I received Shadow Land from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. In spite my repeated efforts trying to get into this story, I just couldn't. I kept reading page after page and felt I never got anywhere. I found it boring and it just couldn't grab my attention. It is not often that I give up on a book, but I had to abandon this after about a third into it.

(thank you Netgalley for an early reader copy)
Having read all of Elizabeth Kostova's books, I was looking forward to The Shadow Land, and it does not disappoint!

Alexandra, a young American woman, comes to Bulgaria to teach English and to get away from the lingering pain over the death of her brother several years before. On her very first day, Alexandra finds herself helping an elderly couple with their bags and taxi, only to realize later than she has inadvertently kept one of their bags...that has an urn with ashes in it! So begins a quest to determine who the family was that she helped and return the ashes to them. In the process she meets Bobby, a taxi driver who is much more than he seems, and as they learn more about the occupant of the urn and his family, they seem to be followed by malign forces. But why? Who would care about ashes in an urn? What secrets is someone afraid to have exposed?

To Alexandra and her brother, Bulgaria was a pretty green spot on a map. But in her quest to return the urn, Bulgaria and its history become so much more to Alexandra. 

At first the lengths to which Alexandra goes to return the urn did not make sense to me. But the writing is wonderful, and the characters all very interesting, and at the end everything becomes clear. Definitely a good read!

A very engaging ,intriguing, interesting, thoughtful,suspenseful story.
A little history on Bulgaria and how the people survived the aftermath of war.
Alexandria on a vacation before starting a new job and gets involved in returning something to it"s rightful owners.
Which leads her into a very complicated and dangerous adventure.
Really enjoyed reading.

My rating reflects my ambiguity about this book, because while I did enjoy reading it, and felt immersed in the various times and places the story took me, it felt overly self-indulgent, it took too long to do anything, it felt like there were long parts of the story that could have been cut to the book's great benefit, and I wasn't entirely sure I believed the events of the current story line. The book worked best when it was telling history, and I suppose this isn't surprising. The parts of the story that covered the prison work camp were completely engrossing, and I felt like an eyewitness. But the parts where Bobby and Alexandra are going here, then there, then there, then there, then back to the first place, then out to the village, then.....in constant pursuit by someone who is willing to leave a bloody wolf head in a home? I slipped into the story of it, but periodically I jumped out in disbelief. Eventually this was resolved but it felt too neat and clean, all at once *problem solved.* And the book's resolution, Alexandra and Neven in Venice, also did not feel realistic or earned.

So I enjoyed it well enough while I read but I certainly won't read it again, and I probably won't remember it I'm sorry to say, after spending so much time with it. I would recommend it for a friend who is interested in this aspect of history, this time period, and/or a friend interested in Bulgaria, but otherwise I wouldn't mention it..

I received an ARC free for review 

3.75 stars but rounding up to 4. I haven't read Kostova's other books, so I can't speak at all to how this one compares. This one has a very slow build, with many different characters and their stories layering on top of each other and creating the nail-biting (albeit a little obvious) reveal near the end. 

I became attached to a few of the characters, which is what I'm always looking for in a new book, but I also found myself drawn much more to some than others, which made this story's structure difficult to get through at times. I would be invested in one story line and get annoyed when I was pulled out of it to visit the past or future. 

I also feel like a book with such a slow build had an overly vague and quickly dissolved ending, which is frustrating after reading a book this long. I'm not asking for a pretty bow and all of the ends taken care of, but I wanted either more or less from the end of this novel--if we don't get the last couple of chapters, I think it would have worked better for me, but since we did I would've liked them to be a little more fleshed out. 

The relationships between the two characters we follow through the majority of the story was really strong although in the beginning it irked me that one of them mentioned repeatedly (it felt like at least once a page but I'm sure it was less) that they were afraid the other character was going to try and hit on them. Other relationships, while they had some emotional impact, weren't explored in the present well enough for me to feel the emotional resonance, which is the main thing I'm missing from this novel--slow and meandering pace aside. 

Overall I enjoyed it, and would recommend it to those interested in the area or author, or even history buffs in general since it seems to be extremely well researched, but I can't see myself rereading it. It is worth sticking with through the beginning just to get to the characters who pick up halfway through, though.

