Name: Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire
Rating: 3.888241525423729 (472 reviews)

Anne Rice

Joseph Lieaneaus Phillips

Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire

Sasha Mann

Alice

You ask me about feeling and detachment. One of its aspects—detachment with feeling, I should say—is that you can think of two things at the same time. You can think that you are not safe and may die, and you can think of something very abstract and remote

As I have told you, I loved her strength and honesty, the greatness of her soul. And I did not feel passion for her as you would feel it. But I found her more alluring than any woman I’d known in mortal life.

I’d fallen helpless back against the pillar, helpless as much from the fire and the blow as from the knowledge that Babette meant to destroy me, as from the knowledge that I did not know what I was.

I hedged against the great moral question of whether or not by my very nature I was damned.

And in your romance with mortal life, you’re dead to your vampire nature!

Unconscious death…the fate of all mortals.

I saw him more kindly than before. Lost like the rest of us. Not the jealous protector of any knowledge he was afraid to share. He knew nothing. There was nothing to know.

The only power that exists is inside ourselves.…

You are the night and the night alone understands you and enfolds you in its arms. 

But I still did not realize how mad she was, and how accustomed to dreaming; and that she would not cry out for reality, rather would feed reality to her dreams

Everything except the vampire is subject to constant corruption and distortion

And now I’ll fight for you. Do you see how ruthless I am in love? Is this what you meant by love?

I have never belonged anywhere with anyone at any time! It was too painful, too perfectly true.

You are like an adult who, looking back on his childhood, realizes that he never appreciated it. You cannot, as a man, go back to the nursery and play with your toys, asking for the love and care to be showered on you again simply because now you know their worth.

You no longer look "through a glass darkly." But you cannot pass back to the world of human warmth with your new eyes.

High Fidelity

People who cease to believe in God or goodness altogether still believe in the devil. I don’t know why. No, I do indeed know why. Evil is always possible. And goodness is eternally difficult.

I never laugh at death, no matter how often and regularly I am the cause of it.

“It’s very…beautiful, actually,” said the boy. “I wonder if…but what happened?”

“You wonder if I was a handsome man when I was alive,” said the vampire. The boy nodded. “I was. Nothing structurally is changed in me. Only I never knew that I was handsome.

This is the story of Louis, as told in his own words, of his journey through mortal and immortal life. Louis recounts how he became a vampire at the hands of the radiant and sinister Lestat and how he became indoctrinated, unwillingly, into the vampire way of life. His story ebbs and flows through the streets of New Orleans, defining crucial moments such as his discovery of the exquisite lost young child Claudia, wanting not to hurt but to comfort her with the last breaths of humanity he has inside. Yet, he makes Claudia a vampire, trapping her womanly passion, will, and intelligence inside the body of a small child. Louis and Claudia form a seemingly unbreakable alliance and even "settle down" for a while in the opulent French Quarter. Louis remembers Claudia's struggle to understand herself and the hatred they both have for Lestat that sends them halfway across the world to seek others of their kind. Louis and Claudia are desperate to find somewhere they belong, to find others who understand, and someone who knows what and why they are.

Louis and Claudia travel Europe, eventually coming to Paris and the ragingly successful Theatre des Vampires--a theatre of vampires pretending to be mortals pretending to be vampires. Here they meet the magnetic and ethereal Armand, who brings them into a whole society of vampires. But Louis and Claudia find that finding others like themselves provides no easy answers and in fact presents dangers they scarcely imagined.

Originally begun as a short story, the book took off as Anne wrote it, spinning the tragic and triumphant life experiences of a soul. As well as the struggles of its characters, Interview captures the political and social changes of two continents. The novel also introduces Lestat, Anne's most enduring character, a heady mixture of attraction and revulsion. The book, full of lush description, centers on the themes of immortality, change, loss, sexuality, and power.

Interview With the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles)

