Kostova's 'The Historian' is one of my favorites - a rich story, and a compelling read (listen). I was intrigued enough by Kostova's personal history in Bulgaria to read 'The Shadow Land.' While I really enjoyed her last, I felt the story could benefit from a skilled editor. Bobby and Alexandra meandered too much through Bulgaria, making it difficult to keep track of locations and characters, without adding much to the larger story. I felt that Alexandra's guilt about her brother's disappearance and presumed death wasn't fully resolved, though perhaps the resolution of the corollary mystery of Stoyan's death was enough. Stoycho was my favorite character by far - handsome, loyal, and faithful to the very end.

What I really love about Kostova's stories is that they make the mind think. This one kept me on my toes and had me turning the pages with anticipation of what will happen next. Her style of writing is amazing and she has a gift for storytelling. This one did not disappoint at all.. Great storyline. Great character build. Absolutely everything about it was amazing!

it was ok

meandering along to end up not much of anywhere...so disappointed as The Historian was one of my favorites.

Twenty-six-year-old Alexandra Boyd has arrived in Sofia, Bulgaria, to teach English. The death of her brother a decade earlier in her home in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina still weighs on her, and their shared fascination with the country of Bulgaria from an atlas they grew up looking through is the main reason she wound up in this particular foreign land.

She is dropped off mistakenly by the taxi from the airport at a nice hotel, rather than at the hostel where she reserved a room, and there she runs into a small group of Bulgarians whose lives end up changing the trajectory of her own. She helps carry some bags for a middle-aged man and a much-older woman and man as they are trying to get a taxi, and after she gets a taxi of her own to go to the hostel, she realizes one of their small bags ended up with her. Even more worrisome is that as she looks into the bag Alexandria realizes it holds an urn with someone’s ashes in it. Thus begins a kind of wild goose chase through the country to catch up with the people to return the urn. And as she and her helpful taxi driver, Asparuh, a youngish man who speaks English and likes to call himself “Bobby,” spend day after day going to different villages, they learn more about the man whose ashes are in the urn and the wife and son he left behind.

The story of Stoyan Lasparov unfolds a bit at a time to Bobby and Alexandra and to readers, and it starts to be apparent that something in his life has sparked the interest of someone dangerous, who is following Bobby and Alexandra and leaving increasingly threatening messages. But they cannot rest until Stoyan’s remains are returned to his family and allowed to rest in peace. His story becomes important to Bobby and Alexandra, and in the book it is a representation of the story of thousands of real people over the course of a few decades of communist rule in Bulgaria, people who for one reason or another drew the attention of the government and were summarily taken and dispatched to prison camps where they worked for years in deplorable conditions.

The Shadow Land was fairly slow reading for me, and for the first third I really didn’t know where it was headed; it was just about at that mark that Stoyan’s story really began. But I eventually got an idea of the big picture and started to get into the stories of the characters. By the end, I was appreciative of the characters and their stories, who began to feel real to me, and I appreciated the opportunity to learn about the country of Bulgaria and its history in the 20th century.

The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova is my most recent read. I really am not sure that I can save I loved it or even liked it but there is something in this story that I found very intriguing. It took me a few days to read it and St times I felt like I was having to force myself to read it but I really wanted to see how it ended up so I continued on.

Basically, the story is about a young woman named Alexandra who has traveled to Bulgaria in the hopes of healing after her brother’s death. She soon meets a family that is getting into a taxi and she accidentally keeps one of their belongings. It turns out that the belonging is actually an urn..full of someone’s ashes. She is upset to learn this and she meets a taxi driver who joins her on a journey to return the urn to the family. The only information the two have is the name of the deceased man in the urn, Stefan Lazarov. It is an intriguing tale woven in two time periods that delves into the pain of loss and the hope of tomorrow. I enjoyed it but I still feel kind of weird about it. Like something was missing. Because I actually felt the pull to stick it out and finish, I will give it a 3/5.

