The Swan Thieves

By: Elizabeth Kostova

Narrated by: Treat Williams, Anne Heche, Erin Cottrell, Sarah Zimmerman, John Lee

Length: 17 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Psychiatrist Andrew Marlowe 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 renowned painter Robert Oliver attacks a canvas in the National Gallery of Art and becomes his patient. In response, Marlowe finds himself going beyond his own legal and ethical boundaries to understand the secret that torments this 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.

Ranging from American museums to the coast of Normandy, from the late 19th 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.

©2010 Elizabeth Kostova (P)2010 Hachette

Why, oh why, didn't I trust the reviews?

Good grief. Many, many words about not much. I stuck with this until I thought my ears were going to bleed. I may try it again later but I don't know if it was the reader or the story that turned into a gentle roar in my head. Either way, I give.

dragged on and on

This book had some good points - I was interested in knowing what made the artist tick - but it dragged on so long that I just wanted it to be over. I hung on until the bitter end, though, and there continued to be good mixed with bad. I wasn't too fond of the psychiatrist, which didn't help, and I found the resolution to the artist's portion of the story to be just ridiculous. I thought the narrators did a good job and it helped bring out the story that there were different narrators for different characters.

tedious!

This book was full of it's self and tedious. There was no point to reading it. Much of it was written in letters which no one would write to a stranger. It was an art history lesson written as fiction - yuk!

Boring and Predictable

What was most disappointing about Elizabeth Kostova’s story?

The story was unimaginative and predictable.

Would you be willing to try another one of the narrators’s performances?

The narrator for the french female was fake and sounded too forced and contrived.

Less Than One Star

I really enjoyed "The Historian", so I was looking forward to this, but it was perhaps the most boring thing I've ever listened to. She goes into ridiculous levels of detail about things that have no bearing on the story. I started to give up after the first of three parts, but didn't. I should have. Also, this is the first book I've listened to narrated by Treat Williams. I guess he's an OK actor, but I don't think he's much of an audiobook narrator.

Like Seinfeld without the laughter

Don't get me wrong, the audible representation of the book is all first class. Excellent reading and quality (if anything I'd like a higher bitrate but thats a general issue).
I had high expectations here as I liked the historian, it was a very nice story with a nice flow to it that I like. This one started out fine, nice scenery and interesting events at the start. From there nothing happened for about 26 chapters. I haven't even gotten to the end yet, its all repetition and plain booring. So, be prepared for 26 chapters describing a painter trying too hard to depict the same lady over and over. I'm sorry but too me this was a complete disaster.

Kinda Embarrassing

I am a professional artist and teacher, and I am used to reading the depiction of artists "with a grain of salt". Not that we are that elusive, but every good artist can spot when their trade/craft is being portrayed instead of lived. I found the contemporary characters, especially the artists, in the book terribly banal and tiring. If I were actually reading the book instead of listening to it, I wouldn't have made it past chapter 5. As it was, I yawned through it, as I have a very long commute. I was also disappointed with her male characters. They were one-dimensional, monochromatic and without edges. The only breaks in the monotony are the flashbacks- but they are very rare.

I read The Historian, in "real" form (book), it kept me up late into the night- I was riveted. Sadly, this book is pale in comparison to the last.

Boring & tedious

I loved the Historian and I was excited for Kostova's second book, but I hated this story! It's too long, incredibly boring and I really dissliked most of the characters who were uniformly obsessive, needy and self-absorbed. On top of all of that, Treat Williams is a really dull narrator, although maybe he's just a good actor, because his performance fit this novel perfectly!

pretty good

pretty good

Don't Listen When Driving!

And allow for double the listening time because you will be constantly falling asleep... most especially throughout Treat Williams' readings. I don't place the whole blame on Treat Williams; Anne Heche was shrill (I get it - her character was shrill - but it was still very annoying). Finally, and ultimately, I don't think the greatest narrator could have saved this slow and tedious book.