Hotel and asks about the three travelers and he is told they were not guest's they met with a journalist. Then Alexandra thinks that the police can handle it and Bobby says that the police are not always helpful. They do go to the police and that is when the trouble starts to follow them.

This is a fantastic book that I highly recommend to both genders. It kept me captivated from page one to the very end. I read it in two sittings because I was looking forward to the story. It is a little depressing when the book shifts to the communist labor camps. I had a hard time reading it myself and was uncomfortable with the inhumane treatment. I guess you could look at it like it is part of history and the character's are completely fictional. It doesn't relate to any one person that she is writing about. I think the book is to pay tribute to all of the people that were sent there. Elizabeth Kostova wrote an excellent book with much beauty as well. Overall It is a favorite for me for 2017.

Thank you to Net Galley, Elizabeth Kostova and Ballantine Books for providing me with my digital copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.