The Shadow Land: A Novel

The Shadow Land is, first of all, a mystery wrapped in a troubled history. Young American girl inadvertently gets caught up in an expose of one of the worst periods in Bulgarian history, the gulags. Willing to suspend my disbelief about Bobby playing Holmes to her Watson, Bobby is an interesting character, but for me, their chance meeting is pushing the limits of disbelief. So is the dog they eventually befriend, who also has a history and part to play. The story of the Bulgarian work camps during communist times is well told, particularly the art of survival by Stoyan Lazarov, the "hero" of the story. Who he is is told in flashback chapters, a technique used in The Historian, and very well done. Little surprised me, though, and at times, the novel read like a travelogue instead of a mystery. Kostova respectfully treats the victims without melodrama.

I had so looked forward to another book by Elizabeth Kostova but really didn't love this one. The girl/woman who sets up the story isn't interesting though the author tried. The man she meets in Bulgaria is far more interesting but never really gets the stage. I did get very invested in a few of the characters but it just didn't all come together for me the way her other books have. She is a wonderful writer and the more inspired portions of the book are compelling. Worth reading but not as good as her first two novels.

An engrossing and important contribution both to literature and to the historical record. This was not per se an enjoyable read given the sadness of the story and yet it was enjoyable in how well written and true it was. It was hard to put down and I was sorry to leave the characters.

Elizabeth Kostova quickly became one of my favorite authors after reading her first book, The Historian, in 2005.
This one was no disappointment. She is one of the best at painting a picture in your mind. All of her books are so rich an complex that you are left wanting for more... I can't wait for her next book. In my opinion, her writing style is a lot like Dan Brown's... the guy who wrote the Da Vinci Code.
From beginning to end it is a non-stop thrill ride as you never know what is going to happen next. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I guarantee that you will as well.

Oh, dear. Kostova wants to be Mary Stewart (My Brother Michael, Airs Above the Ground, etc.) but she just ain't got it. She shares with Mary Stewart a depth of research into another culture, vividly descriptive language, and the desire to create a mystery out of the facts of cultural history. But after a mildly interesting beginning, in which a girl is accidentally left with someone else's ashes her first day in Bulgaria and tries to return them, I am TWENTY CHAPTERS further into the book and absolutely NOTHING important has happened. Minor undeveloped character after minor undeveloped character, visiting one place after another that the ashes' owners (so to speak) might be, vaguely threatening events that lead nowhere . . . even more tedious than The Historian in not getting to the point, and I'm beginning to think there isn't any point. Hate to say it, but this reads like a parody of the freshman writing assignment where the guy writes nothing but violent encounters while the girl drones on about Feelings and Descriptions with no discernible plot . . .

I cannot believe I paid fourteen dollars for this book! A shame really. As far as I am concerned her first book is the best. Do yourself a favor and skip this one. I gave it 2 stars for being well written and descriptive.

Sadly, 'Shadow Land' comes across as a contrived travelogue cum 'chase'. The whole is beautifully constructed, the plot is meaningful... However, it does not resonate as a successfully serious attempt to deal with the history and injustice that bedevils Bulgaria still. Like Kostova, I am a western transplant. More historical grit, more injustice, would have made this a better novel. It remains an enticing book, a 'good read', but it is not the definitive novel of post-Soviet 'Bulgaria'. I do not think that was Kostova's intention, but it remains an eminently worthy one. How did a relatively successful Balkan democracy become a vicious Russian satellite? That story is worth telling. It screams for a teller... It needs a deeper, not necessarily, a better writer, a better book.

The Historian is one of my favorite books. Elizabeth Kostova is a very talented writer and I had high hopes for Shadow Land and eagerly awaited its arrival. Having said that, I felt a little let down by this latest offering. I feel that this novel picks up its snail pace at approximately page 154. Until that point it's fairly meandering and repetitive.

Having arrived in Bulgaria, the heroine, Alexandria mistakenly absconds with the ashes of a violinist-Stoyan Lazarov. Thus begins her journey with the help of a taxi cab driver, Bobby, who takes her under his wing, to find the family of said ashes and return them. There is a lot of political upheaval in Bulgaria and Bobby is on the wrong side of the government which is known relatively quickly. Bobby is kind enough to take Alexandra on scenic routes in Bulgaria in search of a mysterious family.

I had a bit of a hard time returning to this book. It's a love story of Bulgaria and its hardships and its a wandering trip through the country where we meet a lot of people and view snippets of life in this mysterious country. For me, this was not a page gripping mystery-there is too much repetition and a painful slowness throughout. Perhaps I am too impatient in my reading. If you loved The Historian, you can give this a read, you may like it, but it's much different and it's not as cohesive and interesting. If you are interesting in Bulgaria and its past, you may adore this book! For me, my anticipation was too high for this book and it didn't interest me as much as I would have liked.

Elizabeth Kostova's first novel _The Historian_ is one of my favorite contemporary novels. (I've also read her second novel _The Swan Thieves_, but it paled in comparison to her first novel.) I was eager to read this new novel of hers since I love novels that focus on family secrets and the themes of repentance and forgiveness. While it doesn't quite compared to the much-loved _The Historian_, I really loved this new book of hers, and found it hard to put down.

Although this lacks plot twists and turns, the character development and backstory were interesting enough to make this a page-turner for me -- one that kept me up reading well past my usual bedtime for a few nights. While I've noticed that a few reviewers have said that not much happens in the way of plot, I feel like there was enough going on to pull me in and transport me to the main character Alexandra's world.

Kostova brings in interesting characters, and provides just enough information about them to keep you interested in learning more about their lives and backstories. Since I know little of Bulgaria or its history, I also enjoyed the setting and learning more about the country.

The tone is rather brooding and mysterious (and I mean that in the best possible way), and this was the perfect book to read this past week on cold winter nights.

Elizabeth Kostova continues to seduce and frustrate me.
I am one of her readers that gets sucked into a near hypnotic state reading her meandering yet most of time delightfully descriptive prose and since I am fascinated with Eastern European history I continue to fall for her plot lines. However Like the Historian I found myself being dragged down endless trails, some have a point and many do not, meanwhile I cling to the sensation that everything is building up to a tremendous and unexpected ending that will blow my mind. Nope.

Just as I felt at the end of the Historian I found myself staring blankly at the final page thinking: "Is this it? Really?" I almost want to shake the book to see if I can knock a better ending out of it and it drives me nuts! Kostova has an almost magical sense of prose writing that is almost poetic but has no imagination for story telling and I keep wondering how that can possibly be so? My current level of frustration tells me that this is an author I must for my own sake give up hope for and abandon.

The author had previous success with her book The Historian, which is also on my future reading list, so I had opened this one with high hopes. We have a young American woman, Alexandra, who travels to Bulgaria to teach in honor of the memory of her dead brother who had wanted to visit the country. Alexandra, during her first few minutes in the city of Sofia, accidentally finds herself with someone else’s luggage. Once she discovers that she has someone else’s bag she is determined to find them to return it to them as the bag contains human ashes. Therein her adventure starts.

What struck me most about The Shadow Land is how the author, Kostova, is able to paint such beautiful pictures with her words. The book has enough detail to make the story clear in my mind without being obvious about it. She describes the towns that Alexandra visits so well that the descriptions themselves are enough to engulf me in the book. I think that is an art unto itself. Most books pull you in with their general story and plot, Kostova got me hooked with her lovingly rendered locations. I’ve run across very few author’s who are able to do that.

That being said…

If it wasn’t her descriptions the book wouldn’t be worth reading. Once Alexandra discovers she has someone else’s belongings she has her cab driver take her to the police to report it. What is the obvious thing to do at this point? Leave the bag with the police. What does Alexandra do? She and her cab driver named Bobby traipse all over the country to try to return the bag to it’s owner. Yes, how very nice of her etc etc. Despite being nice it is ridiculous. She is in a country she has never been to where they speak a language she does not know where she and her cab driver that she also doesn’t know drive all over creation to find people she doesn’t know. With all honesty, without Bobby the story would be completely unreadable. Alexandra follows him and his orders like a puppy. She seems to have no original thoughts outside of the occasional ramble about her dead brother. Without her brother she would have absolutely zero personality or thoughts. It is infuriating.

The most interesting character in this story is, funnily enough, the dead man whose ashes she is carting around. During flash backs we get to see the man’s, Stoyan, life. He was an accomplished violinist and through a very simple error ended up a political prisoner. During his story we are with him in a prison forced labor camp. It breaks my heart all this man goes through trying to get back to his wife. The poor man certainly didn’t get a happily-ever-after.

I wanted to love this book. I really did. I couldn’t. I spent more time reading it getting frustrated with what seemed a pointless endeavor than anything else. All the beautiful story telling in the world couldn’t salvage it for me. After reading over 400 pages the conclusion, when you actually find out what was going on, is maybe three paragraphs. I wanted to throw it. I read that part twice hoping I had missed something that would make the rest of the story worth it but I was just left, well, frustrated. Not a book I enjoyed reading.

