What I'm Reading Now-The Swan Thieves

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova-My brief review on Goodreads said that this book had a lot of potential...all the way to the end.  I still kind of feel that way.  I really liked The Historian, so I was excited to read this, and I really don't have much to say except..."Meh."

I liked the idea behind this story, I liked watching it unfold, I had fun looking up pieces of art online while I was reading, and yet something fell flat with me here, and I can't quite figure out why.  There was a lot of mystery involved, and even though I pretty much had a handle on where the story was going, I didn't necessarily feel like the mystery wasn't good; but I think I kept waiting for there to be an additional twist or a more emotional revelation of the tale or...something.  Augh.  I hate feeling this way about a book.  The only notes that I have for this entire book are:

--Changing narratives didn't really work--voices all pretty similar.

and

--Love scenes entirely...off-putting?

So.  There you have it.  I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend against reading it, but I wouldn't tell you to rush out and put it at the top of your list either.

Since that's about all I have to say about the story itself, I'll add that I downloaded the Art Authority app to use as a reference while reading.  It's kind of a fun app, and it's a good way to explore art in general--you can explore by period, artist, title, subject, and location; but I think if you are looking for a specific piece, saaaaay...something with swans as the subject, you're better off just Googling whatever it is that you're looking for.

I'd love to hear some other opinions on this, especially if you also read The Historian.  If you liked one, did you like the other?  (I'd like your opinion even if you didn't read The Historian!)