😭 DNF @ 20%
⭐ for what I read

Do you ever put off reading a book because the first two were wonderful, and you adore them, and you're worried the third might go wrong. I did, and I was right. The first 20% of this book is, essentially, a vastly expanded version of the blurb, with some backstory thrown in.

The premise is flimsy, the plot doesn't seem to exist, the characters are one dimensional, and completely unbelievable. In all the travelling I've done, never would it occur to me to use a taxi to go running all over a foreign city to return a bag, regardless of content. Go to the police, leave it with them. Story over.

I can see a lot of readers like this book but I'm afraid I have no intention of suspending my disbelief to the level this book requires.

Kostova knows how to write; that is for sure! This was absolutely beautiful and moving! It made me want to pick up and re-read The Historian (also super fantastic!)

I'm clearing out books that I requested ages ago and have been on sale for years! I really enjoyed this title.

Elizabeth Kostova has this beautifully, descriptive writing. She takes you to the setting in a way that you were truly imagining it as if you'd already been there.

This is the second book that i have read by Elizabeth Kostova, the first being 'The Historian'. I really enjoyed 'The Historian' which i read quite a few year's ago, so had no hesitation when i came across 'The Shadow Land' on Netgalley. Maybe i wasn't in the right frame of mind when i first started to read this book a couple of year's ago, and found myself leaving the book to one side. Recently i decided to have another attempt to read this book and so glad that i did. This time i sailed through the book and enjoyed.

"The Shadow Land"begins with Alexandra Boyd, a young 20-something that decides to drop everything in her life in the US and go to Bulgaria to teach English. In the taxi to her hotel, she accidentally gets stuck with the bag of an elderly couple that simply says the name Stoyan Lazarov, containing an urn with ashes. And thus starts an odyssey of sorts, with Alex desperately seeking the couple to return their loved one, accompanied by a mysteriously helpful and fun taxi driver/ex-cop/poet and social activist (yeah, that's a resume and a half) named Bobby. They travel across all of Bulgaria, following clues from a motley assortment of characters while being alternatively cajoled and harassed by persons unknown who, under no circumstances, want the past to be unburied.

Interspersed with this wild ride are memories of Alex's past with her eccentric parents and wild brother in the Carolinian mountains. These memories gradually reveal a deeper picture of Alex's motives for finding the family of Lazarov, as well as what drives her.

I am probably in the minority here, but Kostova's debut effort "The Historian" was not my favorite. I found it bogged down in details, and while it had a beautifully haunting landscape, I couldn't get through it. However, strangely enough, "The Shadow Land" blew me away. Alex and Bobby have an engaging and believable friendship, the landscape is amazingly rendered, and the unstable political landscape was extremely interesting to learn about. Reading this book in 2017-2018 seemed especially, particularly timely, and I think Kostova must have drawn quite a bit on current events and climate.

My issues with this book are not minor, but are certainly overshadowed by the "pros." Alex's forays down memory lane with her brother Jack, while helpful in understanding her character, were clunky, not satisfying, and frankly unnecessary in their frequency. It took the reader out of the moment in Bulgaria, and the ending was unsatisfactory- essentially nonexistent. Alex could have told this story to Bobby in a series of conversations and that would have been just as successful, if not more.

However again, I sincerely hope that no one avoids this book for that reason. The Bulgarian scenery, quirky friendship, and haunting portrayal of political atrocities make it worth the read.

Beautifully written and so compelling, The Shadow Land is about the history of Bulgaria and the journey of Stoyan Lazarov. The story of Alexandra and Bobby to uncover Stoyan’s secrets. While also depicting the people of Bulgaria and the eloquent writing does this perfectly.

I like this story, it flashes back and forth between present day and World War II era. Alexandra is going to teach in Bulgaria as an adventure. She is very bookish and decided to travel to Bulgaria because it reminded her of her brother Jack who vanished in the Blue Ridge Mountains. On her first day she discovers she has an extra bag with her luggage that contains an urn of ashes. This leads to Nazi prison camps and people trying to stop her from finding the original owner of the ashes. A good story with the alternating chapters. Alexandra grows into a stronger character as she travels around the country. A little open ended for me but a satisfying read.