Years ago, when I read Ms. Kostova’s The Historian, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed a book that, at first glance, didn’t seem to fit with my tastes. With The Shadow Land my hopes were higher. I know very little about the country of Bulgaria and I was looking forward to exploring this land through this novel. Unfortunately, I was disappointed by what seemed more of a personal project for the author than a fully-formed, well-thought-out story.

To be fair, when we get to the sections on post-war Bulgaria and we follow the musician Stoyan Lazarov to the camps where he survives on memories of his music and his family this novel shines. Even if his story echoes stories of living in work camps that we have seen in other places, it has an immediacy and vividness that is well worth reading. His return to his wife and the baby after his eventual release is heart-breaking and heart-warming at once. It is beautifully done.

The problem is, the bulk of this novel is the framing story set in the more recent past. Alexandra, an American tourist, comes to Bulgaria and, due to a bag mix-up at a hotel, ends up with an urn containing Sotyan’s ashes. In her effort to return the urn to its rightful owner, she gets caught up in modern political intrigue that is clarified as she learns Stoyan’s history during her search.

On the surface, this seems a workable frame. Unfortunately, it ends up not working well. The unlikelihoods pile up as her story basically turns into one long chase/wandering scene around the country. At first, the novel seems like it is going to be mainly about Alexandra as we learn something of the tragedy that’s brought her to Bulgaria but then this is basically dropped as we get into Stoyan’s story. Somehow, she ends up choosing a taxi driver who is willing to abandon his life and drive her around the country for free, for weeks for no obvious reason. She finds a dog connected to the story (of course). And the happy ending she achieves here is so abrupt that it takes whatever realism is left away from the conclusion of the novel.

It’s too bad, because there is a good novel in here somewhere—possibly two, if these stories were divided up, told separately, and each given more depth. As it is, together they do not do service to what I think Ms. Kostova is trying to achieve.

I liked Kostova's debut novel The Historian, although the conclusion was anti-climactic and a bit of a disappointment. I decided to give her a second chance. While there are things to praise in _The Shadowlands_, it felt disjointed and I found its conclusion hurried after the glacial pace of much of the book.

The story revolves around a young American woman visiting Bulgaria who by chance and accident (a confused exchange in a cab) left her with a funeral urn. Much of the story involves her repeated attempts to return the cremains to the family. As she continually tries - and fails - to do so, it gradually becomes apparent that either the family or urn have run afoul of powerful and influential persons in Bulgaria - perhaps with nefarious intent. The story of the man whose remains are in the urn is a story unto itself, and is only revealed half-way through the book, his story and hers alternating through the last half. This device worked well, but as both stories tied together, things become a bit sloppy.

Kostova's talent as a writer lies with her ability to describe a place and put readers there along with her characters. Her descriptions of Sophia, the Carpathians and Bulgarian countryside are magnificent. She also writes an intriguing plot - her ability to gradually heighten tension and create suspense is outstanding. All the more's the pity then, that she has such weak conclusions. As with _The Historian_, the resolution to this tension and suspense is anti-climactic and felt hurried - particularly in light of the slow build-up (over 500 pages) and slow pace at providing backstory. While I enjoyed elements of the book, it really wasn't exceptional enough to warrant more than a mediocre rating.

The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova

A good deed gone bad (sorta). Alexandra helps an elderly couple and their son as they get into a cab outside the wrong hotel and accidentally winds up with one of their bags. Of course, it happens to contain cremated ashes in a wooden keepsake. Of course there is no identification anywhere, save that inscribed atop the box. Alone in Sofia, Bulgaria with nary a friend to assist, she is set to reunite the deceased with the affiliated living.
Alternating to her childhood, growing up mostly off the land with her parents and older brother. A life she cherished and he resented with aplomb. His rambunctious, often destructive ways took them into more accommodating digs in the city. Things seemed to work well with more outlets, until they didn’t. And he disappears.
Third to first person narrative also alternates. Past is I, present is she. Preface to guilt laid.
College, parental divorce, her own involvement dismissals turn her deeper into her love of reading. Unable to stand her profound sadness and the forefront memories that bind them, she takes a job teaching English and again starts this story in Bulgaria. A taxi hailed and adventure begun.
Alexandria and Bobby (the taxi driver) set off to find the keepers of the ashes. With each attempt
they appear to get closer to an end. The driving is scenic (often too much so) and historical. Bobby is well versed in his native lore and most genial in his manner. Still, he is a total stranger and Alexandria is alone
in a foreign land, leery.
It’s not until they stop at Bobby’s aunt’s house that the story actually drew me in. A stray dog in tow, secrets begin to expose themselves.
Part 2
The history of the ashes, the exceptional violinist, Stoyan Lazarov, they once were. Briefly.
There is someone after them. Someone leaving yellow painted words, threats on the taxi windshield. Then, also, bullet holes. But the who/the why is evasive.
Meeting the sister-in-law of the deceased, learning the familial history. The life endured during Hitler’s far reaching turpitude. And then more related, albeit mostly unaware, as to the significance of the urn. Especially those of power and persuasion. Like the fable of The Lion and the Bear, there are heroes and there are villains.
Part 3
Alternating between present and Stoyan’s pre-death “confession” letter of horrors after happening upon a murder scene and thereafter tortured into silence in Hitleresque prisons. Much like Adrien Brody in The Pianist, Stoyan maintains his sanity by mentally practicing his playing and creating scenes at home.
The final unity of Bobby, Alexandra and Stoyan’s son, Nevin forge a team set out to save, expose and redeem. Oh, and the dog, too. (Who had an ironic history of his own.)
In what is finally a crescendo where it mostly began, there comes a final peace. Not without bittersweet loss, but an end just the same.
This is a good story, that had it been about 200 pages shorter than its 477 would have been marvelous. Kostova’s eye for details should have squinted a bit more to tell more story and show less minuteness. Still, I applaud her for this novel that will remain in my own memories.

Elizabeth Kostova's "The Shadow Land" is a very different novel from her first book, "The Historian." "Historian" was a long story promising much but not offering the punch the reader expected in return . . . whereas "Shadow Land" is less inhibited, offering characters that the reader instantly likes and wants to get to know.

Without revealing too much of the plot, the story centers around Alexandra Boyd, a young woman, come to live in Bulgaria to teach English. On her first day in Sofia, she grabs the wrong piece of luggage; later, to her chagrin, she discovers the bag in her possession contains a funerary urn and human ashes. Now to those, not liking the morbidity of this premise . . . read no further . . . Kostova's novel is about darkness and slow death. For those more adventurous--those wanting to explore Kostova's development as a writer, read on. Alexandra's own personal history urges her to return the item to its owners rather than to dispose of it at the police station; this decision allows Alexandra a rare glimpse into the lives of current day Bulgarians still suffering from the aftermath of political takeover.

As Alexandra and her guide, the cab driver/poet Bobby, try to uncover the whereabouts of the dead man's family, they piece together the sad life of the man--once a promising musician. Through the man's own words, the reader discovers the perils of speaking out in a country where oppression rules, evil phoenixes rise from the ashes of the dead and cast long shadows still in existence to this very day.

In simple prose, Kostova relates Alexandra's emotional transition; in a matter of days she comes to love the resilience of a people long subjugated and to understand a hidden part of herself she has long buried. Kostova's language is lovely and authentic and while her scenes relating the musician's sad detention in a work camp will devastate those readers with a sensitive nature, the ultimate triumph of the main characters makes trudging through examples of human cruelty nearly worthwhile.

In terms of plot, the big mystery turns out to be predictable . . . almost a facsimile in feel to the film starring Jessica Lange called "The Music Box." Different country, yes, but certainly cruelty and hatred are sadly universal. Read "The Shadow Land" for the character development, not necessarily the prison camp trope. In addition, I found the disparity in ages between main character Alexander and her love interest at the end of the novel slightly unbelievable; initially, Alexandra admits in the first chapter, that said man is much too old for her . . . ? I felt that Kostova got too caught up in her time line; she creates chemistry, yes, but it defies credibility.

Bottom line? The Shadow Land is a fascinating read about the dark side of history. Be aware that the prison scenes are brutal . . . the strength of the narrative however excels in small details rather than the larger story line. Recommended.
Diana Faillace Von Behren
"Buzzard's Eye View"

I approached The Shadow Land with some trepidation. I LOVED The Historian - I've read it three times. But I hated The Swan Thieves, which was an incredibly tedious slog. I received a Vine copy of The Shadow Land, read a couple chapters, groaned, and tossed it aside. Months later I realized I still had to review it for Vine, so I sat down for what I thought was going to be a miserable read.

And I was completely wrong. Yes, the first few chapters are tedious. Alexandra Boyd is an American visiting Bulgaria (what is it with Kostova and Bulgaria, seriously?), and on the first day of her trip she accidentally swaps luggage with a mysterious stranger. In the taxi to her hostel, she opens the bag to find an urn and human ashes inside. What follows next is her long odyssey all over Bulgaria with the surprisingly complex taxi driver to return the ashes. But the dead man still has a tale to tell, and there are forces shadowing Alexandra and the taxi driver who are determined to stop them from returning the urn and getting the story out.