With The Shadow Land, Elizabeth Kostova has written a finely crafted and suspenseful tale that leaves you wanting more. The story weaves back and forth between past and present of two characters: the protagonist, Alexandra Boyd, and Stoyan Lazarov, the man whose ashes Alexandra accidently picks up in a confusion of suitcases. Alexandra befriends a Bulgarian cab driver, who helps her search from Sofia up into the magnificent, sparsely populated Bulgarian mountains trying to find Lazarov’s family and restore the urn of ashes to them.

Kostova writes vivid, poetic descriptions of Bulgaria’s beauty as well as of Alexandra’s birthplace in the Blue Ridge mountains. The characters, Lazarov’s family members, Alexandra’s parents and her dead brother, and the cab driver Bobby, who is much more than he first seems, are all beautifully drawn. Kostova makes sure you care about the fate of every one of them. 

The story has its roots Yugoslavia’s brutal communist regime, which continued until 1989. The “then and now” format has become popular in recent years, and too many authors who attempt it only manage to confuse the readers. Not so Kostova. The shifts between time and viewpoint characters are clear throughout, and this literary device greatly enriches a sad, suspenseful, and beautiful story.

There are aspects of this novel that I absolutely LOVED, but the pacing is what ultimately ruined this for me.

To start, Elizabeth Kostova is a phenomenally talented writer. Much of what I loved in The Historian is present in The Shadow Land - the dynamic characters, the intensely detailed descriptions of the surrounding environment, and a unique mystery all twisted within. While I wouldn't exactly qualify The Historian as a "fast-paced" read, I never felt like the storyline was dragging at all. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case for me with The Shadow Land.

I felt invested in the plot for the first 200 pages or so and I absolutely loved Bobby's character. Alexandra felt a bit lacking in personality and I felt a bit confused about the underlying hints at her attraction to Nevin. However, the chapters that shared Stoyan's personal narrative were stunning and at times, heartbreaking. I only wish that there could have been less lead up to Stoyan's story and the final "reveal" because the slow pace ultimately made finishing the novel feel like too much of a chore.

This is the type of book for those who like to get lost in the details and are okay with a long, winding and often untraceable plot. What's best about Kostova's style is her ability to paint a country for a reader who hasn't necessarily been somewhere like Bulgaria - I could easily picture the narrator's surroundings and it made me begin to itch to travel somewhere new and different from what I'm accustomed to. For those who need a strong, clear cut plot and don't have an appreciation for extensive detail, I wouldn't necessarily suggest picking up The Shadow Land.

Thank you, Netgalley and Ballantine Books for allowing me the chance to read this book before its publication date in exchange for an honest review.

First off, thank you, Ballantine Books and Netgalley for this advanced review copy. I will give my honest feedback by starting with my dislikes, then move on to my likes, and finally my personal thoughts.

This book is more of a mystery to me. than anything. So what's this story about? A displaced bag that turns out to have an urn in it. Alexandra and Bobby, the taxi-driver/ex-police detective/poet go around Bulgaria to return the urn to its family. From there, the story takes off and reveals Stoyan's life. Stoyan is the deceased guy in the urn. It switches off between third person and first person. In first person, Stoyan talks about the things he went through, post WW II. 

What didn't I like about the book?
1. The author didn't explain what happened to Jack. 
2. There were pages of dialogue. Long and drawn out dialogue.
3. It seemed more focused on the scenery than the actual characters.
4. I didn't like the beginning.
5. I didn't care for the ending. 
6. A lot of stuff could have been kicked out. At times, I found the book to become a real chore to read.

What did I like about the book?
1. I appreciate the scenery. The author painted beautiful scenery.
2. I enjoyed the characters.
3. I enjoyed the story within a story. 
4. I love the history with regards to Bulgaria. 
5. I appreciate the author's notes in the back of the book. 

What are my personal thoughts?
It does make you think about how countries do have a black stain on them. No country is perfect. There is something that I disagree with. Something about America doesn't care about her history. That aspect, I can safely disagree with. USA loves history. We love it so much, we remind each other of the past quite often. The Civil War is often brought up. Slavery is often brought up. The Cherokee Trail of Tears is brought up. Should we ignore our history? Absolutely not! If we don't learn from our history, we're doomed to repeat it.

I like this story, it flashes back and forth between present day and World War II era.  Alexandra is going to teach in Bulgaria as an adventure.  She is very bookish and decided to travel to Bulgaria because it reminded her of her brother Jack who vanished in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  On her first day she discovers she has an extra bag with her luggage that contains an urn of ashes.  This leads to Nazi prison camps and people trying to stop her from finding the original owner of the ashes.  A good story with the alternating chapters. Alexandra grows into a stronger character as she travels around the country.  A little open ended for me but a satisfying read.

