THE SWAN THIEVES: REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

 

GIVEAWAY ENDED

THE SWAN THIEVES

BY ELIZABETH KOSTOVA

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Andrew Marlow, a psychiatrist, has a perfectly ordered life--solitary, perhaps, but full of devotion to his profession and the painting hobby he loves. This order is destroyed when the renowned painter Robert Oliver attacks a canvas in the National Gallery of Art and becomes Marlow's patient.

When Oliver refuses to talk or cooperate, Marlow finds himself going beyond his own legal and ethical boundaries to understand the secret that torments this silent genius, a journey that will lead him into the lives of the women closest to Robert Oliver and toward a tragedy at the heart of French Impressionism.

Moving from American museums to the coast of Normandy, from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth, from young love to last love, THE SWAN THIEVES is a story of obsession, the losses of history, and the power of art to preserve human hope.
Go HERE to listen to an excerpt of THE SWAN THIEVES.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Elizabeth Kostova graduated from Yale and holds an MFA from the University of Michigan, where she won the Hopwood Award for the Novel-in-Progress. Go HERE to watch a video of Elizabeth Kostova talk about THE SWAN THIEVES...it is fascinating! You may also enjoy the PODCAST Interview from ALOUD at Central Library by going HERE.

MY REVIEW:

Once Robert Oliver, a well known artist, attacked a painting at the National Gallery of Art and is arrested, the life of psychiatrist Andrew Marlow changed forever. Marlow, whose hobby happens to be painting, is called to take over Robert's case. He finds out that Robert and his former wife, Kate, were recently divorced and on top of that, Robert has left his latest girlfriend as well. So Andrew Marlow tries to treat his new patient, but he finds that Robert refuses to speak.

Marlow must examine Robert's personal life to try and find a clue to Robert's act of violence as well as his refusal to speak. Marlow contacts people who are part of Robert's life to try and find answers. Much is discovered about who Robert is now, compared to who he was before, from these people and most of them are women. The case is puzzling and intriguing and Marlow becomes very involved with his new patient to the point that it takes over a good part of his own life. Dr. Marlow finds that Robert paints the same woman over and over again and this somewhat leads him to also find a long hidden secret. This secret involves a scandal in the world of 19th century art.
THE SWAN THIEVES is not just a mystery but also a love story. It is filled with interesting characters, whose own lives are a part of the story. It was so interesting to read the way Kostova told the story through not only different characters to add to Marlow's own tale, but also to learn from ancient letters and the past in the 19th century. All these parts come together to tell this unique story of THE SWAN THIEVES. If you want a really good mystery and trust the author who wrote THE HISTORIAN that so many readers have loved, then you will not be disappointed by this next book of Elizabeth Kostova. You will love pondering the questions that are meant to come up as Kostova planned. You will probably come to a point where you really wonder if Robert is mentally ill or is there something else going on? Why DID he slash that painting and who are all these women in his life? Is all this somehow related to the parts that come to light over the ancient letters?
This is indeed a long book but one that will wrap you around it binding and not let go as you want to find out what is going on. As mental illness is always a hard thing to deal with and read about but intertwined with the mystery, it transfixes the reader and thus shows what a fine writer Elizabeth Kostova truly is.
A WONDERFUL book for book clubs, (mine had a long and exciting discussion with this book) you can link to the Reading Guide HERE by visiting the Hachette Book Group website and on THE SWAN THIEVES page, you will see the link in the lower right-hand corner. Enjoy! 
 

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO VALERIE AND THE GOOD

FOLKS AT HACHETTE BOOK GROUP,

I HAVE THREE COPIES OF THIS

WONDERFUL BOOK TO GIVE AWAY

 

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IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: READ "ABOUT THE BOOK" AND"ABOUT THE AUTHOR" ABOVE AND COMMENT ON WHY YOU WOULD WANT TO WIN THIS BOOK

+1 MORE ENTRY: VISIT ELIZABETH KOSTOVA'S LOVELY WEBSITE BY GOING HERE AND READ ABOUT THE MANY THINGS THERE. COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING THERE

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK AND LEAVE A LINK THAT I CAN FOLLOW

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE WAY THAT YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG. IF YOU FOLLOW MORE THAN ONE WAY, ENTER EACH SEPARATELY FOR AN ADDITIONAL ENTRY

+2 MORE ENTRIES: BECOME A FAN OF ELIZABETH KOSTOVA ON FACEBOOK HERE AND AFTER YOU "LIKE" HER, LEAVE A COMMENT THAT YOU ENTERED THE GIVEAWAY OF THE SWAN THIEVES ON BOOKIN' WITH BINGO. IF YOU DO BOTH, ENTER TWICE SO YOU GET TWO ENTRIES!

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
6 PM, EST, NOVEMBER 30
GOOD LUCK!