As is apparently usual with Kostova, the story is a split narrative, part being narrated by Alexandra in 2008, the other part narrated by the dead man in communist Bulgaria. Each chapter ends with a bit of a cliffhanger, then switches to the other narrative, so you are motivated pretty strongly to keep reading. Alexandra, unfortunately, is a dull character, mostly exclaiming at things and crying or dreaming about the mysterious stranger. She is haunted by her tragic backstory, the death of her brother (no spoilers, that's in chapter 2) and her feeling that his death was somehow her fault. Brother always wanted to go to Bulgaria, so that's where she goes to teach English after college. The taxi driver, Bobby, is considerably more interesting, though it's a bit of a stretch that the taxi Alexandra happens to get into is driven by a nationally renowned poet, former police detective, and part-time revolutionary. The elderly Bulgarians she meets along the way all have sad, but interesting tales to tell, about WWI, WWII, the revolution, the fall of communism, etc. You really escape into their stories.

The climactic scene feels forced, and there are way too many coincidences and red herrings throughout, but I honestly didn't care. I also didn't really care that most of the book could have been avoided if everyone just answered their phone. Was it too long? Probably. Did I enjoy the 1940s/50s chapters? Not as much as the 2008 chapters. But I loved the camaraderie between Alexandra and Bobby, I enjoyed the road trip through Bulgaria (told engagingly by someone who clearly loves Bulgaria), and I liked the treasure hunt of sorts that the two embarked on. Every destination was a clue to another destination, and I enjoyed being along for the ride.

Kostova writes a particular kind of book, one filled with journeys, secret letters, hidden manuscripts, family secrets, exotic or quaint destinations, art, literature, and history. Her books are drawn out, filled with detail, many characters, and numerous tangents. You either get drawn in and savor these elements, or you don't. With The Shadow Land, I was drawn in, and I read it in one afternoon.

The story centers around Alexandra, a young woman who takes a job at a Bulgarian university in which she will teach English. Once she arrives in Bulgaria, however, she accidentally mixes up some luggage with some people she comes across and ends up with a container full of the cremated remains of an unknown person. The entire rest of the story is basically her journey to find the relatives of the man who has died. It's a somewhat hard to believe scenario, but hey, this is fiction-land, so it could happen, right?

The biggest issues I had with this book were the paper-thin plot and the characters, which are two pretty important parts of a book. The plot was ended up being so hard to suspend my belief for, and I tried to justify this with the fact that this book is much more character-driven and seemed to be more about their journey and development, but not even the characters were enough to convince me. There was also a lot of description, and while I'm cool with some in-depth, descriptive writing, this just became too clunky.

Alexandra Boyd, our protagonist, was frankly quite dull to me. She had some strong moments, but for the most part I just found her incredible naive and really quite inept in her many interactions with people. The positive aspect of Alexandra's character was her development, as I felt that she underwent some strong emotional journeys within this book as she came to terms with some of the familial issues of her past. (And as a side note: The amount of times people commented that her name was Russian frustrated me to no end.)

Bobby, a taxi driver that Alexandra meets and becomes close friends with, was a much more interesting character for me. I was much more intrigued by his ever-present mysteriousness and ease at handling a variety of situations, both dangerous and otherwise. In contrast, I felt that he was portrayed as far more mysterious than he actually was.

The last notable character I'd like to mention is Stoyan Lazarov himself, the man whose remains are found by Alexandra. I was very intrigued by his tragic tale, and though I did feel it dragged on a bit too long at times, it still deeply fulfilling and full of wonderfully written character development.

An aspect of this book that I loved was the setting of Bulgaria. Kostova really seems to capture the beauty and atmosphere of Bulgaria without trying to cover up any aspect of the country. This book made me want to visit Bulgaria and learn more about it, and this interest and newfound knowledge of Bulgaria is something that will certainly stay with me.

Overall, I've given The Shadow Land three stars. On the one hand, this was a moving, deeply emotional story. On the other, it dragged and was unrealistic. If you enjoy a slow-paced, intricately told story with character-focused storylines, then I do recommend you check this out. If you're expecting something similar to The Historian, you should put those expectations aside and read this as its own book.

Author Elizabeth Kostova took the literary world by storm with the release of her epic novel THE HISTORIAN. She has remained under the radar since her debut with her successive releases not coming near the impact of that great first work. THE SHADOW LAND may very well be the novel that puts her back in the spotlight. When an American woman traveling in Bulgaria comes into possession of an item left behind in a bag she mistakenly takes she has no idea that she is about to open up a series of secrets that were not meant to be revealed.

A wooden box turns out to be an urn holding the ashes to an unknown person. Her search into this item, and the people she took it from, will send her into a back-story about a musician who had his life shattered by oppression. She also learns that the item and new knowledge she has about it puts her directly in the line of danger she will never see coming. A taut and unsettling novel.

Have you ever read a fiction book where the story is almost incidental to your enjoyment of the reading experience you just got? I'm talking about writing voice, tone, setting, and historical context that wrap around the story and character. This author's books are like that for me. Granted, this is only my second book (I will go back for you, Swan Thieves, promise), but I felt that way about The Historian years ago. Now, not to say that the characters and actual story which unfolds in The Shadow Land is not a pleasure, because that part is vibrant and colorful for the reader, too.

I picked this one up for two reasons. I fell in love with The Historian. It had paranormal elements, but it was the depth of history and the journey that took the heroine from the present into the past. I wanted more of that and I definitely wanted more of the author's wealth of knowledge about Eastern Europe, particularly Bulgaria, to show me a world with which I'm nearly ignorant. Happily, the book achieved both for me.

The heroine, Alexandria, has come to Bulgaria from America as a teacher, but she soon finds herself on a quest to return a carved box with ashes to a family when their bags accidentally got entangled. Her journey is also the opportunity for her and the reader to learn about Bulgaria's dark and tragic past through this family when the author brings in the secondary storyline set in the past and switches back and forth with that one and Alexandra's. Alexandra is on this quest not just to do a good deed, but a penance of sorts because of the guilt she feels over her brother's death and feeling she could have done more for his troubled spirit while he was alive.

There is complexity in the stories and characters. The historical elements and descriptions of settings as well as the author brings the reader right into that part of the world and its people is achieved through words and pace that may be too slow for some tastes. I get this because, while I love this author's writing, I can easily set down the book, get distracted, and take longer than I usually do to get through a story. But, the author has me enthralled because I do not mind at all that I can love this book without describing it as unputdownable. I think if a reader approaches the book with that mindset then they will do all right.

So, it was a second triumph and I need to go back for Swan Thieves at some point and hope there are many more new releases to come. I think this one best suits historical fiction, women's fiction, and travel fiction readers.

I greatly enjoyed Kostova's first novel, "The Historian," so I was eager for the opportunity to review "The Shadow Land." Here is the most important thing you need to know about this book: If you are expecting a similar horror novel involving supernatural creatures, you will be disappointed. The evil that is described within these pages belongs not to vampires, zombies or other supernatural beings but instead the ultimately more horrifying evil that humans inflict on one another.

The plot is simple: A young American, Alexandria, arrives in Bulgaria for a teaching position, and on her first day she mistakenly carries away a bag belonging to an elderly couple. To her dismay, the bag contains an urn filled with human ashes. (No spoiler there; it's stated on the back cover.) The rest of the novel entails Alexandria's increasingly complicated efforts to locate the couple she took the urn from, aided by a charismatic taxi driver who proves to have a surprising skill set that suggests there is more to him than meets the eye.

If I have a quibble with the novel at all, it is the basis of the premise that drives all the action. If I accidentally took a precious belonging from a couple while standing outside a hotel, I'd do the sensible thing of turning in the object to the hotel front desk (or possibly leaving my contact information), and wait for the owners to come back looking for it. Alexandra doesn't do that, however; she goes to the police department, gets spooked by the official she speaks to there, and then proceeds to drive all over Bulgaria tracking down possible relatives of the deceased man on the basis of rather flimsy leads.

But if you're willing to suspend disbelief over this very basic plot device, the novel will draw you in with its lovely prose and increasingly gripping story. As was the case with "The Historian," the book moves slowly at first, but about halfway through--when our protagonists discover a memoir of Stoyan Lazarov, the deceased man, the pages of which become interspersed with the present day action--the novel becomes riveting and hard to put down.

It's not an easy read, as we will discover that Stoyan--who started out as an extremely talented violinist--suffered greatly at the hands of the communist invaders of Bulgaria. But as a piece of fiction describing a portion of world history we would be wise not to forget, this book serves a valuable purpose.

It is also a love song to the country of Bulgaria. Kostova is a gifted travel writer, and she captures the appearance and feel of the Bulgarian countryside with almost lyrical prose.

