Elizabeth Kostova never disappoints, in this her third novel she again weaves history effortlessly into the narrative and breathes the atmosphere of Bulgaria into her words.
I can’t do this novel justice really: this is simply another amazing book from Elizabeth Kostova, a captivating story, compelling characters and such atmosphere.

The story begins with a young woman who has travelled to Bulgaria; (in true Elizabeth Kostova style) we are drawn into all the sights and sounds of the country- immersed in it as though we are actually there. Alexandra mistakenly picks up someone else’s suitcase, it isn’t until she’s far away from its owners that she realises it contains human ashes. The story is about her trying to find the people who they belong to. We journey with her around the country finding out more about the man who was Stoyan Lazarov and more about Alexandra herself. Sometimes I wonder whose story this is Alexandra’s or Stoyan's. Later in the novel we hear Stoyan’s story and that is the point where I was stunned into silence- no spoilers here.
This is proper story, not a fast paced thriller or who-dunnit but a story about people and a country and I have learnt so much about Bulgaria and it’s history from this story.

At some points throughout the story (although you are warned before you start reading) there are these little turns from Alexandra’s story, mesmerising roads which you will follow and be drawn into. And each one is telling you more about the characters and adds so much depth to the story. But despite these twists and turns this is one of those books which you will find hard to step away from until you’ve reached that final page.

Loved it.

This novel is by Elizabeth Kostova, who is, of course, best known for her wonderful novel, “The Historian.”   As such, if you are looking for more of the same, you may well be disappointed by this novel, which would be a shame.   This is a very different book, but it contains much that is very special indeed and is – as you would expect – beautifully written.

The story begins with a young American woman named Alexandra Boyd, who has travelled to Sofia in Bulgaria, in order to teach and to recover from the loss of her beloved brother, Jack in a hiking accident.   It is obvious that Alexandra blames herself for the loss and that she has travelled to Sofia, largely as it was a country that Jack always wanted to visit.   

On her very first day, in the first in a long line of odd events, she is taken by her taxi to the wrong hotel.  Tired, disorientated and yet knowing that she cannot afford the expensive hotel she has been dropped at, she turns to take another taxi.   While waiting, she speaks to a group of people, including an elderly couple and another man.   One of their party is in a wheelchair and, while assisting them into a taxi, Alexandra finds herself left behind with one of their bags.   Burdened with her own luggage, she does not realise this until she is in her own taxi, driven by the man who is to become her companion on the strange journey she is about to embark on.

For, inside the bag is an urn, containing the ashes of a man named Stoyan Lazarov and Alexandra and cab driver, Bobby, set off to find the relatives of Stoyan Lazarov and return them.   Along the way, Alexandra will discover the life story of the man whose ashes she carries so carefully and, through his life story, the history of the beguiling, beautiful and, often difficult, history of the  country that is Bulgaria.   

It is also the story of how Alexandra herself comes to terms with her own history and a place for herself in the world.   This is a very moving, quietly deceptive novel, which you need to take at a slower pace – very much character, rather than plot, driven and masterfully written.  I received a copy of the book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

I love reading anything by Elizabeth Kostova, and The Shadow Land was no different. It was such a rush reading her writing again, with a whole new story. I don't want to give anything away, but, just like The Historian, the writing is evocative, and able to transport you to Sofia, and the rest of Bulgaria, without you having to be there. The flashbacks draw you in, and really help you to connect with the story of Stoyan Lazarov, whose ashes Alexandra Boyd accidentally acquires after helping an elderly couple into a taxi. 

 

These ashes are what take Alexandra on a journey, both a physical and emotional one. As she travels, she has to come to terms with the guilt she has based on her brother's disappearance.

This is a wonderful tale with many characters and their interlinking story.  Would be enjoyable for anyone who likes a thriller and is very evocative of Bulgaria and its interesting history viewed by those who are Bulgarian and from an outsider's view.  Elizabeth Kostova has an interesting style and each story has links that evolve as the book goes on.  recommended

Putting away childish tales of dark mythology: Twentieth Century History has darker shadows

Once I had let go of my expectations and the still resonant allure of Kostova’s first novel, The Historian, I surrendered totally to a tale far darker, and far more needing-to-be-told, a warning note echoing beyond the pages of fiction

I started this, given the setting, and the publisher blurb : “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” with an erroneous assumption that those ‘dark secrets’ would be, like The Historian, some of the ones from myth and long ago times. Particularly as, deliberately or not, there are a few hints and reminders which might indicate that we could be in Undead territory. Instead, what unfolds is something far more serious, far more potent, far more relevant, reminding us that tales of myth, magic and legend may perhaps be curious and safe entertainment, fantasy horrors, protecting us from the real horrors which we visit on each other in the name of ideology

Set in the first decade of this century, Alexandra Boyd, a young American woman with the desire to be a writer, and with a tragedy in her own past, arrives in Bulgaria, a country with a personal resonance from her childhood, in order to take up a teaching/study assignment.