Beautiful, heartbreaking story that unravels in enchanting Bulgaria.  The protagonist, Alexandria, has her own deeply scarred but intensely interesting past when she arrives from the States to both live and work in Bulgaria.  It seems that almost as soon as she sets foot in the country, the action begins and I found it impossible to stop reading once I was hooked.  Although the country was once behind the Iron Curtain, it has a rich and textured, war-scarred history that is compelling to learn about.  I could visualize and even smell  the countryside, the buildings and homes, and even see the people.  The author has done her homework for this saga, and this book is deeply pleasurable while at the same time being mildly disturbing.  I am curious now to check out the other books by this author.  Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I've read The Historian and, now, this one and I've come away with the same feeling each time: that Kostova is a great writer who needs to find a better way to end stories. There are beautiful passages with delicate descriptions, along with fast-paced passages that keep you turning pages. Yet, in the end, I'm left thinking, "That's it?" Very promising author ... I feel like her best is yet to come.

Disclaimer: I received an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley, for review.

I should not have started to read this book late at night. It kept me up way past my bedtime. 

Like the author's earlier book, The Historian, this book is set in a part of Europe (in this case, Bulgaria) that I never thought much about and will probably never visit. A young, baggage-laden American woman arrives in Bulgaria to teach English, but before she can even get to her lodgings and take a shower and regroup from her long trip, a mysterious satchel containing someone's ashes comes into her possession, and the chase is on. Who are the owners of the satchel, and why can they persistently not be found? Who is chasing the heroine and her new taxi-driving friend, and why? 

The book is written in multiple points of view. Flashbacks to the heroine's childhood are in first person; current events are in third person, and there are also sections of wartime memories of the man whose ashes the heroine is trying to return to the family. The viewpoint changes are not at all difficult to follow. 

After much traveling all over the Bulgarian landscape, the book reaches its climax where the lost are found, the questions are answered, and all the loose ends are tied up, except that we never do learn the exact fate of the heroine's long-lost brother.

All in all, an enjoyable read, interesting plot and beautiful use of language. I will happily read anything else this author writes in the future.

This beautiful, emotionally challenging book will stick with me for quite a while. 

Although it is essentially a story of political corruption and repression in Communist-era Bulgaria, it resonates all too clearly in today's world. It is frightening. It is thought-provoking. And, it is a chilling novel filled with improbable bravery and generosity of spirit.

The story itself requires a tremendous suspension of disbelief on the reader's part, but I found it impossible not to "buy in" to the quest in which our two protagonists engage themselves. The local taxi driver and naive tourist form a unique "buddy team" as they prowl around Bulgaria.

There was a tension in the book that never dispelled and that discomfort was part of the book's strength for me. I was uncomfortable; I got antsy; but, I prevailed as I pushed on with the story and hoped the two main characters would do the same.

NET GALLEY provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I wrote and sent a Review?  Where is it?  Left it just after I left my opinions..
I've written out my Review Twice... This web site does not save it??????  I'm going to try again.

The Shadow Land is not an action thriller ...   but, rather a complex , well plotted tale of fulfillment and expiation of guilt...  and, along the way we learn about the culture and politics of Bulgaria....   through the eyes of everyday people.  After reading the author's first book: The Historian, I felt like a just devoured a rich desert...  after reading this third novel I had a much more satisfying feeling ....  like a steak dinner..  Her plotting and prose have evolved, and even though the story is slower paced and intricate, the end result is much more desirable.. 
       Multiple story lines are interwoven, but the Gestalt of the whole is much more than the sum of its parts.  This complex story of the past eventually reveals how it will effect the future.  Our main protagonist, Alexandra Boyd travels to Bulgaria seeking fulfillment not achieved back home in North Carolina, near the Blue Ridge Mountains.  She somehow feels responsible in the loss of her beloved 16 year old brother.
         We are taken on a captivating journey through the small towns and villages, passing through everyday life,, which frequently seems to go unnoticed.  So far from home, she appreciates the rhythm of lives so distant.  She embarks on a quest to return the ashes of violinist, Stoyan Lazorov, to their rightful owners.  A twisting journey accompanied by the fortuitous appearance of the young taxi driver, "Bobby"   He is also a mystery .....  being also an ex-policeman, poet, and activist.. We are unobtrusively treated to a tour of the country and culture as the quest twists and turns across the countryside .  The story is intercut with a first person narrative revealing Stoyan's past, which includes his bone-chilling life in the Gulag's  of Communist Bulgaria ( under the reign of Stalin ... and every bit as awful as Hitler's concentration camps )
     This is a book to savor and not devour.  I look forward to Elizabeth Kostova's next foray into historical fiction.