In short, if you're looking for more books about vampires, look elsewhere. If you are ready to face the challenge of reading about a dark page of our world's history, and the resilience of a brave man who faced incredible brutality at the hands of the occupying government, then I highly recommend this novel.

The mystery here is light. The prose, magnificent. Bulgaria, extraordinary.

If you read this book for the suspense and mystery of it, you might find yourself disappointed. Though promising at the start, our mystery is simply a mechanism to start off the rest of the book which is, at its heart, the story of Bulgaria and Bulgarian culture.

Kostova's writing is gorgeous. The description is never too florid - a surprise for such a hefty book - and paints a vibrant picture of a country little seen in today's literature. And the pacing and flow worked for me. I was surprised at how quickly I read the book. Finally, her characterization is compelling, hinting at dark secrets that, unfortunately, never materialize to be all that dark.

But I wanted a mystery. I wanted dark secrets and drama and danger.

I did get pretty words.

At the end of the book, my only real thoughts were 1) She has talent, though this book didn't speak to me and 2) I want to go to Bulgaria.

But not, unfortunately, the book for me.

Unlike many reviewers, I have not read the Historian. I chose this book for a personal reason and because the descriptions were intriguing.

I liked Kostova's writing style and found that she put the book together in an unusual but appealing way. When the book begins, the reader is led to believe the central character is a young girl seeking some closure to a tragedy in her own life by traveling to Bulgaria. While Alexandra remains an integral part of the story the central character actually emerges from the ashes. The plot becomes a mystery rolled into a history of Bulgaria under the Communist regime following WWII. Amidst the description of the beauty of this little known country, is the distubing story of the harshness of ordinary life and the repressive cruelty of the regime.
It is also a tribute to the courage and determination of people subjected to this cruelty, both those in the gulags and those left behind. It begs the question whether the shadow of the old regime still haunts this land.
Overall, I liked this book despite its somewhat dark character. I found some of the gulag descriptions excessively drawn out and was disappointed that the author did not completely put closure to the tragic event in Alexandra's life nor provide a definitive direction to her future.

Alexandra has just move to Bulgaria to teach English. She accidentally ends up with someone else’s bag. The contents of this bag send her searching throughout Bulgaria for the rightful owner.

Alexandra is extremely naive in a new country. I sometimes wanted to pop her upside the head and say “THINK WOMAN!” As she is searching for the owner of the bag, she befriends a strange taxi driver. They travel through Bulgaria in search of the owner of the bag. Many learning experiences later….

This is a winding tale. It is beautifully written just very slow going. It took forever to get anywhere and believe me…we were all over Bulgaria. I enjoyed the historical aspect to the novel. I did not realize the communist history of Bulgaria. I learned a great deal. However, this story meandered way too much for me. Some people enjoy slow soothing reads. This book is for you if that is you taste in reads. I need more action!

I received this novel from Netgalley for a honest review.

Elizabeth Kostova is a wonderful writer and I loved her first two books. This one was also fantastic but at page 200 I was so bored I actually brought it up on a website to see what other reviewers said. I kept reading and at page 235 the book takes off and becomes exciting. Not to say that there are 200 boring pages in the beginning, but the backstory of Stoyan building a house was a snooze. It's a shame as many people will not read the rest of the book which was so wonderful that I cried in parts and thought about Eastern Bloc countries for days after finishing the book. Parts require a stretched imagination( the dog) but then parts are almost holy they are so beautiful. Worth the wait and powerful, with a part in the middle that should have been better edited, in my opinion. I also had no idea how beautiful Bulgaria was, pictures of it look like Colorado. That's because so much information was freedom was repressed during Communism. What a failure when people try to repress the human spirit!

I first encountered Elizabeth Kostova when I tackled The Historian ages ago. The tome still sits on my bookshelf. I was less than thrilled with her second novel, The Swan Thieves and as a result, I approached requesting The Shadow Land with a bit of trepidation.

Within two chapters, I was sucked into The Shadow Land. Within two days, I was 50% complete with a close to five hundred-page novel. The story, the characters and the scenery were magnificent. Kostova does a beautiful job describing the scents and sounds of Bulgaria. I could see, feel, hear and smell the country. By the end of the novel, I want to visit Bulgaria and experience it for myself. So score one for Kostova for taking me mentally to a country I never before considered visiting.

The story itself takes two paths. In the present we follow Alexandra, a troubled American travelling to Bulgaria for a teaching job when she is unexpectedly thrown into a life threatening situation. Her journey, from page one to the last, pulls her out of her shell and helps her to see life in a new light. Her journey and her forced reliance on strangers to complete her journey teaches a wonderful lesson. Sometimes we get wrapped up in our own problems and issues that we forget that others might be able to offer some comfort or share in an experience that will allow us to understand ourselves and/or the world better.

The second path is in the past following a doomed violinist in an Eastern-Bloc country post World War II. And I couldn’t help but compare this novel with The Last Lament and since both novels take place during a similar time period. For some reason, I have more of a connection to Stoyan’s story in The Shadow Land than Aliki’s story in The Last Lament.

Stoyan’s story is only told in the present tense as it happens to him. Perhaps this, coupled with the fact that Stoyan is an adult vs. Aliki’s being an adult reflecting back on the past provided a “real-time” connection with The Shadow Land. Stoyan understood more (or as much as you could during the Communist rule in eastern Europe) the implications of his actions or inactions at the time. There were also more breadcrumbs in the story to lead to the resolution of the mystery.

Only two things stand out as issues.

What was the point of Alexandra’s brother’s disappearance in the opening chapters?

The ending, compared to the rest of the book, was just a little perfect, somewhat lackluster and not as strongly written as the rest of the novel.
The book, as a whole, was well written as Kostova managed to pull me running through a rather lengthy emotional novel in less than a week. Since the rest of the story was so tightly woven, I was hoping for a bit more punch at the end.

The Shadow Land, Elizabeth, Kostova, Author; Barrie Kreinik, Fred Berman, Barbara Caruso, George Guidall, Narrators
It is springtime in 2008 when Alexandra Boyd arrives in Sofia, Bulgaria, to begin teaching at the Central English Institute. She looked forward to being there because she and her brother Jack had often played a game in which they picked a place they would love to travel to, and this was the place he had loved. After an argument with him, while hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains with their parents, he disappeared and was never found. At the time, he was 16, and she was 14 years old. Her thoughts of him are often complicated and emotional.
As the story unfolds over a period of several days, it alternates between her youthful memories of growing up in North Carolina and her present day experiences in Bulgaria. She is now 26 years old, and she is standing in front of a hotel in a country she does not know, where they speak a language she does not understand. She is in a quandary. Her taxi driver has taken her to the wrong place.
As she stood looking up the steps of this unknown, foreign hotel, she spied a few people having some difficulty descending. One of them was in a wheelchair and was quite infirm. A woman she presumed was his wife, stood behind him. A younger man, she presumed was their son, was trying to figure out how to negotiate the stairs with both of them and their luggage. Attracted by that handsome younger man’s demeanor, she offered to help and hurried to their sides. The younger man, Nevin, spoke some English. After their taxi pulled away, she discovered that she was still in possession of one of their bags, a bag which turned out to contain the remains of a cremation. Since Nevin had mentioned that they were going to a monastery, she assumed they were going there in order to bury the urn with the remains of someone called Stoyan Lazarov. She was determined to try and return the urn to them. With the help of another taxi driver, an enigmatic young man named Bobby, she begins her pursuit of the family.
The search for the rightful owners of the urn begins in earnest as they traverse many countrysides and roads in Bulgaria, in what seems to be an unending, unfruitful effort to return the bag and its contents to the Lazarovs. The search often seems to put them in danger. It also seems to endanger the others they have come in contact with who try to help them. Soon there are some violent and frightening moments.
Some parts of the book are much more interesting than others. The first half of the book seems to be about Alex and Bobby and their backgrounds. The second part is about the family that owns the urn and the man whose ashes are in the urn. It was the history of Bulgaria that drew me in and kept me interested when I might have given up on the book. There were several descriptions about the brutality of the Communists after they took over Bulgaria at the end of World War II. Their prison camps and the false accusations and charges presented against the accused will surely remind the reader of the very violence and ferocious viciousness and sadism of the Nazis that they had just defeated. Still, knowing that the Bulgarians had sided with the Nazis, at first, gave me mixed feelings of sympathy for their plight.
Eventually, all of the loose ends are knitted together and the mystery of the bag and its owners is resolved, but it takes a bit too long. The dialog of one of the main characters about his horrendous experience in captivity is too drawn out, too descriptive, and often repetitive. Also, since several characters are telling a piece of the background, it adds to the redundancy of certain parts of the story. I found Alexandra’s character to often be annoying. She tended to melodrama and overly emotional responses. Bobby, on the other hand, seemed more authentic and stable. As the story moves back and forth between the narratives of the different important characters, it also sometimes grew confusing as to where and when the action was taking place. Still, the author does have a way of painting visual images with her sentences which made the book a worthwhile read.
Except for the moments of overdone melodrama, the narrators did a very good job of portraying the individual characters, although a few times, the voice of a character changed suddenly and seemed to become a different character, although the character speaking had not actually changed. Perhaps the age of the character being presented had changed from young adult to older adult or the time had changed from the present to the past, but in those parts of the narrative, it was hard to determine what had just occurred!

