Rashmi bookmarks “Interview with the Vampire”

This gothic horror novel by Anne Rice - the tale of vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac, who tells the story of his life to a reporter - was such a fascinating experience! (Interestingly, I have only read two vampire novels in all my life - this, and prior to this, Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” - it was such a coincidence that the second one completely debunked all the theories created in the first one)!

Other than the obvious fascination of entering a world that I have never stepped in before, this book absolutely mesmerized me with the sheer poetry of its words. It is to the credit of the writer that in a story about a world of vampires, a series of killings, and the constant presence of blood and death, I still came away remembering the rich writing and the heartfelt emotions.

However I do have to say that I did not really think this was a ‘horror’ novel. Yes, there were some scenes of pure horror - the macabre dance of Lestat and the dead and rotting figure that was Claudia’s mother … the musician’s visit to Louis and Claudia just before they left for Europe … the horrific Théâtre des Vampires … that climactic scene so reminiscent of The Fall of the House of Usher. And there was also some very disturbing sexual content - disturbing because of the people involved. The very morbid “family” that is created by Louis, Lestat and Claudia, with interchangeable relationships; as Louis even says at one point, “father and daughter - lover and lover”. The scene with Claudia, the two young boys and Lestat was probably the most disturbing one of all … then again, it was a turning point in the story, and I suppose it just had to reach rock bottom within the specifications of the genre.

Overall though, this was a novel that dealt with all the existential questions that hit each and every one of us, and often leave us with a sense of doom and despair. You wouldn’t think a novel dealing with such a macabre topic would go beyond basic horror. But this novel does. It shines a light on topics like morality, in such comments as, “It’s not a question of aesthetics and morality if Nero played while Rome burnt or an artist works while his family starves, it’s really a question of two moralities”. It challenges standard beliefs with such points as, “If you believe God made Satan, you must realize that all Satan’s power comes from God and so Satan is simply God’s child, and that we are God’s children also.” It asks questions pertaining not just to the origin of vampires, but also to the result of their actions - what happens to the families of their victims / is the media talking about it / are the police investigating?

I was really fascinated by the characters too. Louis, Lestat, Claudia, Armand, Madeleine … were all vampires. But at no point does the book lump them all together into one category, displaying the same ‘type’ of vampirism. For starters, this book breaks all accepted norms of the physical appearance of a vampire - a vampire isn’t always a 30-year old man, tall, slim, dark haired; it can just as frequently be a cute and chubby 5-year old girl with a pretty face and long golden curly hair. Furthermore, like humans, all vampires in the book have their unique characteristics, unique personalities and a very personal set of beliefs and moralities. Lestat is driven only by a need to survive and goes through life satisfying that basic need. Yet for a brief moment he shows his driving force - perhaps a sense of loss? - when he tells Louis, a child grows up and as a man wants to go back to the toys of his boyhood thinking, ‘I didn’t know the value of it then, now I will go back to get that love’, but it doesn’t work that way, and people just have to move on. Louis is constantly fascinated by his new life as a vampire and is always trying to drink in the experience slowly and to it’s fullest. Yet he is tormented by such questions as his identity and his purpose. He laments, “I am going to last till the end of all time, and I don’t even know what I am” and wonders, “what does it mean to die when you can live till the end of the world, what is the end of the world anyway, other than just a phrase”. Armand, one of the older vampires is so desperate to find a companion in Louis, he is willing to plot the removal of a possible threat in Claudia. As he tells Louis, the sheer despair of living forever makes you realize after a point that everything changes but you, and “that’s when a vampire goes off to die and no one hears of him ever again”.

While the book in its entirety was all about rich and powerful writing, some scenes especially stood out! When the story shifted from New Orleans to Paris, the book took on such a vibrant hue. Just the descriptions of walking the streets of Paris, in general, were so brilliant! “… her towering buildings, her massive cathedrals, her grand boulevards and ancient winding medieval streets - as vast and indestructible as nature itself. All was embraced by her, by her volatile and enchanted populace thronging the galleries, the theatres, the cafes…”

But it is also in Paris that the story shifts to a surreal level. It is in Paris that we meet the painter who manages to recreate Louis at the exact point between human and vampire. It is in Paris that we experience the horrific theatre of the vampire. It is in Paris that we meet the doll maker Madeleine, and get to know of the tragic compulsion behind her china doll shop, where all the dolls are children. It is in Paris that Louis’ visit to a church personifies an ancient juxtaposition of good and evil, god and the devil.

Within the horror genre, I still prefer stories that successfully create an inexplicably eerie atmosphere (two fantastic examples being, Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House” and Algernon Blackwood’s “The Willows”) - still, this tale (interestingly titled “Interview with the Vampire”) has been a memorable experience! The tragic ending of the tale – and of a vampire’s life – reflected not only in Louis’ words, but also Lestat’s final appearance, was one of utter despair … yet the cycle seems ready to start all over again. “… And I felt that cry again rising inside of me, that cry that pushed everything else out of its way, my teeth clenched to keep it in, because it was so loud and so full it would destroy me if I let it go.”