*3.5 stars rounded up! 

Elizabeth Kostova obviously wanted to write a story about the horrors that happened in Bulgaria during the Soviet-influenced era of communism after WWII. She does that in this novel through the experiences of one man, a remarkable violinist named Stoyan Lazarov. 

But Kostova couches her story of the past in present day Bulgaria, where a young American woman named Alexandra Boyd arrives with a job in hand to teach English. But before she can even check into her hotel, she notices an elderly couple and a middle-aged man awkwardly trying to enter a cab outside the hotel. She steps in to help and afterward realizes she has inadvertently kept one of their bags. Inside the bag is an urn with the ashes of Stoyan Lazarov.

Thus begins a rather preposterous journey for Alexandra as she travels around Bulgaria with a surprisingly helpful taxi driver, trying to track down the Lazarov family and return the ashes. It soon becomes apparent that they've disturbed a hornet's nest. 

Alexandra is the typical young foreigner who is outside her element, not understanding exactly how things are done in this land of ancient history--a country, she is told, where anything can happen. 

I enjoyed the chance to learn more about Bulgaria myself in the pages of this novel. Kostova writes wonderful descriptions of the landscape and villages as Alexandra and her driver Bobby zoom here and there, following clues. The post WWII history Kostova writes about is remarkable too and is really the gem of the novel. 

This is the latest novel my family picked for our mother-daughter book club during the pandemic. I'm looking forward to our Zoom meeting and discussion. Perhaps we can play some Vivaldi in the background to set the mood. 

I received an arc of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I apologize for the long delay in getting it read and reviewed and hope the philosophy of 'better late than never' will hold true here.

I really enjoyed The Historian, and Kostova's newest work, "The Shadow Land" - while very different - does not disappoint. I don't want to give away the story, since the journey of discovering it is the joy of this book for me, but the focus is a young woman's discovery of herself, of history, and of a country that's very foreign to her, but perhaps not so alien after all.

I really appreciate that this book was set in Bulgaria; the freshness of the setting really set this book up for an enjoyable read. The underlying message of human connection and motivation was spectacular. This exposure to a new history and environment is such an incredibly written novel was an exceptional reading experience.

This moving historical fiction novel illuminates a place and time with which I’m largely unfamiliar: Bulgaria of 2008 and the years immediately following WWII. 

In 2008 Alexandra Boyd arrives in Bulgaria and mistakenly ends up with a case holding someone’s ashes. She and her taxi driver Bobby travel across Bulgaria to locate the family whose case and family remains she accidentally took. Along the way she learns the story of Stoyan, a magnificent violinist who died two years before, and his family, and she and Bobby must escape the mysterious person(s) following and threatening them. 

Told from a number of perspectives, tenses, and mediums, Elizabeth Kostova’s Shadow Land offers a unique glimpse into Bulgaria’s tumultuous political history and an emotional consideration—indirectly—of storytelling, human decency, and connection. The relationship between Alexandra and her taxi driver Bobby is particularly lovely as they forge a bond based on someone’s secrets and eventually, their own. 

But this cross-Bulgaria novel has some pacing issues for me. The book opens a little slowly, and while I enjoy the parts about Alexandra’s past, specifically the revelations regarding her brother, I wonder if those could have been more smoothly integrated into the story, perhaps through dialogue with Bobby. Also, the monastery incident felt a little odd to me overall, especially as I was reading it. 


As more secrets about Stoyan are revealed, the book picks up pace and I became more invested in the story. The passages which focus intimately on Stoyan’s past, as told through his voice, are particularly heartrending. Less moving for me are the 2008 passages which use a distanced narrative voice to describe Alexandra. 

There are parts of Shadow Land that I loved but on the whole my experience was a little unbalanced. I’m grateful for the chance to have read this stirring novel. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

Elizabeth Kostova never ceases to amaze with her extensive research and well-chosen words. Those who have not experienced her story-telling backed with years of investigations is in for an amazing treat with not only The Shadow Land, but each of her titles.

I loved this book so much! I loved the characters and the world!  I would and have recommended this book to all my friends.  Told my friend who loves this author and she got a copy as soon as it was published.

