Interview with a Vampire

The vampire, a unique monster archetype that has went through dramatic changes over the years. While many people have very...”passionate” views on them, no one can deny that they have been so ingrained into our culture through books, movies, television and games. Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice is a really influential novel in a sense that many modern vampire stories borrow assets and themes from it. The “vegetarian” vampire (feeding of animals rather than humans) and the whole morality issue they face has been made popular thanks to this book, turning the vampire into more of a cursed human rather than a true monster. The different breeds of vampires is also a common theme made popular thanks to this story.

Despite seeing all this before, I still felt that Interview with a Vampire was refreshing and unique. It's told through the perspective of a reporter (only known as “The boy”) interviewing our main vampire Louis. The story starts off in 1791 New Orleans, where Louis turns thanks to his “friend” Lestat, and enters a moral struggle trying to accept the fact. They gain a “daughter” Claudia, who also ends up developing a deep hate towards Lestat and creates a scheme to kill him. Claudia and Louis decide to travel to Europe shortly after to find more vampires.

Anne Rice is known for writing stories of the more risque variety, and this book is no exception. While I wont go much into detail, the book certainly alludes to many things that would not be very acceptable in the 1970s. In my opinion, it makes for an interesting narrative and adds to the moral issues so often talked about. Overall I'd say that this book was pretty good. If you're not a fan a vampires, this book will probably not change your opinion, but anyone with a passing interest should check it out.