This book takes place entirely in Bulgaria. It starts with an American woman, Alexandra Boyd, dropped off at the wrong hotel by a taxi that is now gone. She is trying to decide how to get another taxi and get to the hostel where she has a reservation when she steps up to stop an elderly woman from falling. The two men with her thank her before they get into their taxi. She asks permission to take their picture and they leave after she takes the picture. Only then does she discover she has mistakenly taken one of their bags. She opens it and discovers an urn of ashes.
The book goes back and forth between her efforts to return the urn and the arrest of the dead man in 1949 by the Bulgarian secret police on false charges. The narrative of the horrific labor camp to which Stoyan Lazarov is sent is not for a squeamish person. It reminds me of One day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, which I read over 50 years ago. There are some sinister men following Alexandra and her taxi driver friend as she tries to return the urn
The two narratives do connect at the end of the book for a very satisfying ending.
This book brought back memories of my two months in Bulgaria, volunteering as a UN Sanctions Assistance Monitor in the summer of 1993 during the Bosnian war.
Some memories:
Shopska salad--greens. sliced cucumbers& tomatoes covered with shredded sheep's cheese
Doorways into shops with ribbons or bead from the top of the doorway to the floor.
Excellent and very cheap wine. I was at a restaurant with colleagues. I ordered a glass of wine. I spoke almost no Bulgarian. The waitress spoke very little English, but told me that I could not order a glass of wine. I must buy the whole boutelika, which turned out to be $2 for the bottle.
The Rila monastery, not mentioned in the book, but a UNESCO World Heritage site that I visited. Alexandra visits a fictional monastery driving through fictional mountain villages that are familiar to me.
Some quotes:
Fall of the Berlin wall "Actually, it was all to the credit of Pink Floyd. They built the wall and they made it fall down one little piece at a time."
Doorway "In the field beside them stood a doorway, all by itself--no house, no door--just the frame and a few concrete blocks."
Smile "That smile--so handsome it made the sun come out."
I am counting this for Bulgaria in my UN mystery challenge.
Violinist "He said the violin should be able to tell the truth and it should be able to cry."
An easy 4.5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this book.

Going back in time and then coming back to present times in telling a story is always fascinating. You compare the then and now and there is always a link, a sense of continuity - and it is always very intriguing how small clues lead us from one story to the next going over decades in time and becoming a cohesive whole.

This was part of the mystery of this novel. Alexandra is a young English teacher, recently arrived in Sofia on an assignment. Her main focus is however to get over the heart rending loss of her brother in rather cryptic circumstances. She is disassociated from her parents as well and feels very much alone. She feels a new start in a new place will help. She did not take into account that she will be left with the ashes of a person who has died and without any knowledge of how to get them back to their rightful owners.

Taking convoluted journeys throughout Bulgaria, going from pillar to post to try to track the owners and in the process uncovering a massive story of corruption, fraud and terror during a dark period in Bulgarian history is the major part of the story. It is quite comprehensive history very well detailed and descriptive and though particularly horrifying in its aggression is a matter of fact telling of what actually happened without sugar coating it.

Not an easy history lesson to follow on but history it is and however unpalatable it is part of the story.

Alexandra's coming of age is part of the more pleasant aspects of the story.

For years, Alexandra Boyd has carried a great sadness and guilt about her brother’s death. In an effort to both shake off the shadow of that loss and feel more connected to her brother, she travels to Bulgaria, a country her brother had wanted to visit. Immediately upon her arrival, she finds herself wound up in a strange situation that becomes even stranger as she chases after the answers, trying to right a wrong. She befriends a taxi driver (who turns out to be so much more than that), unravels the tragic past of a man and his family, and of the country she is currently traveling in. And along the way, she learns the cost of hanging onto the past, to pain, to guilt, and starts to let go of some of her own.

One of the main characters in this story is a classical violinist who had a passion for Vivaldi. Though I’m not passionate about classical music generally speaking, my mother had Vivaldi’s Four Seasons on vinyl, and I used to play it over and over and over (that and Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf) growing up. Several times during the reading of this book, I put it aside and listened to parts of Four Seasons, and then resumed reading with a greater sense of connection to Stoyan. It was a wonderful thread that kept me tethered to the story.

After I finished reading, I immediately started looking for pictures of Bulgaria, the individual cities mentioned in the book, and researching the history of the labor camps I never knew existed. Before this book, I couldn’t have picked Bulgaria out on a map, and I had no idea about the dreadful labor camps. Now I feel compelled to learn more, not just about Bulgaria, but about all of the countries that were involved in the World Wars, that were swept up in the Communist invasion, countries that we learn very little about in American schools. Again I say, historical fiction is a gateway to learning. Such a beautiful thing.

The story itself unraveled very slowly. And it’s not such a short book. But it was methodical, thoughtful, purposeful meandering that deepened the story. And when things begin to become clear towards the end, the story doesn’t seem to have been that long at all.

My favorite parts of the book were those written from Stoyan’s perspective, the flashbacks to his life. So heart-wrenching. But I loved him. His methods for keeping his mind intact during unimaginable suffering, they were genius, beautiful, inspiring. It was impossible not to ache for him.

What can I say? A wonderful book. Informative, thought-provoking, beautifully written, and complex characters. What’s not to love?

Note: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley. I pride myself on writing fair and honest reviews.

A young American woman with psychological issues related to a traumatic event in childhood, travels to Bulgaria for a teaching job. There she meets fascinating people, visits captivating locations, and immerses herself in an exotic culture. During the few weeks before her job is to begin, she plans to travel around the country and see the sights. However, soon after arriving, she accidentally acquires an unusual item and becomes involved in a lengthy quest to find the owners. She is aided in this search by a Bulgarian taxi driver she meets by chance, who turns out to be much more than he seems.
It becomes increasingly clear that this item and the people associated with it are part of a mystery. What is the significance of this object and why are police and politicians keeping an eye on their progress? Why can't they find the missing owners no matter where they look? Why are some of the people involved receiving ominous threats?
These questions kept me intrigued, turning the pages to discover the answers, until about halfway in, when I started losing interest. The whole middle section, when they are driving all over the country looking for the owners of the mysterious object, became increasingly tedious to me. I eventually gave up trying to keep track of all the places and people they encountered and how they were related to each other and the plot.
The storyline was unique and intriguing. I enjoyed the end, but would have liked it much more if the entire middle section had been shortened and simplified. There was just too much extraneous activity and information to wade through. I did think it was a little strange that Alexandra didn't just leave the object at the hotel where it was first lost, rather than roaming the country endlessly in search of the owners. That seems like the most reasonable course of action, and the owners did come back there looking for it while Alexandra and Bobby drove all over the country, trying to find them. I also wondered why her past trauma concerning the death of her brother Jack, introduced at the beginning, was never dealt with until a very brief mention at the end.
Imho this would have been an excellent book if it had been pared down to the essentials for furthering the plot. There were a lot of fascinating parts, but in the end, I could only give it 3 stars.
Note: I received an eARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova (The Historian) is a sprawling journey through the 20th-century history of Bulgaria framed by the story of Alexandra Boyd, a young American. Alexandra has just arrived in Sofia where she is to teach English. She lost her brother, Jack, as a young teenager and has carried a sense of guilt ever since. Jack disappeared while her family was on a hike in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The two had had an argument and Alexandra's last words to Jack were "Get lost". He was never seen again. Jack had always been fascinated by Bulgaria so her job is somewhat of a pilgrimage for his sake. She arrives a month early and plans to travel through Bulgaria. A chance encounter in front of a Sofia hotel changes all her plans. Somehow her luggage is tangled up with that of a small group of Bulgarians; an old lady, an old man in a wheelchair, and a handsome man. When Alexandra opens the bag, she discovers a beautiful wooden box carved with the name Stoyan Lazarov. To her horror, the box contains human ashes. Alexandra immediately hails the nearest cab and sets off, along with her driver, to find them and return the urn. The journey takes them not only through the villages and mountains of Bulgaria but also into its haunted history. War and strife are no strangers to Bulgaria and the country is still recovering from a brutal Communist regime.

Told in many viewpoints, The Shadow Land is beautifully written and entirely engrossing. The story of Stoyan Lazarov, a violinist, is tragic. While still a young man, he runs afoul of the Communist regime and is sent to a labor camp with no trial and no charges. Even his young wife, Vera, has no idea what has happened to him. Stoyan comes out of the camp in some ways broken by the brutality of what he witnessed and suffered, but still full of the courage that ensured his survival. Alexandra, too, discovers her own courage and comes to terms with her guilt at last. The Shadow Land is packed with memorable characters, from her driver, "Bobby", who is not exactly what he seems to a homeless dog Alexandra picks up along the way. I was particularly taken by Baba Yana. Baba Yana is an ancient village lady, who in telling Alexandra her life story, also tells the story of Bulgaria in the 20th-century.