In her first 24 hours in Sofia, Bulgaria, where she has travelled to teach English, Alexandra Boyd, a young American, meets briefly a family before they are about to board a taxi to leave the city. Soon after, Alexandra—who had helped one of those people with their luggage—realizes she has kept one of their bags. On closer inspection, she realizes it is an urn containing what seems are human ashes, and a box engraved with the name ‘Stoyan Lazarov’.

Using her own taxi driver as a guide, Alexandra tracks down the Lazarovi family, through space and time, as she completes the puzzle of who Stoyan Lazarov was and what happened to him and his family during Bulgaria’s Communist era. In doing so, Alexandra’s life, and of those who come in contact with the information, will be in danger.

I found Alexandra's burst of crying at the start of the novel a little too much. The chase to catch Alexandra and Bobby was also a bit unbelievable because despite the signs left by the persecutors were a bit disturbing, they never actually saw someone trying to prevent them from reaching their destination. I liked Stoyan Lazarov's story a great deal. His shattered hopes and dreams made for riveting fiction, more so than the contemporary aspects of the story. I learned a great deal about Bulgaria's geography and contemporary history, as the characters traversed the country while looking to piece together Stoyan's life story. I will be reading more of Elizabeth Kostova for sure.

As a fan of Elizabeth Kostova's "The Historian," this was a highly anticipated read and I was very excited to be offered an ARC. Unfortunately, I simply ran out of time to get into this book and thus, finish it before the archive deadline. It was a great story from the beginning, and I look forward to purchasing a copy in the near future for this year's summer reading. I absolutely loved "The Historian," and am sure based on other reviews and the chapters I have read so far, that this will live up to my expectations.

The Shadow Land was discussed in depth as a guest favorite on episode 60 of What Should I Read Next: The last page can make it or break it (with Melissa Joulwan)

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

It's been more than a year since I received this book and I think there's a reason, apart from a massive TBR pile, that it's taken me so long to review it, namely Kostova's style. The story is fine, and would've been a good, pulpy entertainment, if the writer didn't try so very hard with her metaphors. I read a lot of college-level English papers by a lot of exceptionally talented college students, and even though they're so bright and promising they often end up writing quite bad (non-fiction) prose because they just haven't got the hang of it yet. That's fine, and just as it should be. What's not fine is the same amount of confusion in a novel by a successful writer whose editors should've stepped in a long time ago. I never read Kostova's The Historian (I'm not very interested in vampire stories), but my suspicion is that a first novel goes through a lot more redrafting than a second or third, and in the case of this book that's a real shame.

A powerful, interesting, and well researched historical fiction about Bulgaria. A story about an American young woman, which travels to Sofia, Bulgaria following her own personal loss. By great coincidence, she ends up with an urn of ashes which she is compelled to return to its family. With much travel in Bulgaria, while developing a special friendship, she explores the realities, heartache and evolutions of Bulgaria and its people. Engaging history through personal stories, told with suspense and some mystery. Great characters and pace. Thank you NetGalley for this e-reader copy for my review. All opinions are my own.

Atmospheric and lyrical, Elizabeth Kostova weaves a tale that draws the reader in to her world.  A wonderful storyteller this is the perfect book with which to sit down and give oneself up to her tale.

This beautifully written book gives a real sense of living and breathing in Bulgaria.
The protagonist is a broken, yet thoughtful and compassionate person.
The narrative was engaging from the start but the plot did not make much sense to me -hence the 3 star rating.
I understand the motivation for traveling around Bulgaria, looking to find the family attached to the urn filled with ashes left in a taxi by the previous occupants - she is still missing her brother, who disappeared during a family hike in the mountains years ago (not a spoiler - it is all stated in the beginning chapters) However, it makes no sense that she would travel around the country to return the urn - why not report it to the police and leave it there? Once it was realized to be missing, wouldn't the family go to the police? And the taxi driver going along with her, taking her here and there, just does not seem very believable to me.

A little difficult to read given the way it was written, but I loved the history in the story.  I also wasn't able to predict the ending, which is rare for me.

