In The Shadow Land, Elizabeth Kostova packs in decades worth of Bulgarian history, a compelling mystery, interesting characters, and beautiful writing. Through Alexandra and Bobby's journey to reunite the ashes of Stoyan Lazarov with his family, we travel through Bulgaria- both the contemporary Bulgaria of the story and the decades in which Stoyan lived. Along the way, Alexandra and Bobby (and the reader) meet a series of individuals connected with the Lazarovs who help them to piece together who this man was, and why it seems there is particular interest in their quest. Richly detailed and with a great sense of place.

Utterly implausible, yet utterly enjoyable.

Alexandra Boyd heads to Sofia, Bulgaria to pay homage to her brother who disappeared on a hiking trip when she was sixteen. On her first day in the city, she accidentally finds herself with a strangers bag. It's not just any bag, but an urn containing the ashes of musician Stoyan Lazarov. What follows is a compelling search, with the help of her new taxi driver, Bobby, through Sofia to find the owners of the urn. In this search, they learn the dark history of Soviet Bulgaria, and face a surprising number of challenges.

I really enjoyed this novel overall. I feel that it was a great way to explain the history of Bulgaria without a purely historical piece. Although there are flashbacks to the past, it was done very well through journal entries and other people's stories. Additionally, the writing style was very beautiful and captured the emotions of the story very aptly. The journal entries that I mentioned were especially compelling and I felt gripped by what they conveyed (I don't want to give anything away!).

My only complaint is that it did start to feel a little long and tedious towards the end, but I still enjoyed the vast majority of this novel. There were a few other things that didn't quite work for me, but to explain them would be a spoiler, and I still think the novel is a worthwhile read regardless.

If you're a lover of historical fiction, but tired of the general format, I recommend giving this a shot. Also really to anyone looking for a beautiful and powerful read.

Elizabeth Kostova wrote another entertaining piece of historical fiction. Throughout there is a tale between two stories, all leading to determine the answer to one mystery. This is a dark story, mostly serious, that unwinds until the very end. Although fiction, it is based on events in history that should be exposed for their horrendous crimes to humanity, and this is one way of doing that.

I had this on my Kindle about 3 months and sadly lost interest. I was so excited to receive an ARC, since I loved her debut novel. But sadly, I marked this as a DNF at 20%. I go into full thoughts on my blog post.

I have always loved the works of Elizabeth Kostova. I find her writing absolutely entrancing. Although I thoroughly enjoy her descriptions of Bulgaria, I find her stories weave around instead of through the worlds that she creates. As if the story runs in the background while the Alexandra explores Sofia and takes it all in. Typically I enjoy a very good plot, but when I want to sit back and enjoy a world and a time I turn to Miss Kostova for satisfaction.

The Historian was a good read for me, but this, this was so much more. I'm unsure when Ms Kostova decided to take a turn into this mature novel, but her writing, her expressions, her language was just peaceful and luring. She paints such a vivid picture and it is truly beautiful.

You watch/read as Alexandra moves, and grows. She changes and develops, she becomes someone she didn't know she would become. This! This is everyday life, not a story that you follow action after action, event after event. This is a journey, a discovery and I loved it!

Thank you Elizabeth Kostova for another fantastic read!

This was another hit for Elizabeth Kostova. It's been eleven years or more since her first book came out. I love her setting in Eastern Europe. Although it's fiction, the story reveals much about Bulgarian life. The reader develops a taste for the culture, people, landscape, and the communist past of the region.
Admittedly, the story does drag in places as the characters are driving all over and seemingly just one step behind the group they seek. All in all this is a story worth exploring.

Beautifully written tale of a young would-be-worldly woman who goes to Bulgaria, the "light green" country on the map she and her now gone brother admired when they were young. I found the relationship between Alexandra and everyone she meets both admirable and refreshing. I loved the old mythology that wound itself around her, just like the elderly ladies she meets. So many beautiful objects to treasure in this book - and in Kostova's deft prose, I could see them. A wonderful selection for my IB summer reading list.

An atmospheric historical thriller which careens across Bulgaria and across time. Our young heroine learns about the dark communist history and rich personal relationships when she accidentally takes an urn of ashes from a family she briefly bumps into. Engaging to the end.

Kostova's writing is exquisitely beautiful. Her portrayal of surroundings puts you in the place and time of events. Alexandra's story began in the mountains of North Carolina and moved to Bulgaria where the majority of the story unfolds. The story of Stoyan Lazarov is heart-wrenching - from his dreams, through his arrest and incarceration in a labor camp, to his death. Some of Bulgaria's history is brought to the forefront with a political thread woven through the book. Alexandra's journey, though totally unbelievable, provided an interesting mystery. This is a 5-star book for the captivating writing alone.

My thanks to Random House/Ballantine through Netgalley for an advance copy of this book.