While I thoroughly enjoyed The Shadow Land, I felt that the framework of the story; the travel through Bulgaria was a little implausible. Too many things seemed to fall a bit too easily into place and finding a driver who would go along with it, if even for his own reasons, too fortuitous. That being said, I still would recommend it for its historical depth and emotional impact. A review copy of The Shadow Land was provided by Penguin Random House and NetGalley. The opinions are my own.

“The photos were mainly black-and-white, some brown or yellowish sepia. Several of the images looked very old; these were wedding groups in stiff clothing with something Eastern about it, young people staring transfixed into futures now long past”

The Shadow Land is the third novel by American author, Elizabeth Kostova. In May, 2008, Alexandra Boyd leaves her North Carolina home and her job as a librarian to take up a teaching position at the Central English Institute in Sofia, Bulgaria. But on her very first day in the country, through a mix-up, she ends up with a bag not her own, one that contains an urn of ashes. Alexandra is distraught at the thought that Stoyan Lazarov’s family are heading to the Velin Monastery in Rila without his remains.

Her taxi driver, Asparuh Iliev (just call me Bobby) obligingly returns her to the spot where the unfortunate mishap took place, to no avail. A visit to the Police Station sets them on a path that becomes almost a quest: a quest to see the urn returned to the family. In the process of this far-from-straightforward mission, they learn a great deal about the life of the man whose remains they are carrying with them.

As well as the third person narrative of present day events from Alexandra’s perspective, there are some chapters describing her motivation for travelling to Bulgaria. Stoyan Lazarov’s story is told to Alexandra and Bobby, both by others, in anecdotes often second- or third-hand, (usually translated by Bobby) and by Stoyan’s own account, written as a confession, that details the important milestones in his life from 1940 onwards.

Kostova gives the reader a tale that has it all: mystery, romance, history, politics and corruption, a secret compartment, labour camps, violins and a faithful, heroic dog. All this rendered is gorgeous descriptive prose. The protagonist’s quest takes the reader on a tour of Bulgaria while subtly informing about a shocking history not commonly known. Kostova’s original plot has several twists that even the most astute reader is unlikely to anticipate. Tension-filled pages build up to a very exciting climax, and several of the multi-faceted characters are not what they at first seem to be.

Kostova’s extensive research and her familiarity with Bulgaria, her politics, her history and her customs, are apparent on every page, as is her love for the Bulgarian people and the landscape: “On every horizon Alexandra saw mountains, some of which were blue and very distant, beyond a great plain. Others were closer and rubbed with darkness, like long smudges of soot”. This inspirational story demonstrates what one will do to endure. The Shadow Land is intriguing and informative, but also moving and very uplifting. A superlative read.

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author of THE HISTORIAN, Elizabeth Kostova takes us on a cultural wandering through the troubled hills of Bulgaria seeking truth and peace in the mesmerizing THE SHADOW LAND.

I had read THE SWAN THIEVES but not THE HISTORIAN (I think I'm in the minority there), and so when I learned Ms. Kostova had a new novel out, I knew I needed to read it.

Alexandra Boyd is a 26-year old American who is seeking for something: truth, peace, belonging. She finds a job teaching English in Sofia, Bulgaria, a country she knows little about, but was a 'beautiful green country on a map her brother found fascinating.' With Jack no longer living, Alexandra sets forth on her adventure in part, to finally put her brother to rest.

Immediately, I was drawn into Alexandra's story as she arrives jet-lagged and forlorn at a rustic hostel in the heart of Sofia. An encounter with a Bulgarian family, an accidental switch of bags, and a taxi propels the story into present-day action. Alexandra is left holding the bag, quite literally, of another man's ashes. Quick-thinking and determined to return them to the proper family, she sets off on what feels a wild goose chase. If anything, she's determined, smart and focused, which made me like her even more.

The first few chapters alternate between present-day Bulgaria, the people Alexandra encounters (specifically a taxi driver, who goes by the American name of Bobby for her sake), and also recent-past chapters of Alexandra's childhood in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. I was highly intrigued with what happened to her brother, but that wasn't entirely fleshed out, to my dismay (unless I missed it).

We then continue along a jaunty journey meeting various Bulgarians, a monastery, and horrors of a century of civil unrest. Kostova does an amazing job at conveying the arid landscape, the pull of the past, the language, and a culture I knew little about, thus earning the book a solid 5-stars. Also, the heft, both literal and figurative, of grief and the depth of which she told this story.

The book *is* divided into "BOOK ONE," "BOOK TWO," and "BOOK THREE," as some reviewers have said THE SHADOW LAND feels like two or three stories in one. Well, it is. If you think this will bother you, then select with eyes wide open.

However, Kostova *does* tie them all together, though I will admit to finding a few loose ends and few instances that didn't quite feel satisfying (at least to me, so 4-stars). For example, I really wanted to know more about Alexandra's brother, Jack.

As for the dead man's ashes, that story is completely fleshed out (pun not intended), in terms of delving into his past. (If THE SWAN THIEVES was about art and obsession, then THE SHADOW LAND might very well be about music and obsession). We learn about Stoyan Lazarov, the man whose ashes Alexandra is furiously trying to return to his family through retrospective accounts of his time in a Bulgarian work camp, his passion for the violin, and his beloved Vivalidi.

Chapters of Stoyan Lazarov's past alternate with the present-6-day 'chase' of Alexandra and taxi-cab driver Bobby (who has a varied past of his own), along with their adopted dog. It's tied up fairly neatly with justice and peace...and perhaps, a little love.

Kostova is a gifted storyteller, one whose characters are constantly evolving, looking to connect the past with the present, with the hope that perhaps meaning can be found in the rubble.

When Alexandra Boyd, a young American, arrives in Sofia, Bulgaria to teach, a taxi drops her at the wrong hotel. After the jet-lagged Alexandra encounters a Bulgarian family outside the hotel, she gets into another taxi, to take her to the proper location, and belatedly realizes that one of the family’s bags is now accidentally in her possession. Looking inside, she discovers that the bag contains an urn with the cremated remains of Stoyan Lazarov. With the help of an unusual taxi driver, Alexandra embarks on a sort of single minded mission to find the family so that she can return the remains. While the taxi driver drives Alexandra seemingly all around Bulgaria in search of the family, we learn about Stoyan Lazarov, a gifted musician, and about the history of labor camps in Bulgaria.

I loved Kostova’s earlier novels, The Historian and The Swam Thieves (see reviews dated June 27, 2015), and I was so looking forward to reading more of her work. The Shadow Land, however, left me disappointed.

The story line in The Shadow Land feels contrived, forced. Although Alexandra’s chance meeting with the family sets up the meat of the story, the whole premise seems unrealistic and, well, somewhat silly. Alexandra’s backstory, about her life in North Carolina, is interesting, but feels irrelevant to the real story that Kostova wants to tell. In fact, Alexandra herself does not seem to add much to this real story – she is just a nice young woman who wants to return remains that accidentally ended up in her possession and is just along for the ride.

Kostova wanted to tell Stoyan’s story – and it is a good one; she wanted to tell Bulgaria’s story – and it is interesting. But, the vehicle she employs to tell these stories, Alexandra, does not work, and the plot feels disjointed. Alexandra feels superfluous.

Kostova has done a good job of capturing the fear that permeated Bulgarian citizens in Stoyan’s heyday. She has done a good job of capturing the horrific nature of the secret labor camps. It is clear that she loves her adopted country. But, I am not sure that she has succeeded in conveying the basis of that love to her readers. After completing the book, I do not see the beauty or feel the pull of the country that Kostova obviously does, and I feel no inclination that Bulgaria is a “must-see”.

Although I am still a fan – and will again await Kostova’s next novel – The Shadow Land does not measure up to the usual Kostova standards.

I am voluntarily submitting my honest review after receiving an ARC of this ebook from NetGalley.

After reading The Historian, I had high expectations going into this book. While I wasn't precisely disappointed, I can't say that The Shadow Land was better. Still, I did enjoy this book a great deal. In this work, In this work, the protagonist, an American tourist fleeing her own grief following the death of her brother, ends up with an urn containing the human remains of a stranger when she helps an elderly couple into a cab in and accidentally keeps one of their parcels. As she tries to return the urn to the rightful owners, we are taken on a exploration of the Bulgarian police state with all of its attendant horrors. But Kostova also weaves in elements of the sublime as she describes the landscape, culture and heart of Bulgaria and her people. This juxtaposition of brutality and beauty illustrates the tension created by the attempts to oppress a people who despite knowing loss, fear and evil, have found a way to endure, survive and even triumph through courage and compassion. The only flaw for me was that the ending rang false in that it was just a bit too bright. Otherwise, this was a great read that provided much insight into Bulgarian history and culture even though it is a work of fiction.