Boyd has an accidental tangle with a charismatic older man and his two elderly companions, on her first arrival. In seeking to help the elderly couple, clearly in some difficulty, get a taxi, and help the three to load their various bags into the taxi, Boyd finds to her horror that she seems to have mixed up one of their bags, with her own. In a strange country, without knowing the language, she does not quite know what to do, how to find the threesome, how best to get the missing luggage back to them. Although clearly a kindly young woman, she is also mesmerised by the English speaking man accompanying the elderly couple, so this fires her desire to find the trio and return the missing item, one which is unusual, and highly significant.

Boyd engages a waiting taxi driver, a rather mysterious one, who not only speaks English, but is curiously willing to help her………….

And thus unfolds a mystery, where nothing is going to be quite what it seems (including this reader’s assumptions about ‘Bulgaria’s dark secrets’ The twentieth century, unfortunately, is full of dark secrets, most around politics, systems, ideologies and regimes: the pursuit of power and the lengths some will go to achieve it.

Having started this in the hope of some kind of intelligent, beautifully written page turner about mythic, medieval history, and a modern woman on a search for a legendary, imaginative past, to help distract me from the present, I found instead something which made me wonder more about a future I hope we are not travelling towards, with various unprincipled, ferociously egotistic men occupying political power at this time. 

I found, for sure, an intelligent, beautifully written page turner about all too real history: the shadow of the last war, the shadow of the communist bloc, and some of those who moved into power (and where from) after the Berlin wall came down.

There is a lot in here which recounts that horrific history, as Kostova pursues a tale which is at times in two times – the early fifties, and the first decade of the twentyfirst century. It is excellently done, and even though the story takes a little while to get its real momentum going, it is quietly gripping from the start – and then relentlessly gripping. There are some real surprises too. Nor is the story unremittingly dark. As ever, human heart, the kindness within, and the various redemptive paths humankind take to try and walk away from our shadows, is a kind of compass to true North. And art is one of those needles for true North – music, visual art, literature, poetry especially – a search for transcendence and life of the spirit.

And, in the end, I think Kostova has here, written something more powerful.

A gripping read! A fascinating story about a country I know little of. The setting was vividly described and the characters were fascinating.

The book started well and promised a fast paced adventure.  However, as the story progressed the pace slowed considerably and was a struggle to finish.  I was disappointed as I had enjoyed her previous work.

This book is one of those that will stay in my memory. It's a captivating book which is full of excellent descriptive passages which bring Hungary to life -  but it has a dark side. Before I read this I don't think I had ever read a book about this part of the world, yet now I feel I want to know more about it.   The book is unusual because the story is really not about Alexandra who is the main character, but it's about someone who has died recently and his ashes (and the urn they are in) are central to the storyline - most of the other characters (who are skillfully brought to life so you can picture them in your mind) are somehow linked to him. I would have given this book 5 stars but I felt that there was one aspect of the book that could have been improved on and that was concerning Alexandra's brother Jack. I would have liked some finality regarding him. Would I recommend this book though - yes. In fact when it does get published I'm going to buy it and give it as a present to a friend.

Love Elizabeth Kostova, but maybe that's more because she's a bulgarian like me, not so much for the books. But she's an amazing author and I have the bulgarian versions <3

Years after the loss of her older brother, Jack, Alexandra Boyd travels to Bulgaria to teach English in homage to her beloved sibling. Soon after arriving in the elegant capital, Sophia, Alexandra stops to help an elderly woman and her companions, only to find one of the party's bags has been mixed up with her own. This is not ordinary luggage: she discovers an ornately carved wooden box engraved with a name: Stoyan Lazarov and realises this is a treasured funeral urn.

Alexandra sets out to reunite the urn with the family, and finds an unusual companion in her taxi driver, Bobby, whose Bulgarian name she is unable to pronounce. This is not so simple a task as she first hopes: Alexandra and Bobby unwittingly travel the country in search of the Lazarov family, learning long the way of Stovan's life as a musician and as a member of a communist labour camp; the brutality of political dissent, and how the past can shape the future in so many subtle ways.