The Shadow Land is a mystery, a thriller and a love story but not a traditional love story. It is a love for a land, it’s people and it’s history. Beginning The Shadow Land I knew a little bit about Bulgaria, thanks to Ms. Kostova’s 2005 book The Historian. But I knew nothing about it’s mid twentieth century history. I did not know there was a King who allied his country to Hitler and left them to suffer one brutal dictatorship and ideology after another. Kostova brings this history to life through the people who lived it and the people who struggled to rebuild.

Alexandra is a woman in her mid-twenties who has been marked by tragedy over ten years before. Her brother disappeared the day after his sixteenth birthday on a family hike in the Blue Ridge Mountains. His body was never found. Alexandra had been close to him until shortly before his disappearance. Looking back she tries to find a reason, was he depressed, was it an accident but all she finds are more reasons to blame herself. She travels to Bulgaria, a country her brother dreamt about seeing, to teach and to try to move on.

The taxi from the airport deposits her at a main point in the city of Sofia. Alexandra is in the process of getting another taxi to her hostel, a low cost living arrangement until the school year begins and she receives a salary, when a good deed does indeed get punished. Trying to help an elderly couple and their son into another taxi, she accidently ends up with one of their bags mixed with hers. As her taxi begins to drive her away, she realizes the mistakes. The other family is gone and the bag Alexandra has contains someone’s ashes in an elaborately carved urn.

Alexandra’’s taxi driver, who she calls Bobby, offers to help her return the ashes. What follows is an odyssey, that covers the length and breadth of Bulgaria and it’s history. As Kostova did in the Historian, the story is split into different time periods and narrators. The voice of the dead man whose ashes are now in Alexandra’s possession are told in his journal. Other people speak for him, to tell his story and how it is so entwined with the history of Bulgaria.

The books is at it’s best when it takes these magical side trips into the murky past. A blind woman over one hundred years old tells of when the Ottoman’s were finally driven from Bulgaria. The dead man’s sister-in-law tells of a serious suitor who quietly wins the family over with his courtesy and obvious adoration for Vera, his future wife. The survivor of a inhuman prison camp where the inmates do not know their crimes. The author saved a wonderful surprise for the last quarter of the book. It made me love the characters all the more.

Dorothy's quest to meet The Wizard. As I am writing this, (all proud of my cleverness)I realize there is a character named The Wizard. (Duh) But he actually isn't the THE Wizard.
Our Dorothy, Alexandra, is a young woman newly arrived in Sofia, Bulgaria to teach. Alexandra is also on a pilgrimage of sorts for her brother who died young in a hiking accident. Alexandra is almost destroyed by her burden of guilt. So when by trying to do a good deed for a small little family group, she ends up with cremains, Alexandra is horrified. Unh uh, no way is she going to bear this guilt.
Alexandra meets up with her Scarecrow, a taxi driver named Bobby, who joins her on this quest to find three people in Bulgaria when she doesn't know their name, phone, or address. Although she soon catches a break on the name.
Bobby is the ultimate Scarecrow with skills and secrets of his own. Everyone should be so lucky as to have a Bobby in their life.
Alexandra and Bobby's journey on the YBR is a physical and historical journey through Bulgaria. A journey of light and darkness. Early on they discover the name of the man whose remains they hold, Stoyan Lazarov, a violinist of exceptional skill. It is his story we begin to learn. The story of his incredible skill as a violinist, his abiding love for his Vera, and his long dark journey into the hell of the Bulgarian gulags.
Alexandra and Bobby find themselves in danger almost from the beginning. It takes a long while to discover by whom and even longer to discover why. As Alexandra and Bobby begin to meet Stoyan's family and friends, they discover his journeys into hell are almost balanced by the beauty of these F and Fs. Kostova paints her characters as lovingly a Sargent or a Casset.
There is a distraction at first when some of the chapters are told by Alexandra's POV, This distraction soon disappears. This about the only discordant note I can think of.
I don't think I have to words to describe Kostova's description of Stoyan's music. Her descriptions, are, well, music. But all of Kostova's descriptions are lovely. Sometimes I just skim wordy descriptions, in Kostova's case I savor her words.
For all the right reasons, this book takes commitment. It is a journey well worth taking.
Thank you to NetGalley for a chance to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Alexandra’s brother disappears on a family hike when he is 16 and she's 14. As a twenty-six year old, she travels to Sophia, Bulgaria because it was her brother’s desire to have traveled there. She has no sooner arrived that she accidentally picks up a suitcase that contains someone’s ashes. And so it begins. This is a beautifully written, wonderfully detailed book. Kostova paints a picture with each chapter so that you can visually picture everything happening. You feel as much the outsider as Alexandra, trying to make heads or tails of this country with a language that you don't speak that sounds nothing like English and doesn't even share an alphabet. You gradually are given the story of the man whose ashes Alexandra is carrying around.

