The Historian Week 1 Questions and Discussion...

How thrilled we are to begin our first fireside chat on The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova!  I do so hope that you've experienced a thoroughly enjoyable week of reading the first 14 chapters of this creepy story...and has anyone been to Romania?

Thoughtful Reminders...

• You do not have to answer all of the questions!
• Please add the appropriate question number to your answers in the comments field.  You can also copy and paste the question into the comments field as a reference.
• If you have read ahead, remember to not include spoilers in your comments.
• When you add your answers, don't forget to click the check box so that you are notified of others' responses.
• Feel free to blog about this week, remind your readers that they can join at any time, and grab the button to post to your blog's sidebar!

Week 1 Questions...

1. The Historian was published in 2005, but the initial note to the reader is dated in 2008. Why do you think the timing was constructed in this manner for the first readers in 2005?
2. Did you notice that the narrator's name is not identified?  We know the name of everyone else but not her name.  Why is that?
3. The narrator is obviously much more mature than her sixteen years would normally imply, and especially in comparison to her peers during 1973.  Why do you feel that the author chose such a young age to represent this character who is learning such incredibly unbelievable information?
4. When it is learned that "Dracula lives among us today," (p. 26), does this truly mean that Dracula is alive amongst us, or merely that folklore and superstition keep his legend and name alive?
5. Whoever receives the book encounters grave danger.  Are they putting themselves in danger willingly because of their own interest in the research, or does it naturally come about from a true evil that has selected them?
6. Professor Rossi's friend, Hedges, is attacked and suffers a stroke as a result. As Professor Rossi waits for help, he asks Hedges who attacked him and Hedges's responds with a message that, "he will brook no trespass."  What does that mean?
7. On p. 88, Paul states that he's not interested in the occult, only that he's interested in finding Rossi. Do you think this is true?

More than enough questions to get our conversation going!  Feel free to also take a look at the below link which provides some wonderful historical background on Wallachia, Vlad Tepes, the Order of the Dragon, among other details...click The Historical Dracula to visit the site.

Historical Note:  The image above represents the Order of the Dragon, in which "drac" in Romanian can either mean a dragon or the devil.  Vlad the Impaler's father was initiated into the Order of the Dragon, which was a secret fraternal order of knights who were committed to uphold Christianity against the Turks.

We look forward to your thoughts on the above questions to get our chat started....

Yours in profoundest grief,

Coffee and a Book Chick

Tedious & Brief

Are You Ready? Week 1 Starts Monday!

Perhaps the air is getting just a little bit cooler where you are.  Leaves might be changing color, and the days are just a tad shorter.  It might be getting a little creepier when you're by yourself.

Tomorrow starts The Historian Readalong!  Start enjoying Chapters 1 through 14, and get ready to participate in our first fireside chat on Sunday, September 26th.  My recommendations for reading this book are to have either a cup of hot coffee or hot chocolate by your side.  Or, maybe with the fall season approaching, a cup of hot apple cider may be more appropriate?  Settle in comfortably in your most relaxing chair, a small throw to cover your legs, and select a time with the least distractions to open up the book and experience the first few chapters.

Wikipedia Picture

What's your knowledge of Vlad Tepes also known as Vlad the Impaler?  Have you read the fantastic story that started our fascination of all things Dracula by reading Bram Stoker's story?  If you haven't, by no means will that hamper your reading of The Historian.

Click here to visit an interesting link to review the Middle Ages and Vlad Tepes.  It's an overall timeline and biography of Vlad Tepes in his notorious time during the Middle Ages.  He was son to Prince Vlad Dracul (Vlad the Devil), and he is rumored to have murdered over 40,000 people by impaling them.  Gruesome but these were different times...do you think this brutal measure was effective warfare for this time period?