The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova is a story of intriguing history and suspense. Elizabeth Kostova takes her reader to Bulgaria with a mystery that involves both past and present. I have enjoyed reading all of Elizabeth Kostova‘s books because of her characters, descriptions and srorylines. My thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for making this book available to me to read and review.

"From the #1 bestselling author of The Historian comes an engrossing novel that spans the past and the present—and unearths the dark secrets of Bulgaria, a beautiful and haunted country.

A young American woman, Alexandra Boyd, has traveled to Sofia, Bulgaria, hoping that life abroad will salve the wounds left by the loss of her beloved brother. Soon after arriving in this elegant East European city, however, she helps an elderly couple into a taxi—and realizes too late that she has accidentally kept one of their bags. Inside she finds an ornately carved wooden box engraved with a name: Stoyan Lazarov. Raising the hinged lid, she discovers that she is holding an urn filled with human ashes.

As Alexandra sets out to locate the family and return this precious item, she will first have to uncover the secrets of a talented musician who was shattered by political oppression—and she will find out all too quickly that this knowledge is fraught with its own danger.

Elizabeth Kostova’s new novel is a tale of immense scope that delves into the horrors of a century and traverses the culture and landscape of this mysterious country. Suspenseful and beautifully written, it explores the power of stories, the pull of the past, and the hope and meaning that can sometimes be found in the aftermath of loss."

A new Elizabeth Kostova!?! Finally!?! Please be like The Historian and NOT like The Swan Thieves.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

A young American woman, Alexandra Boyd, has traveled to Sofia, Bulgaria, hoping that life abroad will salve the wounds left by the loss of her beloved brother. Soon after arriving in this elegant East European city, however, she helps an elderly couple into a taxi — and realises too late that she has accidentally kept one of their bags. Inside she finds an ornately carved wooden box engraved with a name: Stoyan Lazarov. Raising the hinged lid, she discovers that she is holding an urn filled with human ashes.
As Alexandra sets out to locate the family and return this precious item, she gradually uncovers the secrets of a talented musician shattered by oppression —and she will find out all too quickly that this knowledge is fraught with its own danger.
Kostova’s tale of immense scope delves into the horrors of a century and traverses the culture and landscape of this mysterious country. Suspenseful and beautifully written, it explores the power of stories, the pull of the past, and the hope and meaning that can sometimes be found in the aftermath of loss.

*3.5 stars*

Another dual timeline / narrative novel. I have read a number of these lately and they can certainly be hit or miss. Usually, I find that the historical aspect of these novels are great but the tie-in to the present is often not quite on the mark...and that is the case here as well.

The basic premise of the contemporary story was pretty average - Sophie travels from the US to Bulgaria after the death of her brother. After arriving and a baggage mix-up, she then sets off cross-country to find the true owners of the bags and the precious cargo within. She also has her own historical events that shape her life. It was an okay story but the level of believability in the storyline was pretty low...

However, the beauty of this story - and the story that I think should have been the basis for the whole book - was the story of Stoyan Lazarov, the musician whose ashes are contained in the suitcase. From heartbreaking to joyous, the life of Lazarov is a mixture of communist labour camps, and the majesty of the violin. Through series of flashbacks, his life comes to the fore and really overwhelms the contemporary story.

Overall, I would have loved a complete novel about Lazarov, maybe with just a small introduction set in the present. There was so much story there that I think the author really missed a chance to write an even better novel.


Paul
ARH

Kostova's The Shadow Land does a terrific job of bringing life in a central European country vividly to life. She is an observer of the small details that invoke a world very familiar to those who have lived in countries behind the Iron Curtain. She also brings out effectively the tension and conflict between different versions of history that emerge in those countries, in part by juxtaposing two narratives: the story of Alexandra and Bobby with that of Stoyan.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in return for my honest opinion.

I must say, I loved The Historian and consider one of my favourite books of all time but I was so disappointed with The Swan Thieves, I wasn't sure what I would think of this book. I am happy to say I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. I did like it and this may be what makes me give this author a chance next book.

