So... that Interview with the Vampire. hyper-fixation came back with a vengeance. I rewatched the show (still absolute perfection) rewatched the movie (lesser to its counterparts but fun nonetheless) and after all that still had a craving for more. So to the books I went, and I'm delighted to report that I absolutely adored the original.

For the uninitiated Interview with the Vampire recounts the life of Louis de Pointe du Lac. A plantation owner turned vampire from the late 18th century to the present day. We learn about his tumultuous life with his maker Lestat, the creation of his vampire daughter Claudia, and his adventures in Paris with centuries old vampire Armand.

What first gripped me about Interview was its prose. Anne Rice's atmospheric writing paints beautiful portraits of the setting and New Orleans and Paris come to life under her pen. She has a way of drawing the reader into worlds that feel haunting yet beautiful. This extraordinary writing extends to how Rice crafts the interiority of her characters. It's hard to fully articulate the magic of Anne Rice's storytelling. She languishes in melancholy and perfectly articulates the enormity of grief. We spend the novel in the mind of the eternally brooding Louis. His early days as a vampire see him grappling with the guilt and grief of the death of his brother Paul. He is further anguished by what he sees as the inherent evil of his own vampire nature and longs for connection. Rice renders Louis despondency vividly. Louis’ sorrow is overwhelming and palpable. His desire to be understood is achingly displayed on the page.

Further, Interview with a Vampire has stunning explorations of the complexities of vampire relationships. Louis spends this whole novel seeking companionship, with his maker Lestat, his daughter vampire Claudia and older vampire Armand. I'd say my favourite relationship in the novel is Louis whirlwind romance with Armand. I know most people come out of Interview Lestat fanatics but I was instantly hooked by Louis and Armand’s intense emotional connection. Their rambling conversations about the nature of evil and morality of vampirism entranced me. Armand himself is such a fascinating character. Rice conveys the weight of his centuries of being so well. His detachment and capacity for evil is so well contrasted by Louis enduring connection to humanity. That and Armand’s equal loneliness and burning desire to find any connection to world makes him such a great foil for Louis. I especially love how Rice played out the dramatic irony of their relationship.

Another favourite is Louis vampire daughter Claudia. The story of a woman enterally trapped in the body of a 5 year old is heartbreaking rendered here. I think Rice does especially well to capture Claudia’s rage at the limitations of her own existence. There’s an inherent wrongness in the concept of a child vampire and Claudia’s tortured existence perfectly represents it. Some of my favourite sections of the novel were the ones that explored Claudia and Louis mutual resentment of each other. They spend much of the back half of the novel “locked together in hatred” to quote Rice directly. They resent each other for the things they’ve done but can’t leave each other because they’re family despite it all. Their hatred is inextricably tied to their deep love for each other. And the ultimate tragedy is both their attempts at freedom and companionship ultimately fail. Thinking about it cuts me to the core.

The weakest dynamic for me in the book was was probably Louis and Lestat’s. Simply because for most of their time together Louis expresses nothing more than abject contempt for his maker, which wasn’t very engaging (though there are some fun moments—shout out to the sheer camp of the Frenier duel shenanigans). But their relationship truly comes to life for me in the later parts of the novel.

Louis grief, guilt and longing for Lestat after his "death" was poignant and seeing the husk of his former self that Lestat becomes added to the overall tragedy of the narrative.

Louis relationships with each of these vampires is so unique and uniquely heartbreaking. In each instance Louis ultimately fails to find solace with other vampires the tragedy of the all encompassing loneliness that erupts from that is the core emotional force of the story. I honestly can't find the words to truly capture how much Anne Rice's work moved me.

DNF'd on April 1st, 2023
DNF'd at 47%

I started reading this book when I was riding the high of my Interview with the Vampire obsession. I'd just binged the recent TV adaptation and the 1994 movie and had my fun with both so the books seemed like a natural next step. Unfortunately, my deep fixation with the franchise had faded fast by mid-march. While I do appreciate a lot about Anne Rice's storytelling, her atmospheric writing and penchant for vampiric melodrama were tonnes of fun, I didn't quite connect with this source material like I did their adaptations.

What I adored about the TV show namely Daniel Malloy's aggressive interview style and Louis's characterization were massive deviations from the book and while I can appreciate the foundations it wasn't quite enough to hold my interest.