This book was sent to me from NetGalley as an ARC and while I’m always grateful to receive books, I always want to point out that my opinions are still my own and are in no way influenced. This book was released on April 11th so give it a try!

It's devastating that there are so many examples, in history, of atrocities done to one human by another. Some we know of but so many that are unknown. Until now, I was ignorant of the labor camps established by the communists in Bulgaria full of men who often knew nothing of their crimes. No trial; just years of hard labor, starvation, brutal conditions. Also, once set free, these men were watched for their lifetimes, often sieges over and over. The Shadow Land describes one man's struggle against this regime to survive and preserve sanity. It's also the story of an unsuspecting woman who finds herself guardian, years later of this man's ashes and her quest to return the ashes to his family. The tragedy that has consumed her own life haunts her throughout her search but she ultimately triumphs over those trying to stop her and her own devastating past. Beautifully written with well defined characters that I fell in live with from beginning to end

The Shadow Land is an enthralling story set amidst the natural beauty of Bulgaria. The characters include a dead man and his family who suffered the evils of the Bulgarian gulag, as well as a young American and a young Bulgarian who find themselves grappling with the unfinished business of the past.

I’m looking forward to reading more by this talented author.

Alexandra has just move to Bulgaria to teach English. She accidentally ends up with someone else’s bag. The contents of this bag send her searching throughout Bulgaria for the rightful owner.

Alexandra is extremely naive in a new country. I sometimes wanted to pop her upside the head and say “THINK WOMAN!” As she is searching for the owner of the bag, she befriends a strange taxi driver. They travel through Bulgaria in search of the owner of the bag. Many learning experiences later….

This is a winding tale. It is beautifully written just very slow going. It took forever to get anywhere and believe me…we were all over Bulgaria. I enjoyed the historical aspect to the novel. I did not realize the communist history of Bulgaria. I learned a great deal. However, this story meandered way too much for me. Some people enjoy slow soothing reads. This book is for you if that is you taste in reads. I need more action!

I received this novel from Netgalley for a honest review.

With The Shadow Land, Elizabeth Kostova has once again written an epic story that brings you on a journey of discovery and compassion. Each of her prior books (The Historian and The Swan Thieves), I found quite good,even excellent, but this one has touched me in a different way. Perhaps it was the main character Alexandra Boyd and the way she was determined to do what was right. Or maybe Bobby with his instincts and doggedness to resolve the mystery. Or the story of a violinist Stoyan Lazarov who just wanted to play his music.

Bulgaria was not a country I knew a great deal about. The history of its past as it wove through the story of Stoyan Lazarov was fascinating and horrifying. The story balanced the past and the present weaving the story lines and the journey of Bobby and Alexandra with the life of Stoyan Lazarov. I actually didn’t want to continue reading at a couple of points but was simply unable to stop. What is it about humanity that when there is a leader who feels the need to have a subversive group to punish without impunity?

The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova is a great read. The story is a journey that does not read quickly, but allows you to find the mountains and valleys within the story.

A great thank you to Elizabeth Kostova, Ballantine Books, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this free copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

This was my least favorite of the author's trio of books. I was 50% in before I felt any real tension, 89% before I felt like I was making any headway, and then was smacked in the face with a two second denouement that I had to reread because surely the climax of the story didn't just happen like that? All of this and that's what I get? Sorely let down

The heroine, Alexandra, cries too much. She's what I refer to as my female nonentity because the story could go on most of the time without her. All she does is weep, get panicky, and take care of a dog. Now of course she is the catalyst to the whole mix up at the beginning, but after that-nyet. I hate weak female characters.

Then the book does try to become more interesting by splintering into two storylines (past and present). The history of the Bulgarian prison camps is something I did not know. But it's a bit short-lived for me. I would have liked more accurate detail. But perhaps the author thought that would make the book too brutal?

All in all, I am glad I read the book as I am generally a fan of this author's writing, but this in no way compares to The Historian.