There is a bit of mystery to this story. Not only the story of Stoyan Lazerov, but why is someone following Alexandra and Bobby, her taxi driver/friend and damaging his car.

I knew next to nothing about Bulgaria’s history. This novel takes your through most of the 20th century. Politics play a large part in this book, both present and past. There is a candidate running on a campaign of “against corruption” with a “purity” angle. This takes place in 2008 but hits close to home with the current anti-immigration movements in the EU and US. One of the most telling lines in the book is “There you are, Bird… In your country you don't care about history and in my country, we cannot recover from it.”

This is not a fast paced novel. It takes its time, moving from location to location, time to time. I felt that Stoyan’s time in the labor camp was especially slow and would have been better if compressed.

The ending isn't believable but it is satisfying. Of course, the entire premise of the book isn’t what you’d call believable. Ther are way too many coincidences and lots of leaps of faith required. But if you’re willing to suspend your critical thoughts about that, the book is very enjoyable.
My thanks to netgalley and Random House/Ballantine Books for an advance copy of this nove

I am sorry to say this one didn't quite interest me and I had a hard time finishing it. The writing was very good but I couldn't become interested in the characters

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book for an honest review*
I have a love-hate relationship with this book. There were times where I had to force my way through, and other times I couldn't put it down. The book goes back and forth between two time periods, and a mystery unfolds between the two.
The main story focuses on Alexandra Boyd, who has traveled to Bulgaria to fulfill a dream for her late brother. While helping a family into a cab, she accidentally keeps one of their bags. In the bag she finds an urn with ashes in it. Alexandra sets out to find the family to return the urn. In the process she puts herself in the middle of a mystery spanning decades.
This is where the book starts to alternate between Alexandra's story and that of the man in the urn. Stoyan Lazarov was a very talented musician. His only goal was to bring glory to his country by becoming a famous violinist. His story shows the dark history of Bulgaria.
When I finished this book, I found that I really did care for it. The Shadow Land is a beautifully written book that delves into the dark history of a beautiful country.
I will say this is a long read. I felt at times it definitely could have been trimmed down. The first part of the book that helps explain why Alexandra came to Bulgaria could have been shorter. I understand that the main character came to Bulgaria to honor her brother, but too much time was taken up with the back story about her brother and how he died. The book would still function nicely if that part was omitted.
What I really loved was the story of Stoyan. His chapters are the true gem in this book and kept me turning pages.
I would recommend this book to others, especially if you love history.

In the beginning of this book, I thought, oh we have a mystery on our hands. A mysterious trio who have left one of their bags mixed in with Alexandra's in front of a hotel in Sofia.

When a nice looking and very helpful taxi driver insists on helping her, she takes him up on it, not knowing that he is not who or what he says he is.

They travel to villages all around Sofia, and find some relatives and hear the stories of the family they are chasing. And that is when this became a gripping and heartbreaking look at what war does to people and how each person bears their burdens differently.

The descriptions of the country, the wars, the people were so complete. I love a book that can not only entertain me, but leave me thinking long after I've read it.

I loved every minute of our journey to Bulgaria!

Thanks Netgalley and Ballentine!

This was the book that never wanted to end. I was so excited to receive an ARC from NetGalley because I remembered how much I loved reading The Historian so many years ago. This is similar in some ways...there is both adventure and mystery, but MY GOD the stream of consciousness levels in this novel are unsurpassed.

Alexandra arrives in Bulgaria looking to find a fresh start, or some kind of answers many years after the disappearance of her brother, but on her first day there's a bit of a luggage mix up and she ends up with an urn containing the ashes of Stoyan Lazarov, a man who died two years earlier.

Then, strange things start to happen. As she looks for the family to return it to, she realizes she's being followed. What unfolds is the heartbreaking story of how Stoyan Lazarov lived and died. The plot was certainly interesting, but it doesn't start to unfold until about 70% in, and it's a commitment to reach the conclusion after that. Not as strong as The Historian, but if you're looking for a book that isn't afraid to delve into the details, this is it.

Wow.

I finished this book late on Friday night, and I struggled to sleep afterwards. Instead, I lay in bed contemplating the ride I had just finished. Was it really over? Did I like how it ended? I needed time to consider everything, to let it sink it, to see what parts really resonated the most.

Don't worry, I won't spoil it for you. :-)

This book employs the ever-popular method of switching between two time periods. Sometimes I'm distracted by it, and other times I love it. I fall in the latter perspective with this book - I thought that the timeline switching actually enhanced the book for me. Besides, I honestly needed a break from the historical viewpoint, which is quite dark (in the sad kind of darkness way - not the mysterious kind of darkness way). The present perspective kept me grounded in today's world, while still considering what had happened in the past and how it affected people years after the events.

