Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

As an avid lover of words and fiction I was entranced by the depictions which Anne Rice spins so beautifully. With some books I find it somewhat awkward becoming absorbed in the places and people that are in them, not so with Interview With The Vampire. Rice has a delicate and realistic way of presenting dialog at the very beginning between the interviewer, “the boy” and the mysterious figure he is interviewing, “the vampire.” The voice of the author is transparent, all the reader can hear are the voices of the characters and the city. It takes very little effort to become engrossed right from the beginning in those first few pages as the reader slips slowly from the late 20th century into the 18th century.

Most readers know that there are several aspects of a book which make reading so desirable. One of those reasons is to, in the comfort of the living room—or anywhere, really—visit other worlds, other times, and other countries. In Interview With The Vampire you will be engrossed in the world of the vampires, the world of immortality, unimaginable power, and deep and piercing emotions. Never to see the sunlight again or feel in the same way, Interview With The Vampire highlights the main character's struggle with his mortal side. Another part of reading is to become completely intimate and familiar friends with the characters in the pages. Louis, the main character, is human enough to be relatable and understandable; endowed with enough compassion and mercy not to be a full fledged monster. He is, however, different enough and inhuman enough to be intriguing and provoking, drawing the reader in by his depth and introspection.

The sarcastic and cruel Lestat also poses an interesting figure, and at least for me, as the reader, I wasn't entirely sure what to think of him or how to feel about him throughout the book. It takes Louis very little time at all to learn to despise and hate Lestat for his arrogance, vanity, and materialistic ways. I hated him for how he seduces and tortures his victims, but he also redeems himself in unexpected ways. Through the lens of Louis' story Lestat appears to be very shallow and superficial, and as the book draws on more and more mystery begins to surround Lestat, and very gradually he shows surprising glimpses of emotions and actions that can almost be called human-like.

Soon the reader will also meet Claudia, the child vampire with no memory of humanity. She becomes a more pure vampire than either Lestat or Louis, who have a much longer human history. Her primary flaw is that she will be in the body of a five-year-old girl throughout the centuries. Claudia gives the story even greater depth and is an important cornerstone in Louis' life. I must also note that although the movie, I believe, reflects the characters with beautiful integrity, the book not only allows us to dive into Louis' mind, it also lets us smell, taste, and feel the world of a vampire rather than be restricted to see and hear it.