I finished this book days ago and have been trying to find the words to write a cogent review. The writing was uncomfortable. The change of "person/point of view" was similar to hearing a strident note. The attempt to replicate the language was a distraction. This book might have been more interesting told in separate voices, separate narratives.

The back story of the protagonist, Alexandra, is a tease and hoping for further clarification is probably one of the reasons I finished this book. There are various subtexts and without question the most interesting, prosaic and well told is the portion of the book that deals with the man who has been reduced to ashes in an urn. The ensuing travels and travails reminded me of Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia - back and forth and back and forth and on and on.

On the positive side - I was introduced to communist and post communist Bulgaria. This is where Kostova's writing shines. This is a subject she knows intimately and freely shares with the reader.

I found this to be one of the most moving books I've ever read. I closed the final page with tears in my eyes and I know that I won't soon forget the people and the land that occupied those pages.

The writing was so beautiful, the descriptions so vivid, that I felt as if I was totally immersed in the time and place that the story depicts. My knowledge of Bulgaria and its history was totally expanded. I had no idea that the things written about actually took place and I admit to being extremely horrified and emotional over the events written about. It was a very eye opening experience for me. And a very moving one. I mourned with the characters who were treated so brutally and those who loved them and those who came to love them. Those relationships and that love affected me so deeply. I still could just sit down and cry over it all.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction, and a story that will deeply move you in so many, many ways. I loved this one.

Having arrived in Sofia, a chance encounter on the steps of a hotel leaves Alexandra Boyd in possession of someone else's luggage, and not just any piece of luggage either. Opening the bag in hopes of finding out more about its owner, she finds an ornately carved box, full of ashes. She came to Bulgaria to seek healing for her own soul, to travel, and to teach English, but she feels compelled to first return this precious item. Aided by a name on the box and the taxi driver, Alexandra goes in search of the owners, not knowing that she is setting off on a quest that will span the country of Bulgaria and end in lifelong friendships unimagined. She is befriended by her mysterious taxi driver, adopts a stray dog, and piece-by-piece unearths the truth behind the precious piece of luggage that she carries. Weaving together the story of a young women who has experienced her own personal loss and the story of a man who lived through the horrors of life in a work camp in Bulgaria, this novel brings to life a piece of lesser-explored history. The writing is vivid and detailed as the author brings this story and the beauty of the country of Bulgaria to life.

Wow! Well done!! This is an impressive novel! The story captured my attention and my heart, bringing to life these true-to-life, lovable characters. My heart ached when they endured hardship and rejoiced when resolution was finally achieved. The author has blended history, intrigue, and a little bit of romance together into a wonderful piece. I highly recommend this novel!

The Shadow Land was provided to me by Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group -- Ballantine Books in exchange for my honest review. All opinions contained within are my own.

I have had Elizabeth Kostova’s debut novel The Historian sitting on my To Read shelf for some time so while I recognized her name when her upcoming The Shadow Land came up in my possible preview pile, I hadn’t actually read her work before. The Shadow Land also fell into my recent inclination towards historic fiction that explores the nations of Europe in the aftermath of World War II so I jumped to preview it. Though it proved for me to be slow reading, the depiction of life behind the Iron Curtain in the 1950s is a harsh one that the area struggles to deal with even in the decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Alexandra Boyd decided she needed a change so she signed up to teach English in Bulgaria but before she can even reach her hostel and start to settle in, things begin to go wrong. Assisting a middle-aged man and his elderly parents into a taxi, Alexandra soon discovers that one of their bags has gotten mixed in with her own. Containing the ashes of someone obviously dear to them, she sets about trying to find them again so she can return the urn and apologize for the mix-up. Her taxi driver, Asparuh who tells her to call him Bobby, offers to help her in her efforts to track the family down. Receiving an address from the police, Alexandra insists on returning the remains personally. As she and Bobby follow a trail of breadcrumbs, it becomes clear there’s more to the story of the man in the urn and his family than they realized.