5 Stars

Alexandra goes to Bulgaria to teach English. Dropped at the wrong place by the taxi driver, she accidentally picks up someone else’s bag. She notices while in her own taxi. Unsure what to do she asks her driver, surprisingly he speaks good English. She goes to the police station.

She must return the bag, which apparently contains someone’s ashes. The name on the box is Stoyan Lazarov. The information she receives from the police takes her and the taxi driver, Bobby, on a journey through the countryside to a monastery. From there their journey continues to other places.

Filled with wonderful descriptions of the countryside and the village and cities through which they pass, this book is beautiful. The people they meet along the travels are described with passion and tenderness. Their journey is also rife with tension. Someone is following them. Alexandra and Bobby are unsure what the threatening messages mean or what these shadow people want and this adds to the tension and mystery.

The political situation in Bulgaria also enters the picture. One of the characters points out that Bulgaria is on the precipice. Now free of communism, but the wrong political party in office could very well turn things bad again.

The crux of this book is suffering and loss. It is a theme which runs throughout the book; loss of family, friends, freedom and personal loss. From the book, “Old women who live long enough mainly count the bodies, whether we want to or not.”

This book is both brilliant and descriptive. This book was beyond all my expectations. I was so excited to see a new book by Elizabeth Kostova, that I selected it barely reading the description. I truly enjoyed it and wish I could give it more than five stars. Brilliantly written and drafted, it is a tour de force of the English language. It is so descriptive I was there with Alexandra and Bobby; every stop, every fear. I cannot rave enough about this book. I absolutely loved it! I have been anxiously impatient for Elizabeth Kostova to come out with a new book for years, and it was well worth the wait.

I want to give a huge thank you to Netgalley and Text Publishing/Text Publishing UK/Ballantine Books for granting me the permission to read this book early.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for the ARC of "The Shadow Land" by Elizabeth Kostova for my honest review. The genres for this novel are Historical Fiction, General Fiction(Adult) and Literary Fiction. I like the way Elizabeth Kostova describes the landscapes of Bulgaria, and contrasts between the beauty of mountains and water , and the devastating destruction of buildings and land through various historical regimes in history. I am impressed that the author is so comfortable writing about Bulgaria where she lives, and has done much research into the history of the country.
Alexandra Boyd, an American is in Bulgaria, to escape the guilt of her brother's accidental death. Alexandra helps an elderly couple and their son coming out of a hotel, and in the process finds that she has mistakenly taken some of their luggage. Alexandra notices that in their luggage is a beautifully ornate and decorated wooden box. Upon opening it, she notices that there are ashes and realizes that this is an urn.Her taxi-cab driver Aspurah Iliev,"Bobby" notices her distress and tries to help her find the family.
Alexandra goes to the police and discovers that the ashes belong to the diseased Stoyan Lazarov.a once prominent violinist. The police give her an address where the family might be.
Alexandra and Bobby start on a dangerous adventure seeking out the family to return the ashes. There are warnings,threats, and dead people. The characters are complex and complicated.
It seems that Stoyan Lazarov has had an interesting and tortured life, and the author writes a timeline in the past and present and shows how the different regimes in power are reflected. Someone wants that urn and is willing to kill for it. The author writes about good and evil, despair and hope.
I enjoyed this intriguing and descriptive novel, and would recommend this. Elizabeth Kostova writes and describes her country beautifully.

Vividly descriptive narrative flows across the pages of Kostava's work at once both musical and poetical. The opening pages draw you in. A veneer of haunting melody continues to engage.
Alexandra Boyd has come to Bulgaria as a form of penance and a hope for renewal after her beloved brother Jack's death. Bulgaria was the place he'd always wanted to visit. A place from their childhood dreams and games.
An accidental meeting at a taxi ramp in Sofia leads Alexandra to a riveting chase and search across Bulgaria, all the time dogged by her personal loss, whilst uncovering the story of the people she seeks. Finding an funeral urn misplaced with her luggage, shockingly affects Alexandra coming alongside as it does the memory of her own loss. This fuels the impetus for her decision to find the urn's owners. The quest becomes paramount to all else.
This quest has Alexandra on a journey crisscrossing not only the geographical Bulgaria, but the memories of the past under communist rule and the fate of the urn's occupant, Stoyan Lazarov, a talented musician, and that of his family.
Through Stoyan's eyes in the past and his family in the present we see the enforced labor camps under Communist rule and their inhumane overseeing. We see the indomitable human spirit struggle for life when circumstances become too much for the body and soul to hold. The dark days of Stoyan's experiences are lightened by the memory methods he develops to engage a different reality, a separating from the concrete, and the awesome discipline of being somewhere other in the midst of hardship as he fights for survival.
The past is set against the present as Alexandra's journey encounters its own dangers--and joys. Alexandra 'could hear music, where there was no music.' A novel of hope!

A NetGalley ARC

Elizabeth Kostova doesn't just write books - she only writes what she has taken time to carefully research and intricately craft. I read somewhere that several years of research and writing went into this novel - and it shows. This book is like a modern fairy tale. There are elements that lean toward the supernatural, and I love that some of those elements are left unexplained and open to the reader's interpretation. I love the sense of adventure and destiny that are woven into the story.

The characters are so well-developed, and real. Kostova puts as much time and effort into creating her characters as she does her research. I could see so much of myself in Alexandra, in the way she related to people and how she would imagine the way things would turn out as she went along. Kostova creates such unique characters and never fails to surprise me. The reader meets the supporting characters as Alexandra does, and the reader's perception of the other characters is highly influenced by Alexandra's ideas about them. My perceptions of Bobby - the taxi driver who joins Alexandra along the way - were shaped as Alexandra learned more about him. And although I, like Alexandra at first, saw things going a certain direction, was just as surprised as she was when things took a different turn.

The history in this book is so rich, and so carefully researched, I learned about the struggles of a country I knew very little about through the eyes of a character who lived them. I believe this is Kostova's best work since The Historian.

The Shadow Land by Elizabeth is told from two points of view.  The view of Alexandra, an American that came to Sophia, Bulgaria to teach English.   The Shadow Land starts with Alexandra accidently becoming into possession of the ashes of Stroyan Lazarov.  She begins a wild goose chase of a trip to find the family of Stroyan Lazarov to return the ashes.  She starts this trip with a taxi driver, Bobby.  During their trip they escape danger, become close and meet many interesting individuals connected to Stroyan Lazarov.  Through their travels, we find out more and more about Stroyan.  Will they ever get Stroyan’s ashes back to his family???
Stroyan Lazarov also told the story of his life in Bulgaria during the communist regime.  Stroyan was very in loved with and married to Vera.  Stroyan was a very talented musician with his career derailed due to the communist regime.  Stroyan answers the door of his apartment one night and was met by the police and taken into custody.  The abuse and mistreatment that began is disturbing.  It is made even more disturbing by Elizabeth Kostova’s skillful, vivid descriptions.  Stroyan is a strong man with the ability to get lost in this thoughts.  Secrets are revealed and the connect between the past and present come to the forefront. 
Elizabeth Kostova’s writing and descriptions of Bulgaria are beautiful.  Kostova provides a very vivid snapshot of Bulgaria during two distinctly different times in history.  I found myself re-reading a sentence here and there due to skill of the writing.  I found The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova to be character driven.  The character, Stroyan Lazarov entered the story in an Urn and became my favorite and the most developed character.   Kostova provided such a detailed description of Stroyan’s life in the prison camp that you could even smell the scents of the camp.  Stroyan’s story was very compelling and moving as he struggled throughout life with the effect of the communist regime. 
The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova is slow to build. Once Stroyan begins to tell his story,the pace increases and the pages fly by.  I decided to read a bit of The Shadowland this morning with my coffee at 6:30am….soon I find myself riveted to my seat until I finished the book around noon.  What a delightful way to spend a Saturday morning!!    The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova receives a 4 star rating from me.   I so enjoyed my travels around Bulgaria.

The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova was hard to put down. It was one of those books that kept me up until 4:00 a.m., two nights in a row, because I just had to know what was happening next. Like her book, The Historian, the author wraps the reader into the pages and leaves us wanting more.

In The Shadow Land the author melds the past and the present into one story and tells the tale of a dark time in Bulgaria's past. A past (in the not so distant time) when a person could be taken from their family, with no warning or trial, and sent to labor camps until someone decided to let you out. Chilling and masterfully related to the reader by relating the experience of concert violinist Stoyan Lazarov.

Alexandra is a young woman who has come to Sofia to teach when she accidentally picks up the box holding the ashes of Stoyan Lazarov. In her quest to return the remains to Mr. Lazarov's family, Alexandra is aptly aided by Bobby, the Bulgarian taxt driver with many secrets of his own. When they are followed to where the family is supposed to be, they discover that not only is the family in peril, but so are Alexandra and Bobby and they people they meet along the trip.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review. I honestly loved this book and highly recommend it to other readers. I also recommend The Historian, which is on my top ten list.