I fell in love with the primary character, Alexandra. Due to a mistake in the taxi cab line, she ends up with something that belongs to another person (this isn't a spoiler - it happens almost immediately in the book). She tirelessly tracks down the owner of the items - this girl has gumption and perseverance and courage.

I also thought the author did an incredible job at describing music, something difficult to do through words vs through using our ears. I could practically hear the music, and I might have even danced my feet one or two times. How music is *used* in the historical viewpoint was fascinating, and I found it completely possible.

The other thing I have to comment on is the ending. Don't worry - spoiler free! - but I have to say a few words about it. This is why I stayed up late, considering my thoughts. There's a little bit of an action scene toward the end. It felt scattered, confusing, a little too quick paced relative to the rest of the book. BUT this part is told from Alexandra's perspective, and I imagined I was her. Was the story told in a way that someone who was there might have witnessed it? Absolutely. I believe the way that part was told was completely intentional. Consider this when you read it, and you might arrive at the same conclusion I did: the author has fantastic talent.

Highly recommended.

The following review was posted to my Goodreads account on 20 March 2017, the day after I finished reading the novel..

I was so excited to be approved for this book because I absolutely loved The Historian, although I had read it when it was first released and had only vague memories about why I loved that book. Although I had read The Swan Thieves more recently, but still a few years ago, I was hopeful that the reasons why I was less enthusiastic about that book were absent from The Shadow Lands. Unfortunately, I had postponed reading this novel until the day the digital galley was due to expire from my library because of its overwhelming length.

Overall, I did enjoy The Shadow Lands. At first, I was put off by the hyper-detailed description of Alexandra herself and her arrival in Bulgaria. All that minutiae just felt unnecessary to appreciate who she was, what she was about, and why she was in Bulgaria. But once the action started, the overwhelming details abated and I found myself engrossed in the story. I literally started reading at seven in the morning, and raced through the pages until my conference call at two-thirty in the afternoon. When the book was supposed to expire an hour later, I was only on page 390 of 478. However, I felt so invested in the novel that I knew I would have to borrow it from the library to find out how it ended. Fortunately, either there was a glitch in my software or I was mistaken about the time the book was due to expire, as I was able to finish the book after I returned from an evening obligation. I definitely appreciated how all the lose threads were tied up as things came crashing together at the end.

I do appreciate experimentation in a novel, so I enjoyed the shifts in perspective between the short chapters and the leaps backward and forward in time. It always seemed clear to me whose story was being told and who was telling it. I also appreciated the rather smooth integration of the education on the history, culture, and geography of Bulgaria. Even though I had studied East Europe history in college and lived in Central Europe in the early 1990s, Bulgaria was still rather foreign to me. The country itself figured as prominently in the story as any of the characters, as the oddities that kept befalling these characters would have seemed outlandish in any other milieu.

I would recommend The Shadow Lands to any of my friends who enjoy historical fiction or who enjoy a good adventure story. While it is still too early to tell, since I finished the book less than twelve hours ago, the story is haunting enough that it may warrant my re-reading in the distant future. After, of course, I re-read The Historian.

I received this book free from the publisher through NetGalley. I thank them for their generosity. In exchange, I was simply asked to write an honest review, and post it.
Having read The Historian I went into the novel expecting this to be another horror/supernatural tale. It wasn’t, but it was a satisfying read nevertheless. Kostova is a master at weighing out every word so that each matter and her novels are more of painting than a book. At times I felt as if I were in a documentary or traveling through the rough countryside right along with the main character. The Shadow Land is the convoluted story of a young woman’s journey to lose and find herself at the same time. Alexandra travels to Bulgaria to teach English as well as subconsciously atone for her brother’s unsolved disappearance when they were on a family hike years prior. On her first day in the country, Alexandra stumbles into a real life mystery after she inadvertently stops to help an elderly couple and their mysteriously handsome son into a cab. To her dismay, she finds that bags get switched and she is now in possession of a set of cremains. Stumbling to the nearest taxi, she meets a young taxi driver/poet/activist (he does it all!) named Bobby who quickly becomes just as intrigued and committed to finding the missing family as Alexandra. Soon they realize that this is not an ordinary mission, but one that may cost them their lives. The novel takes us through the cities, remote villages and winding roads of Bulgaria and introduces us to a rich pantheon of characters that over a few chapters become like old friends. Even their canine sidekick has a quirky and unique personality. Slowly and deliberately we learn the back story of the characters including the man whose cremains they are trying to lay to rest. At times the pace drags or switches abruptly to a different time and setting (my reason for not giving it 5 stars), but like a fine wine or a rich dessert, the book should be savored and enjoyed.
Written by: Elizabeth Kostova
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date: April 11th, 2017
Rating: 4 Stars
Genre: mystery, historical fiction