I very much enjoyed the story at the heart of this novel however the pacing drained a lot of my enthusiasm. Receiving Alexandra’s personal backstory in the first section of the novel interspersed with the beginning of her search was compelling but was explored at a depth that wasn’t as necessary to convey how it helped establish parallels between her character and the deceased Stoyan Lazarov, especially since Alexandra as a character gets pushed further and further to the edges of what proves to be the novel’s focus—Stoyan Lazarov’s life. Similarly, there are incidents, especially early in Alexandra and Bobby’s search, that are meant to create tension and inspire questions—who’s following them and why are they apparently after this urn—but there aren’t enough answers to the questions raised and the incidents take too long proving tedious rather than plot-advancing. When the answers do finally come out (in a climax I found incredibly anti-climactic and rushed given all the build-up), it becomes clear that a lot of the early back-and-forth could probably have been cut.

The novel’s strengths lie in the interweaving of Stoyan’s account of what he endured with the pieces finally beginning to fall into place for Alexandra and Bobby in the last third or so of the novel. The psychological means by which Stoyan endured and persevered through what he did are incredibly realized through their presentation in a first person account and blend beautifully with the second-hand accounts of him in the second part of the novel where the portion of his life being described happens after this first-person account takes place. The out-of-order piecing together of Stoyan’s life transcends the clunky mystery/thriller that serves to frame it. But though it doesn’t work too well for me on the page, I can easily envision The Shadow Land being adapted into a television mini-series and I think it would work beautifully in that medium.

The Shadow Land will be available for purchase April 11, 2017.

Although I was a little disappointed by The Swan Thieves, I liked Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian so much that I was excited to get my hands on an early copy of The Shadow Land. It has a few minor problems, but overall, does not disappoint.

Alexandra has arrived in Sophia, Bulgaria, early for her teaching job so that she can have the summer to see the sights. However, a series of errors sets her on a different path. Instead of dropping her at her hostel, her taxi driver takes her to the Hotel Forest. There she helps an elderly couple and middle-aged man with their luggage as they get into a taxi. Only once she is in another taxi does she realize that one of their pieces of luggage got mixed up with hers. To her horror, she finds it contains an urn with someone’s ashes.

With her driver Bobby’s help, Alexandra begins trying to find the family. They had not been staying at the hotel they came out of. Alexandra feels she has no option but to go to the police. Once she has visited with them, though, and has been given an address based on the name on the urn, Stoyan Lazarov, she and Bobby begin to receive threats. Eventually on their search they find a potentially explosive manuscript about Lazarov’s experiences during the Communist regime.

Although the main intent of the novel is to tell about this dark time in Bulgaria’s history, this novel makes a great suspense story in the manner of Mary Stewart, with just a dash of romance. Like Stewart’s novels, it is evocative of its setting, as Alexandra and her friends travel from place to place in Bulgaria.

Alexandra’s adventures in Bulgaria are interrupted, first by the story of her brother Jack’s disappearance when she was younger and later by chapters from Stoyan Lazarov’s manuscript. These interruptions pose one of the slight problems with the novel. There doesn’t seem to be much reason for the first story—as a backstory for Alexandra it is important but could have been handled more economically. The second narrative serves both to finally provide the key to the plot and to prolong the suspense. But I found it to be a bit too prolonged, with too much detail about how Stoyan Lazarov keeps up his inner strength during his trials. The effect of both interruptions was to slow down the main narrative.

Those are minor criticisms, though. A little larger one is that the identity of the villain and his reason for pursuing our heroes are both fairly easy to guess. Still, I found this novel suspenseful and fun to read, with a chunk of Bulgaria’s dark history as a bonus.

Scrappymags 3-word review: I got bored.

Shortest summary ever: Alexandra arrives in Bulgaria to engage in touristy fun travel before starting a job teaching English. She wanders into the city, aids a woman who almost falls and winds up with someone’s cremation ashes. This leads her to befriend her cabbie – Bobby, who speaks remarkable English, and they embark on a back and forth across the country adventure searching for the people who lost the ashes, falling into a strange mystery along the way.

