Interview With The Vampire is the first book from The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice and also the first Anne Rice book I’ve finished reading. I already have a paperback of The Vampire Lestat long ago, however, I haven’t finished that one yet and I’m rereading it again from the beginning.
This edition I have was the 48th printing; the 1993 edition with the exact cover on the image above, and published by Ballantine Books with the permission from the original publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. I have read the first half of it as an ebook because I can’t find it on bookstores near us. Luckily, I stumbled upon a copy of it on a bargain store and bought it for just 125php (around $2.85). It’s a used book though, but it is in good condition, just some creases on the spine.
The story was told in a chronological order whereas the narrator is the main character himself. The book encompasses mostly of the search for the meaning of their existence, questions answered with another questions, the good overpowered by evil, and the definition of evil itself.
When Louis lost his way to live, he met a vampire who made him live forever. He then realized that he needed to take a mortal’s life for his own. He was against it at first, but eventually, he then accepted his fate: that he is a vampire and vampires need to kill. However, the question of his and his kind being evil is vague. It started to consume him. What is the nature of evil? Are they Satan’s children? Why did God create their kind? What is the purpose of their existence?
However, the questions themselves have become questionable. If God created everything, then is Satan God’s child? Are they also children of God? What if there really is no Satan? What if there is no actual God? What if there isn’t really someone out there? What if they’re all alone? What’s the sense of questioning if there’s nothing in question?
While writing this novel, Anne Rice herself was an atheist. This novel could be a reflection of the questions that haunted her during those times. After reading the novel, something marked in my mind about the nature of evil and the absence of the good; that evil is natural and inevitable, and it is everywhere, silently waiting to plunge its teeth on its victim.
Interview With The Vampire will take you into the 1800′s Paris and New Orleans. You will be indulged in the beauty of rich imageries, both vivid and dark, that might take you to a dream you’d prefer to be the reality. This book is indeed a classique work of horror fiction.
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Copyright 1976 © Anne O’Brien Rice | ISBN 0-345-33766-2 | Pages: 346 | Genre: Horror Fiction
Buy it on: Amazon [Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle] / Book Depository [Paperback | Hardcover]
