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

A work of art itself

I wasn't supposed to like this book as much as I did. Maybe my feverish enjoyment of it was a happy accident. Maybe it was because so many of the world-building elements just so happened to overlap with my own life. Maybe, even though the characters irritated me for their odd decision making, I also found them fleshed out and somewhat relatable.

Inevitably, I cannot help but compare The Swan Thieves to The Historian... And after much deliberation, I've decided that I like them both about equally. To be clear, I really like them both. The Historian was much more interesting in subject matter, but at times felt overwritten in scholarly detached kind of way. The Swan Thieves felt much more streamlined, corporeal, and grounded, but the premise felt comparatively mundane.

All in all, I look forward to reading The Shadow Land soon as I explore more oElizabeth Kostova's work.

Amazing !

Just loved this book/ audio book. I am an artist myself and have been in an art book club for a while and have read and listened to many artist lives and books about paintings and this one will be in top 10 as one of the best. My only criticism is that’s it a little long. And I wish the author supplied a pdf or a photo of the paintings ( real or imagined ) they included in the stories.

For lovers of finely crafted books

The Swan Thieves is a remarkably adept handling of a story that spans more than 100 years. The author and the readers handle the time jumps well. Anyone with an interest in art will find the story especially appealing.

Great Listen

I love to paint and this book inspired me to do more. It was a wonderful story and very well performed. The ending didn't wrap everything up, as others have said, but it was fitting to the story. This one left me thinking about it for a long time. Definitely worth listening to.

It was very good, 3 1/2 stars

I really enjoyed her first book, the Historian, and so I purchased this one as well. I enjoyed it, and I enjoyed the art aspect to it. But it was very similar to the Historian in one way, the ending. Kostova has a tendency to wrap up the endings too quickly, none of the extended detail you expect after dedicating all of this time to a story. You can always find 5 or 10 questions left un-answered. This happens to be one of my biggest pet peeves in books. Without taking that into account, this is a beautifully written (minus the ending) and imaginative book. If you were a fan of the Historian you will like this. If your an Artist who studied Art history, you will probably love it.

I recommend it, but be forewarned about the ending.

The time thieves

First, the good news. I found the story to be interesting, I learned a great deal about art, and didn't mind multiple narrators (though I have probably heard enough of Treat Williams). Now the bad - this is a SLOW listen. The story unfolds gradually, and by the end, I was starting to regret not downloading the abridged version. So, just be prepared for a good book, just not a page-turning thriller.

Falling in love with art

This book not only kept me wondering and interested in the characters but was also so beautifully written especially when describing the art. Worth the read and the readers were tremendous!

Great!

Loved this audiobook. Not only a fascinating story but wonderful readers...

Sort of Prince of Tides meets Van Gogh!

I loved this book! It drew me in and I plowed through it so quickly that I was sorry to see it end. I also absolutely loved the author's previous book, The Historian! I will wait breathlessly for her next work!

Twists and turns

I really enjoyed how the story twisted around itself. The art references are always enjoyable to me.