What’s good under the hood: First you should know this is my favorite genre – historical fiction mysteries. Give me these any day and I’ll roll in them like a happy beagle in a pile of good smelling garbage (maybe that’s just my beagle?). Expectations high. I loved the descriptions of Bulgaria. I’m not opposed to longer, narrative descriptions when done well (Just don’t go all Steinbeck on my ass). I even looked up the locales on the map, so that’s a plus in the “piqued my interest” category. I enjoyed looking at pics of Bulgaria and obtaining the “feel” Alexandra must have felt for the country. Beautiful. Kostova is wonderfully talented at this writing and I 5-starred her previous novel The Historian because I thought it was a perfect balance of accurate, vivid description and engaging mystery. The Shadow Land fell short of that expectation. The mystery aspect was clunky and lacking interest (from me). I stopped caring (not a good sign). The story flips point of view and setting (time and place) so multiple narratives are presented. The ashes of Stoyan Lazarov turn into the most interesting part – his story. What he endured, and that historical fiction is what I love and Kostova does well, but the awkward, muddled mystery aspect with Alexandra and Bobby’s adventure turned me off.

What’s bad or made me mad: 1. The premise from the start isn’t believable. A single female, 20’s is
going to befriend a cabbie and then take off with him in a country where she knows no one (including how to speak the language) to return ashes? That’s the beginning. I can suspend disbelief, so I accepted this early on. photo shadow2.jpeg
2. However, the sub-storyline of how Alexandra lost her brother didn’t make much sense (not a spoiler!!!) It explains what she’s doing in Bulgaria, but an explanation isn’t needed, and the development of that story didn’t happen for me. I wanted to answer the question, “Why am I hearing about this dead brother?” and never felt a satisfactory answer. It didn’t parallel anything. Wasn’t a metaphor, that I could detect, so I felt that sub-story wasn’t needed. Maybe a red herring? Regardless, I felt it unnecessary. 3. The back-and-forth across the country. Oy. I wound up feeling like “ENOUGH.” Going back to places they already were. I wanted to flip ahead. I was bored. Really bored.

Recommend to:

* Those who love historical fiction/mystery like me SHOULD give this a go. Honestly, I often love books others despise and vice versa, so you’ll have to give it a go to see for yourself.
* Anyone interested in Bulgarian tourism. Seriously – if you are like me and love to hear descriptions of places, etc. and then find yourself Googling them. This is for you.

Do Not Recommend to:

* Anyone who wants a “quick and easy” book. This ain’t the one, hon.
* Anyone who isn’t interested in a generally sad book. Not cheery.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Still love you, just not this book.

Brilliant, allusive and riveting!

Vividly descriptive narrative flows across the pages of Kostava's work at once both musical and poetical. The opening pages draw you in. A veneer of haunting melody continues to engage.
Alexandra Boyd has come to Bulgaria as a form of penance and a hope for renewal after her beloved brother Jack's death. Bulgaria was the place he'd always wanted to visit. A place from their childhood dreams and games.
An accidental meeting at a taxi ramp in Sofia leads Alexandra to a riveting chase and search across Bulgaria, all the time dogged by her personal loss, whilst uncovering the story of the people she seeks. Finding an funeral urn misplaced with her luggage, shockingly affects Alexandra coming alongside as it does the memory of her own loss. This fuels the impetus for her decision to find the urn's owners. The quest becomes paramount to all else.
This quest has Alexandra on a journey crisscrossing not only the geographical Bulgaria, but the memories of the past under communist rule and the fate of the urn's occupant, Stoyan Lazarov, a talented musician, and that of his family.
Through Stoyan's eyes in the past and his family in the present we see the enforced labor camps under Communist rule and their inhumane overseeing. We see the indomitable human spirit struggle for life when circumstances become too much for the body and soul to hold. The dark days of Stoyan's experiences are lightened by the memory methods he develops to engage a different reality, a separating from the concrete, and the awesome discipline of being somewhere other in the midst of hardship as he fights for survival.
The past is set against the present as Alexandra's journey encounters its own dangers--and joys. Alexandra 'could hear music, where there was no music.' A novel of hope!