This was a wonderful book! The story unfolds in an untraditional manner, with a frequent back-and-forth timeline. Once the reader gets used to this device, a picture of loss, pain, beauty, and love unfolds, along with a portrait of Bulgaria. The story draws the reader in slowly but surely, and gives a more than satisfying conclusion. I thoroughly enjoyed this read!

Excellent book!  Beautiful imagery!! Kept my interest throughout with a surprise in the end I didn't see coming. Highly recommend!!!

What a good book!  Thank you to NetGalley for the free copy!  

This book starts off with a seemingly insignificant event when Alex Boyd discovers that she has accidentally taken a bag that isn't hers.  She tries to find the owner of the bag because it contains an urn and human ashes.  This event becomes the catalyst to a horrific story of a wonderful musician and the communist forced labor camps in Bulgaria that were created after World War II when Bulgaria was under Communist rule.  This book reminded me of Pauletta Simon's The Bronze Horseman in how it gave a human face to a terrible period in history.   It tells the story of this horrible time period when citizens turned on fellow citizens and people were killed and tortured because they did not agree with the party line.   I did not want to put this book down!  I highly recommend this book!

Touching, moving and gripping story that really makes you think about what is most important in life. We share a wonderful adventure through the eyes of a narrator that is just as a much of outsider as the audience. Together the book is about discovery, acknowledgement and acceptance.

I loved The Historican which was written by the same author, so I was very excited to obtain a copy of The Shadowlands from NetGalley. 

Alexandra is a young American woman who travels to Bulgaria to teach English. She was drawn to Bulgaria because of a game she and her brother played growing up and Bulgaria was on her brother’s list of places to visit. Since his death, she traveled there as a way to connect with her brother. After her taxi accidentally drops her off at the wrong hotel, Alexandra realizes she has someone else’s bag. That bag contains an urn with ashes. Thus begins the adventure.

Alexandra’s new cab driver (Bobby) ends up taking her all around the country trying to track down the owner of the bag. Along the way the uncover a “mystery” around the bag. Honestly? Alexandra was a character that was hard to like or sympathize with. She is extremely immature for her age and pretty much clueless. Without Bobby this story would not have worked at all. Alexandra has no personality and aside from occasional rambles about her dead brother, there is nothing to like or not like about her. The most interesting character is the man whose ashes she is carrying. The reader learns about his life which ended up being quite sad under Communist rule. 

The book was just okay. Not one I would love or re-read. I did love reading the descriptions of Bulgaria – in that respect it was a great travel brochure for the country! But after going all over the country in search of the owner of the bag, the ending is actually a disappointment.

Unlike most of the people who have reviewed this book so far, I was not familiar with either the author or her previous novel, The Historian. I was interested in this book because historical fiction is my favorite genre and I was intrigued by the setting in Bulgaria. I don't come across many novels set in Eastern Europe (at least, not that many in English). 

Unfortunately, I think I was outside the target audience for this book. I believe there are readers who will enjoy it (and some of the current reviews on Goodreads confirm this is so). A few things dragged this down for me. First, the writing is so simple, in form, structure and execution, I stopped at one point to see if this book was being marketed as young adult literature. It reminded me of those novelizations they sometimes do of movies or television, where someone who didn't write the original script is hired to give a scene-by-scene description of the action and dialogue on screen, with little to no emotional resonance or inner monologue. Second, our protagonist, Alexandra is so dull and basic I found her to be the least compelling character in the novel. Third, the structure of one chapter in the present, one in the past, one in the present, one in the past, seemed like the simplest way to give us the backstory of Alexandra. I wish a more artful way of folding the past into the present had been explored. Finally, the thin plot seems an excuse to just write about the dead character's experience - so why not just write a novel about him?

The positives : I enjoyed some of the Bulgarian characters. Bobby makes the story readable. From the moment he arrived I was far more interested in his backstory than anyone else's on the page.  But I always assume taxi drivers have the best stories.

All in all, just O.K. for me, but probably well-suited for others.  Read a few pages and you'll know if this what you like.