It would be a mistake to compare The Shadow Land with Kostova's previous bestseller, The Historian. They are thematically similar only in the area of the world in which they are set. The Shadow Lands is not a supernatural story, though there is certainly a thrilling element to drive the plot. Instead I would prefer to describe this as a more mature novel: an exploration of a country and it's history; a story of family, relationships, loss and redemption.

The descriptions of Bulgaria, it's history, people and landscapes are truly wonderful. Kostova lets us see the wonder through Alexandra's eyes, her fascination and intrigue as she embarks on an impromptu tour of the country with the dread of an unknown threat hot on her heels. It is a comforting novel, melancholic in places, with a wonderful sense of character development. Reading this, I felt as though I could travel to the places described from the comfort of my sofa!

I sincerely hope that The Shadow Lands receives the credit it deserves, so that readers of this wonderful novel can fully enjoy the experience without in any way expecting similarity with The Historian. It is a slow-burning novel, providing the sensation of a familiar friend, and I was saddened to have finished it simply because I enjoyed it so much!

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

The Shadow Lands will be published on 11th April, 2017 by Ballantine Books, and is available to pre-order now from Waterstones.

So well written.  As with 'The Historian', which I loved, it is incredibly well plotted, and the characterisation is strong.

Emotionally gripping and full of sadness--this story was not an easy read. I did sometimes feel that the book was dropping bread crumbs as it told its tale, i.e. it was not a fast read by any means. However, I enjoyed following the trail to get to the ending. Additionally, I think the book was just as well written as "The Historian" was. It deals with a different kind of vampire though then "The Historian" dealt with-"The Shadow Land" deals with a political vampire, the kind found in a Fascist or a Communist run country. Which is a very scary monster indeed..

This book transports the reader from the mountains of North Carolina to the country of Bulgaria.      The book takes place in present day with flashbacks to the time after WWII when Bulgaria had rehabilitation camps.      This book shows you how strong the human spirit is.     This book will be considered long by many readers but I did not want this book to end.

i have a love/hate relationship with this author....from a lyrical standpoint, she's delicious and rich...i LOVE her wordsmithing, the texture of her observational writing style
she also meanders endlessly and despite the lovely textual landscaping i find myself wanting to race ahead of her sightseeing to get to the main events...
overall, this book is a good one, tho not a major surprise in terms of plotting...had it been more so, i would have found the sightseeing much more worth the time

As posted on Goodreads: "2.5 stars. Thank you to Ballantine Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a review copy. There is an absolute gem of a novel buried in here. The question is, should readers be forced to wade through the tedium of hundreds of pages to get there? If you're curious, I'll be posting an in-depth review on another platform soon."  Please see the publisher notes in the opinion section for more information about the in-depth review I mentioned.

The heroine, a young American woman with family tragedy in her past, has arrived in Bulgaria to start a teaching job. Jet-lagged and confused, she appears to mix up her baggage with a Bulgarian family dressed in funereal black. In her taxi she discovers that she has gained a black wooden casket filled with the ashes of a dead man. What is she to do? With the help of the young taxi driver, she embarks on an odyssey through modern Bulgaria in an attempt to return the ashes to the family.
This is an intriguing novel. By its end the reader will have travelled through most of Bulgaria and have visited many of the most impressive sights the country has to offer. The reader will also have learned much about the history of the country from the Turkish occupation, through World War II and the communist era to the corruption of contemporary politics. The reader will also have been entertained by a mystery about the casket and dangers it represents to the heroine, the family and to Bulgaria.
I had not read anything by Elizabeth Kostova before, and I found this a novel which I enjoyed throughout. The most harrowing and gripping part was the episode in the communist labour camp. While I found the ending comparatively down beat and (I confess) a little disappointing, I have no regrets about reading a novel which helped me empathise with the experience of Bulgarians today. I do wonder, however, if those who have read her before will enjoy this as much as me. Although it has Gothic elements, this is novel rooted in evils that are entirely human in origin and practice.

I'll admit that the cover drew me in. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the book. There were some pacing issues and I was glad when the perspective wasn't the primary protagonist but I found the story and the writing compelling. The story as it unfolds illustrates a historic point connected to it's effects upon the future both in an individual sense and as it pertains to the larger future of Bulgaria. For this reason I recommend it to anyone who loves atmospheric and historical fiction.

Kostova writes wonderful prose but the story itself fell a bit flat for me.  The sense of place, the descriptive language, and the premise were all wonderful.  However, the events just didn't ring true and the story was not well-constructed.  Much, much too long for what was delivered.

I enjo.yed The Historian and recommended it.  This book was slow and plodding.  I waited for vampires but didn't get any.  Only read30% i of the book. and quit because I thought it was going nowhere.  When she started with ANOTHER story line about the violinist, I quit.   .