The language of this book is great. It reminds me of books like the Nightingale. The story is intriguing. It caught my interest from the beginning. It's fast paced and suspenseful. I had no idea what was going to happen next. I hate when books are so predictable that I know what's going to happen from the beginning. This is not one of those books. It time hops a little from Alexandra's younger life to the present. There is tons of culture and historical information throughout which is super interesting. Loved that part of the book. Descriptions are vivid and beautiful. But... oh you knew there was a but coming... the switching tenses from 1st to 3rd person drove me absolutely nuts. Why couldn't the author just pick one and stick with it? It was incredibly annoying especially in places where the switches were quick. Read 3 pages in 1st person and then all of a sudden 3rd person. Ah! I kind of think the author might have done it to separate the past from the present in an obvious way but oh my goodness not worth it. Other than that the story was amazing.
I received a digital copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

A sad novel of immense beauty. Dark and vast, like Bulgaria, where it is set. American Alexandra Boyd has a hole caused by the disappearance of her brother, so she moves to Sofia to teach English. As soon as she gets there, she accidentally finds herself in possession of an urn with human remains. With the help of Bobby, a taxi driver, she will do all possible to return them, which will put her and all the people she gets in contact with, in danger. Alexandra and Bobby slowly learn the story of the man in the urn, Stoyan Lazaro. He was a gifted violinist who had to endure a nightmare in a Communist work camp. The horrors of the Nazi regime are highly known, but it was shocking to learn that it happened under the Communists too. There are different timelines and points of view, and I could't figure out what one of the central mysteries was, but it does't matter. The heart of the story is not so much the mystery as the lives of these people - then and now. All the characters are perfectly built, and Bobby the taxi driver now feels like a long-lost friend after reading about him. It is a slow read, with some very grueling passages, but it is worth the effort.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Ballantine!

Acutal Rating 3.70

The Shadow Land is a very interesting and complex book that follows Alexandra when she accidentally keeps a couples bag that contains a box filled with ashes. Alexandra tries everything to locate the couple with the help of the kind Bobby, who is a taxi driver. The deeper they dig to find the couple, the more strange things start to happen.

I liked that Elizabeth Kostova does an amazing job describing Bulgaria and all its beautiful architecture. I almost felt like I was actually in Bulgaria. This book is very descriptive and I was completely intrigued in the mystery surrounding the ashes. I liked Alexandra and Bobby and they made a great team. I also liked getting a background on Alexandra's life and what brought her to Bulgaria. The Shadow Land was very enjoyable.

I will say that this book was very long and sometimes I zoned out of the reading. I had to keep reminding myself what was happening when the pov switched to other characters and their background. But I still think this book was very interesting and I look forward to reading more books by Elizabeth Kostova.

Although The Shadow Land has no supernatural elements, I found that it echoed many of the elements that made The Historian such an addictive and compelling novel. Vampires aside, The Shadow Land returns to Bulgaria and delves deep into a dark era of its modern history. Through Alexandra's fresh eyes, the reader experiences Bulgaria's haunted beauty. Like The Historian, our protagonist suddenly finds herself in the midst of a quest - to return an urn she had accidentally come to possess. However, this innocent good deed soon sets in motion a series of increasingly sinister events.

She is helped in her quest by a taxi driver who has secrets of his own. Together, they discover what happened to a famous Bulgarian musician whose ashes are in the urn. Through their attempts to return his ashes, Alexandra and Bobby travel all over Bulgaria, meeting people, each of whom gives insight about the bigger picture.

The reader might ask - where is this all leading up to? The terrible past and sinister present converge to a shocking ending. However, a character which had been off-stage for 90% of the narrative re-enters for a surprisingly romantic last chapter.

Just finished The Shadow Land and couldn't put it down. Time and events have forced me to scratch a visit to Bulgaria off my bucket list, but this novel; part mystery, part travel, part fable, part historical expose, makes me want to take the journey. The story is a labor of love, done with care and respect for the men and women who endured the real history behind the musician's portion of the novel.

This book will take its place on my shelf with my favorite books about art and artists. I hated for it to end.

A young American woman (Alexandra) decides to accept a position teaching in Bulgaria, and when she arrives she mistakenly ends up with human remains. As she attempts to locate and return the urn to the family, she discovers she may be in trouble.

I had not read Elizabeth Kostova's previous novel, The Historian, so I am new to her writing. The plot for this was interesting and caught my attention. There were a few times when I thought - "I wouldn't do that." However, if Alexandra does what I would do, there wouldn't be much of a story! Just allowing myself to get swept up in the story, I thought it was enjoyable. I felt the book sort of lagged in the beginning a bit, but about mid-way and to the end, the story and the pace really picked up.

I thought the location was very interesting - I'd never read a book that took place in Bulgaria, and it was interesting to read about the people, the cultures and a bit of the history. I wish there had been more description about the country, but I can also understand that would have increased the number of pages significantly.

I did find the story regarding Stoyan Lazarov to be very intriguing and interesting. I felt that part could have a book by itself. I would recommend this.

The more books I read by Elizabeth Kostova, the more I like this author. "The Historian", "The Swan Thieves" and now "The Shadow Land", all amazing.

It all starts with a "misunderstanding". Elizabeth Boyd, a young American woman, has just landed in Bulgaria. The taxi she takes to her hostel takes her to the wrong place, where she helps a Bulgarian family into another car. She realizes she has mistakenly kept a bag belonging to this family, and that she must return it as it contains human ashes.

Helped by Bobbie, her new cab driver who soon turns into a friend, she travels across the country searching for them.

Part mystery, part historical fiction, we discover along with Alexandra the history of a country that has suffered immensely.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Elizabeth Kostova sets up two primary mysteries (one in the past and one that is tied to the past) in The Shadow Land. Years after the disappearance of her brother, Alexandra leaves America for Bulgaria where she plans to teach English. But before she even gets settled in, she inadvertently takes an urn from a family she meets while waiting for taxi. This unexpected turn leads Alexandra and her taxi driver on an adventure through Bulgaria as they attempt to track down the family and learn about the man whose cremains they now possess.

Alexandra's Bulgarian adventure is a bit far-fetched, but it is an interesting one with vivid descriptions. Kostova divides the action by having chapters alternate between the past (initially Alexandra's past, then shifting to the life of the deceased man) and present. The past serves to inform the present day, but there were times when it felt the story of Stoyan Lazarov's life should be more at the forefront. By the time it was all through though, the ending felt quite implausible.

An ambitious, well plotted story of death, suffering and love in a strange land. A young woman, Alexandra, arrives in Bulgaria to work as an English as a second language teacher. After helping an elderly woman into a taxi and speaking with her son, she discovers she has an additional package among her luggage. It turns out to be an urn containing the ashes of a family member. By the time she realizes she has it, the family has disappeared and she is in another cab heading toward her accommodations. Thus starts an adventure covering time and love and death over many years.

Alexandra and her cab driver, Bobby, search together to find the missing family. Their journey is filled with new people, beautiful scenery, and some very scary fellows. Their search for answers bring us from modern day Bulgaria back through time to an unstable country ruled by fear and corruption. Ms. Kastova’s descriptions of the surrounding countryside comes to life as we travel through the Shadow Land.

Immersive. Honest. Just downright riveting.

Alexandra Boyd arrives in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2008 for a teaching position. Nostalgia comes over her as she remembers her late brother Jack and his desire to visit this ancient land. But she must put the memories away as she's faced with a dilemma: she has mistakenly grabbed an urn in a taxi from a tall, dark-eyed Bulgarian man and his elderly mother.

She teams up with Bobby, the taxi driver, to find these people and return their deceased relative to them, a man named Stoyan Lazarov.

This is where Kostova shines as brilliantly as she did when crafting The Historian. She truly captivates her readers with the setting of Bulgaria, its terrible yet unknown past, and the determined characters as they face danger at every turn.

There are so many elements I could talk about that made this novel so memorable, but I don't want to spoil a story unlike any other. 5 stars.

Elizabeth Kostova, the author of The Shadow Land, is also the author of The Historian, which I read when it first came out. The Historian and The Shadow Land are beautifully written. Reading these novels you can see the settings in your mind's eye. The characters are well developed. The main characters in both novels are women. The novels are also similar in that them start to drag as you head toward the end.

The Shadow Land is structured like a treasure hunt. The characters spend the novel traveling around Bulgaria, learning a bit more with each place they visit. But with each place they visit, they learn that they need to go to yet another place. At various points the novel breaks off into interesting digressions that are not critical to the plot. For example, at one point there is a digression about a Bulgarian myth about a bear, a wolf and a young woman.

What saves both The Historian and The Shadow Land is Elizabeth Kostova's beautiful writing. Although the novels feel like they could have been shorter, they are both so well written that I was able to make it to the end.