An eloquent, slow moving plot which makes you consider what humanity truly is, The Shadow Land was a book I truly enjoyed digging into (although not as much as Kostova's The Historian). The characters are empathetic and interesting, with deep backstories and interesting motivations. It's a book that made me think and has stuck with me long after I finished it.

I have not finished reading The Shadow Land, because I wanted to go back and re-read her fist book, Historian, which I thought was an exciting and different story on Dracula.  It starts out pretty good with the character being driven to the wrong place at the wrong time and her getting involved in an elderly couple with a romantic side kick, but that is as far as I have gotten.  I guess I thought this would be a continuing story from the Historian, but happily, it's not and that's a good thing.  Her writing is so smooth and I have enjoyed her books.  Hopefully I will update as soon as I finish.

This lovely Kostova book tells multiple stories across past and present and involves a mystery as did her previous The Historian, albeit with a mystery not as scary as Dracula's tomb. It's like a tour of Bulgaria with a story, though the history of gulags is a sad one. Scenic writing, and really expresses the flavors of Bulgaria.

FIRST SENTENCE: "Sofia, the year 2008."

THE STORY: Alexandra, mourning the loss of her brother, has traveled to Bulgaria to teach English and to see the country he always planned to visit. She arrives at the wrong hotel and ends up helping an older couple and their son into a cab. As they pull away she realizes she still holds one of their bags, which contains human ashes. Flagging another cab, she begins a search for the family. Eventually the story focuses on the extraordinary life of Stoyan Lazarov, whose ashes she now protects.

WHAT I THOUGHT: About halfway through I vowed to mark this DNF, something I am loath to do. The writing is beautiful but the tale was taking on aspects of a shaggy dog story. I decided to give it one more try and it was definitely worth the effort. The story intensified combining past and current events. As with THE HISTORIAN, I turned to the Internet to further research the things I was learning.

In this story Kostova returns to the Eastern European terrain of THE HISTORIAN writing about the topography of present-day Bulgaria. She is a wonderful story teller and paints a picture of Bulgaria, both good and bad, that makes one want to immediately buy a ticket and travel there.

BOTTOM LINE: This is a long book. If you are prepared to settle back and enjoy the scenery, it will eventually draw you in. For those who love historical fiction, suspense, and mystery. RECOMMENDED.

Hardcover: 496 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books; First Edition (stated), First Printing edition (April 11, 2017)
ISBN-10: 0345527860
ISBN-13: 978-0345527868

DISCLAIMER: I received a free e-copy of Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova from NetGalley/Ballantine Books for my honest review.

Elizabeth Kostova's engrossing debut novel is the culmination of ten years of research and a lifetime of imagining--since Kostova's girlhood, when her father entertained her with tales of Dracula, she has envisioned the story that would become The Historian. With her academic spirit and extraordinary talent, she's spun an intricate tale of sprawling mystery and suspense. Kostova graduated from Yale and holds an MFA from the University of Michigan, where she won the Hopwood Award for the Novel-in-Progress.  (from Amazon)

I greatly enjoyed this book. As always, Ms. Kostova's descriptions of her settings leave me wanting to travel, even if I may run into dastardly former Communists.

"The Shadow Land" tells the tale of Alexandra, a young but not necessarily naive American who's suffered hardships - her brother got lost on a hiking trip and never returned. It's this dark past that gives her life and voice within the frame of the story.

It's this cataclysmic event that initiates her trip to Bulgaria. Right from the first page, I identified with her experiences as a foreigner. Her arriving in the city and taking a taxi with wide-eyed innocence and awe at her surroundings so closely mirrors my own experiences abroad. Even her run-in with the police force is just so on-point. It's clear Kostova is intimately familiar with this landscape and weaves a fanciful tale that's both heartfelt and authentic.

The story is delicately woven with flashbacks to Stoyan's own suffering, which is both poignant and inspirational. His fortitude in the face of death and despair really gives the reader a sense of his true nature and why it's so vital that Alexandra return his ashes.

I don't want to spoil too much of the story, but I will say it holds a magical allure without stepping outside the boundaries of realism. The journey Alexandra goes on to return the ashes is like the trials and tribulations of an epic hero, though in a much more modern sense. In her journey, she learns about Stoyan, she learns about Bulgaria, but most importantly, she learns about herself.