the swan thieves
by sam on 08/26/2010SPOILERS AHEAD
The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
Certainly not as good as The Historian, it still had its enjoyable moments, and I was anticipating what should (obviously) have been an explosive ending. Except…
it just sort of petered out. Perhaps because of The Historian I was expecting a more…mystical…explanation for Robert Oliver’s behavior, the way he was seemingly possessed by these long-dead artists. But no, he was just obsessed with one of them. And Dr. Marlow, by figuring this out (and figuring out the big secret, which no one in the 21st century would even be scandalized by), somehow magically cures Oliver, even though no explanation is ever given as to why he became so obsessed (other than his underlying mental illness, which, again, doesn’t seem to actually have been treated).
It was basically:
Dr. Marlow: Hey, instead of staying at the institution and actually treating you for your obvious mental illness, I took a bunch of whirlwind trips all over the world and I found out the big secret about this woman who you’ve been completely obsessed with for years. But you already figured it out on your own, so I haven’t given you any new information.
Oliver: Thanks Doc! After months of not speaking a word while institutionalized for, apparently, no particular reason, your running around (and knocking up my ex-girlfriend in the process) to figure out the big secret, which I already knew, has magically cured me. Don’t worry, I’ll call you if I get depressed again!
Oh well.
Tags: books