The Shadow Land By Elisabeth Kostova
This week’s book is called “The Shadow Land” written by New York Times Bestselling author , Elizabeth Kostova. Elizabeth Kostova also wrote “The Historian” and “The Swan Thieves”.
The Shadow Land is a thrilling tale of American Alexandra Boyd’s adventures in Bulgaria. She shows up as a foreign teacher but an unexpected mix up leaves Alexandra with an urn full of a stranger’s ashes. She embarks on an epic mission to find the family of the dead man , and return the ashes.
Alexandra and her new friend, a cab driver named Bobby, drive all across the stunning country of Bulgaria. The two unlikely friends soon find out more than they had intended to about the man in the urn. He was a talented musician that had his future taken away by World War 2 and the Communist party of the 1940’s and 1950’s.
The journey leads to many wonderfully described settings, both in modern day Bulgaria and flashbacks to the past. Alex and the readers learn so much about Bulgarian culture and the effects of Communism had on the country. There is corruption, scandals, war, a thoughtful and compelling plot. The characters are so real and oddly most of the characters that Alexandra and Bobby meet are old and it was never boring.
This was a really good book. I really like the fact that it was set in Bulgaria, which isn’t a very common setting. The whole book was very exciting and I never could predict what new direction the plot was going to take. The only negative thing that I have to say is that it seemed to take a very long time to read. On that note, it was a good read and I am recommending it.
You can find out more about the author and all of her other works at www.elizabethkostova.com