A NetGalley ARC
(April 2017)

The Shadow Land is Elizabeth Kostova's newest novel. It is set in modern-day Bulgaria but does focus quite a bit on historic events during and right after the World War II. The premise is quite interesting. A young American English teacher arrives in Sofia, Bulgaria, where she has accepted a teaching position, and on her first day there, ends up inadvertently keeping someone else’s bag. When she looks inside, she discovers an ornate wooden box containing someone’s ashes. What follows is a whirlwind of events as she travels to different parts of the country trying to find the deceased man’s relatives, and in the process learns much about his life and Bulgaria’s troubled history.

Elizabeth Kostova’s writing is very suspenseful. It follows almost a wave-like pattern. An attention-grabbing event is followed by a stretch of beautiful descriptions and the main character’s introspective musings. But just as the reader is about to get bored, he/she is jerked awake by some dramatic turn of events in the narrative. Kostova is thus able to hold the reader’s attention and make them want to continue with the story.

I really loved Kostova’s descriptions of Bulgaria. When I read her prose, I see pictures rather than words – she is that good at writing. Since I was reading the novel in an e-book format, I did not realize at first how long it actually is. I think it is 496 pages in print, so please prepare yourself for a long albeit very enjoyable ride. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Shadow Land left me filled with wonder but also a profound sadness. This is a beautifully written tribute to a country that does not get enough attention from the world and to the horrors its citizens faced during the reign of the Soviet Union.

This story follows Alexandra Boyd, an American writer who is plagued with the death of her brother and the grief and guilt associated with a loss at such an age. Her memories of him lead her to a job teaching English in Sofia, Bulgaria. Upon her arrival in Bulgaria, Alex mistakes someones luggage for her own which turn out to be the ashes of a Bulagarian violinist, Stoyan Lazarov. The story continues as Alex searches for a way to return the urn with the help of her friend Bobby (pronounce Bobi) and uncovers the truth about Stoyan's painful past.

From the first page Kostova transports us to Sofia through her words. Having just visited Plovdiv for a wedding, I felt I could vividly envision every tree, every bench, every smell. I know a lot of reviewers said this book dragged because of the details-but that is where the magic is! Bare with me. I loved The Historian. Kostova's descriptions of Romania and Hungary drove me onto a 7 hour long plane ride so that I could experience the Carpathian mountains and the beautiful sights on the Danube for myself. She spends time not only describing the surroundings in great detail but also the feeling you would get seeing the sun rise over the mountains. I can rant and rave about the setting but the plot was just as beautiful.

As a Russian and a millennial, I don't often reflect on the horrific treatment the citizens of the USSR faced. As a first-generation American, I was read the same fairy tales as the ones Alex heard, the same superstitions (don't sit on cold stone or you will freeze your kidneys/never have children. I am not kidding) and told to finish all my food because in the USSR you were lucky if there was meat. At the same time I also heard that no one was homeless and everyone had a job - although no one was paid well. This narrative of life under communist rule fascinated me but while reading this book I realized that it also masked the the atrocities citizens of the Soviet Bloc faced. Although Stoyan Lazarov is a fictional character, the labor camps were not. Inspired by the remains of real labor camps under the communist party, Kostova illustrates the gut-wrenching treatment citizens of Bulgaria were witness to through fiction. Stoyan's storyline or confessions broke my heart. I couldn't help but cry when Neven was recounting his father's final moments.

The Shadow Land did what every great novel is supposed to do. It had mystery and a dash of romance. It made you think and the ending was cathartic. If you loved The Historian or The Swan Thieves , you will not be disappointed.