I was hooked right from the beginning, Alexandra was a great character and I loved her story. Mostly, I love the was Ms Kostova writes, her words are fantastic, her descriptions mesmerizing. She makes me feel like I am there when I close my eyes, I can see Bulgaria in my mind. The storyline was good and I actually loved all the bits of history in there, it felt very well researched. For me though, I found the plot actually got dragged out a little much and as happy as I was with the ending, I would have liked to have gotten there sooner.

If you loved The Historian, read this, you may not love it as much, but it is a great book, and worth reading.

The writing is good (Kostova is always good), but I didn't connect with the story and ended up daunted by its size too much to continue reading it.

Setting a novel in current Bulgaria was brilliant. Who knows/thinks about Bulgaria? The geography and history that were slowly revealed were wonderful. The characters were believable and engaging. I thoroughly enjoyed this adventure/mystery.

Unfortunately, I DNF'd this book. I wanted to like it, but I became bored during the first third.

The opening was intriguing: young American woman arrives in Bulgaria in search of something. But then the novel veers into flashback/backstory territory, and I lost interest.. Having been written by Elizabeth Kostova, whose novel The Historian I adored, the writing is evocative; this book just wasn't for me. I often do not have patience with lengthy fiction when I don't know where it's going.

The Shadow Land lacked that supernatural-horror-mystery element--combined with the fascination with books and history--that kept me reading The Historian to the end.

About a quarter of the way through this book, I made a note to myself. The note read, "This is... kind of dumb so far." Halfway through the book, my opinion had not changed. Unfortunately, having finished the book and thought about it for a while, my opinion still has not changed.

This novel is basically Kostova's love letter to her "adopted" homeland, Bulgaria, including its dark 20th century past. The writing is not bad, and Kostova is really good at painting a picture with words. Her love for Bulgaria and Bulgarians really shines. (I plan to go there at some point, though reading this book has no effect on that plan, either way; I have traveled throughout Eastern Europe and simply haven't hit Bulgaria yet.)

But the best parts -- it's only good parts, really -- are those set in that dark past, told through the voice of the deceased musician Stoyan Lazarov as he recounts his time in a brutal work camp. It's as if Kostova couldn't decide between writing historical fiction or contemporary mystery masquerading as literary fiction, and so tried, unsuccessfully, to combine the two. I wish she'd just gone with the former, even if Soviet-era novels have been done to death, because the latter elements are a hot mess of plot contrivances, awkward dialogue, tone problems, and improbable characters -- above all the naive-to-the-point-of-annoying protagonist, young American woman Alexandra Boyd, who is given to philosophical observations she (and the author) seems to think are deep. Sure, they're about on the level with Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey.

Alexandra is supposed to be the audience's "in", as well as being a clear author stand-in, but is actively embarrassing in both of those roles. Truly, this character is embarrassing. And there there is her benevolent, taxi-driving, gay, former-cop, poet, activist, new best friend Bobby! And then there is her romance at the end, about which the less said, the better.

A swing and a miss.

Loved The Historian but not much else since. What a bummer.

In the spirit of "The Historian," it's a weighty, detailed, and sweeping novel. The characters were well developed and the mystery had depth. It's a bit slow and changes perspective, sometimes in a way that didn't quite work for me. I think it would have been more effective to edit it down a bit. Overall, though, the story was moving.

Each time I picked up this book, I was instantly transported into a remarkable Eastern European world of mystery, danger, and strong interpersonal allegiances. Time flew by and I did NOT want this book to end, ever. It is well-researched, artfully crafted, and brilliantly constructed -- the work of a truly gifted writer.

In terms of plot summary, it's the story of an American woman, still filled with grief and guilt, even though it's been years since the death of her brother. Alexandra resolves to start over by leaving the United States to teach English in Bulgaria. But upon arrival an accidental encounter with strangers and a lost urn filled with ashes sweep her into a page-turning mystery that takes nearly 500 pages to resolve. Along the way, events slowly unravel the story of a gifted musician who gets caught up in the shadow camps where Bulgarian communists brutally punished Stalin-era dissidents alongside thousands of innocents.

But this extremely well-written book is so much richer in its exploration of profound human experiences. It shows how quickly connections can form between strangers. How deep loyalty can run in families. It's about the ways people are able to withstand despair and hopelessness, simply by drawing on their own considerable internal resources. And most of all, how powerful love can be - in all its forms. I found reading this book a truly exceptional experience.