Interview with the Vampire Mass Market Paperback – September 13, 1991

Sometimes a book comes along that pulls you in, and takes you far away from what you know, opening doors to other worlds and a life you had never dreamed of. A book that will haunt you for the rest of your life 'Interview With The Vampire' is one of those novels, like Wuthering Heights, Phantom of the Opera, Dracula, Frankenstein, that sweeps you away in it's twists and turns challenging ones psyche with it's soaring breadth of incredible storytelling and imagination.Well, I will tell you, this novel is right at home with these classics.As I read this novel the main story blazed like a great flame and magically lit my imagination and memory leaving an indelible and endearing mark ."Anne Rice's indomitable spirit shines and here you see how her intricate descriptions and talent of invoking deep emotions could fuel a literary career of legendary proportion."In this story Louis relates a tale of his reluctant immortality, a morose and emotionally frail man who has suffered great loss. Taken over by a force a charisma embodied in the likes of the vampire Lestat, a vain, selfish, sadistic, and 'even' *gasp* ..sardonic individual driven by his mercurial and unbridled whims. This book transformed the typical sinister vampire of mysterious gloom and doom into a wild byronic character full of philosophy and ideas, topped with a stylish and dramatic flair. An entrepreneur of acquiring property and means of great wealth. Never mind the old dark and dank castles of old, these immortals live in the lap of luxury in every way. Lestat ,you see, though not the main character somehow seems to dominate the narrative and oddly Lestat has forever seemed to be present in the chronicles even when he is not. I believe he is one of the greatest literary characters of our time and is forever entertaining in his adventures good and bad.In the tale we are transported to New Orleans 200 years ago. In Anne's words gabled houses come to life and you feel as if the tension is real. You can practically hear the crickets chirping in the night and feel the sensation, the desperation Louis conveys. There is a kind of preternatural longing in the progression of the events. Events addressing deep seated subjects that we have at one time or another felt in our psyche and maybe could not articulate?What I found most interesting is this novels structure. It is quite different from any I have ever read. On contemplating this I realized there are passages in 'Interview' that are very like our deep unconscious dreams, so real and full of odd circumstances you wake remembering the whole but then small fragments come back during the day. There are so many odd occurrences a doll shop, a tower, a subterranean lair, Armand scaling a tower with Louis, fighting monstrous creatures, along with surprising and terrible incidences that fill the whole. There is the main events that shift and change place but will end up uniting in a surprising way.I think it would not be too far fetched to compare this work to a surrealist painting such as Dali. You have the basis of a regular painting. When viewing his work it draws you in, you start to realize a clock is not just a clock it is melting on the landscape in which it lay and is quite altered and with a title like 'Persistence of Memory' the painting stirs the imagination to no end.Here in IWTV you have man transformed to something unnatural a creature seeking comfort and there are relationships but they are severely altered by the vampiric natures of these individuals. The whole question of death and our existence is challenged and begs for conversation on the subject of immortality.Claudia is a lovely young girl eternally trapped in a childs body and the limitations of her stature brings terrible frustration. Those who fall for her compulsive charms are usually teetering on the threshold of doom. Louis is repulsed by his need to kill and tries in vain to fight it with alternatives. His relationships crumble and his inner drive to survive propels him forward. Torn by his desire to love and his circumstantial and inner fluctuating need for independence.One of the greatest inventions that I feel seals this story into immortality is the blending of Theatre and Vampirism. The reality of the vampiric condition is portrayed in a theatrical production luring a mortal audience into an entertainment that is a true twist of the ordinary suspension of disbelief.In Interview Anne Rice raises a production that envelopes you in layers of atmosphere and longing. Many authors draw from deep pain and here Anne Rice transformed hers into a masterpiece.This book prompted me to attend the 'Anne Rice Vampire Lestat Ball'. Check it out @ http://www.arvlfc.com I was amazed at the people who loved her work. It was incredible to walk the streets of New Orleans and get a feel for what she was talking about. 'Interview With a Vampire' opened up a world I never knew. Her presence on Facebook and Amazon has taught me so much about her process and the art of writing and for this I am forever grateful. This year is a banner year for Anne Rice fans in that there is a new book arriving called 'Prince Lestat.' I highly recommend attending the ball if not this year then next. You will most likely see Anne Rice there and see the place where it all began.Did I fail to mention.... I love this book!

The story begins with a vampire agrees to be interviewed by someone he repeatedly refers to as a “boy”. Of course, to a 200 year old vampire any human male might be called a boy, but we will assume the interviewer was very young. The young man has an old fashioned tape recorder and repeatedly changes tapes throughout the story, so it’s easy to place the story in the 1970’s. The young man’s name is never given.Louis de Pointe du Lac was was twenty five year old plantation owner when he was turned into a vampire by his maker who needed the riches Louis possessed. Louis finds the experience of being a vampire story worthy and always felt that his maker Lestat was too indifferent to the wonders of their senses and their vampire powers.Louis was fascinated by Lestat as a human, but once he became a vampire himself he was no longer under the vampiric glamour, suddenly he realized that he couldn’t stand being around his maker. Unfortunately there were things he needed to learn and Lestat was the only vampire available to teach him what he needed to know. Such as the fact that Louis hated killing humans and Lestat withheld the knowledge that animal blood was would also sustain them.Eventually there are those on the plantation who become suspicious of the strange men, and there is and uprising and the workers come for Lestat and Louis and they are forced to flee.Escaping to New Orleans Louis finds himself in a state of near starvation and sees a young girl clinging to her mother who had just died from a disease that would soon claim the child. Thinking he is being merciful, Louis drains her, but Lestat turns her and and makes her into a vampire child named Claudia. They spoil her and delight in her presence, but as much as she learns she can never grow a woman’s body, even though she has a woman’s mind.Eventually Claudia becomes angry with Lestat for the state of her forever childhood and tries to him, and Louis and Claudia flee him and go to Paris together. There the search for and eventually find other vampires which will be both for their enlightenment and their downfall.This was the first of several of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, and there are people who didn’t like this book. I liked it very much, but I think some people didn’t like it because there is a discrepancy between the Lestat and Louis in this book and the ones in the following books. Lestat is way more fun in the next book and Louis eventually is a friend of his. Lestat was not an old vampire when he made Louis, in fact he wanted Louis’ plantation to house his father who was still alive. I’m also pretty certain Anne Rice just had the idea of writing this book, but didn’t have all the other books in her head yet. However it happened, this book wasn’t as much fun as THE VAMPIRE LESTAT or my favorite THE TALE OF THE BODY THEIF, but in honor of the Halloween picks I decided to reread this and it’s still pretty good.

First off, Rice is incredibly talented in her writing and description. The storyline does a very good job developing the main character and describing the inner complexities he constantly wrestles with, as well as deeper human implications such as the beauty in mortal life and the dullness immortality can surrender. She gives all of the characters such depth as I have read from very few authors. Thoroughly enjoyed this read. The ONLY reason I gave it 4 stars was because I found it strange/ uncomfortable some of the descriptions written concerning children leaning the direction of pedophilia (this could also be debated or up to individual perception)

The best of her works, the rest were good but slowly went down hill. I, as we're many, shocked at the idea or the movie due to who played Lestat. But it was great except the added ending was silly.

The dust jacket came in good condition . A little scratched from the package. The pages are not smooth they look rather serrated, but I don’t mind that actually, since it makes it look vintage, but under the dust jacket the book was bend a little from the spine.