The Swan Thieves

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova was one of two books this fall on my own personal “highly anticipated” list (and thus not on my original list of books to get through). Kostova wrote The Historian, a blockbuster vampire novel that came out a few years ago, before vampire mania had really hit. That was good, but I enjoyed this new book even more.

It begins when a crazed artist bursts into the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., and tries to stab one of the paintings. Robert Oliver, a successful contemporary artist and instructor, often works in a style similar to that of the nineteenth-century French Impressionists. One figure has occupied most of his canvases, yet it is not anyone in his life, as far as his psychiatrist, the main narrator, can discover. He is also obsessed with a little-known female painter from the nineteenth century, whose story quickly becomes a compelling mystery.

I received this book at a Southern California booksellers event where Kostova spoke. She said she started this book because she wanted to write about and describe paint. For someone really wanting to explore art in words, it was interesting that she chose Impressionism, as it isn’t highly regarded in serious art circles. Still, it was a perfect read . . . beautifully written without being too serious.