ikkychan

I have always wondered what, as a society, has sanctified our fascination with vampires. Throughout the ages, we have called them by many names — Creature of the Night, the Night Walker, the Blood Sucker, Nosferatu, Strigoi, and countless others — while the myth strangely persists and spreads across the different corners of the world, as if we, at some point in life, collectively witnessed their apparition or heard identical hearsay about them. It’s true that one reason folklore has stood the test of time is precisely because it often recounts tales of horror and danger—a valuable lesson in life — and this could explain the persistence of vampire lore. However, what intrigues me the most is how our fascination has shifted and taken different forms over time. Classically, vampires were depicted as bloodthirsty abominations, repulsive and terrifying in appearance. Works like Bram Stoker’s 'Dracula' and F. W. Murnau’s 'Nosferatu' cemented this image in popular culture. However, this portrayal began to shift as writers explored new dimensions of vampire lore. Anne Rice’s 'Interview with the Vampire' stands as a pioneer in this regard, presenting vampires as complex, tortured souls with an irresistible charm. No one ever warned Louis de Pointe du Lac of the grave errors he was about to commit when he first encountered Lestat de Lioncourt, a radiant and charismatic young man who effortlessly drew people toward him with his irresistible charm. There was always something otherworldly about him, with his enchanting nature and diabolical allure. It was almost as if... he wasn't human. Perhaps these observations wouldn't have eluded Louis if he hadn't been pushed to the brink of despair by the tragic death of his younger brother, Paul, who perished following their skirmish. Drowning in sorrow and guilt, he almost welcomed Lestat wholeheartedly when the vampire offered him a new way of life — if that could even be called living — as he was desperately seeking to escape his current one. True, his transformation was nothing short of extraordinary. He could perceive things with unparalleled clarity and detail, manipulating light and shadow to conceal his presence and displaying inhuman strength. For a time, it successfully distracted him from his despondency and desolation, as his sole purpose became serving his hunger for human blood. However, he soon realized how his current state only exacerbated his inner turmoil. He hadn't wanted to continue living in the first place, so what was he to do with all these endless hours at hand? Truth be told, I have a hard time immersing myself in this book and almost DNF it quite a few times. The narrative featured an abundance of ornate language and elaborate descriptions in an attempt to portray the characters as someone from a bygone era who had endured existence for hundreds of years. At times, it captivated me and drew me deeper into the story, but there were occasions when it felt excessive. It presented itself as a sort of modern-day classic, employing archaic expressions like ‘mortal coil’ and ‘impish delight’ with a slow-paced, almost languid style reminiscent of literature from a century ago. While I appreciate a touch of old-world charm in contemporary literature, I found it somewhat burdensome in this instance. That said, the book is starting to interest me with the introduction of Claudia, a doll-like vampire child with porcelain skin, mesmerizing blue eyes, and long golden locks whom Lestat created sometime after he and Louis started living together, with the intention of ensuring the latter’s devotion and willingness to stay with him. You see, Louis hated Lestat’s guts with the fire of a thousand suns, and it’s reciprocal. He began to understand the striking dissimilarities between the two of them, where a sensitive and melancholic Louis's way of understanding his new existence was too much for the reckless and egotistical Lestat. According to him, once someone undergoes the change, his humanity would slowly diminish, resulting in an entirely cold, cunning creature whose sole purpose is to manipulate and hunt for food — which is not the case with Louis. He stubbornly maintains his sense of humanity, questioning the legitimacy of his newfound impulses rather than embracing them without thought, and fancies himself with endless questions about their origin and meaning, which Lestat has no capacity to answer. To some extent, Louis realizes these discrepancies between his human and vampire self. (“I realized I had no real fear. It was a strange realization … And now I realized as I protested to Lestat, I did not actually feel this anymore. I was simply remembering it. Hanging on to it from habit, from a deficiency of ability to recognize my present and exhilarating freedom,”) but he couldn’t completely abandon his empathy for bloodthirst, and thus, reluctant to take life. This, in turn, frustrates Lestat immensely, as he couldn’t wrap himself around Louis’s apathetic and recalcitrant stance, which was quite the opposite of him, who relished and delighted in the thought of abandoning his inferior self and having the superior privilege to exhibit a complete lack of concern for others with blatant disregard. Louis understood this completely. Vampirism, for Lestat, is revenge (“Revenge against life itself. Every time he took a life, it was revenge. It was no wonder, then, that he appreciated nothing”). Much like an extremely mismatched couple of abusive man and his insecure counterpart trying to save a failing marriage, Lestat sorted to employ Claudia into their make-believe, dysfunctional family so that Louis wouldn’t think of leaving him, as he knew Louis was completely smitten with the little girl. Great job, Lestat, for you has ensnared me in this unwanted marriage as well. Claudia herself was one hell of a character. Born into vampirism at the premature age of 5, where one couldn’t draw a line between what’s right or wrong nor have any sense of humanity to influence her view of life, she was put into an even more fragile and vulnerable position than Louis ever was. He, at least, was given a sort of consent to his life choices (even if the power dynamic heavily favored Lestat), unlike Claudia, who was manipulated and trapped into becoming one. She was robbed of her agency, forever confined to her childlike stature even as her mind matured, which rendered her always reliant on others (“Yes, that shape, I might have known what it was to walk at your side. Monsters! To give me immortality in this hopeless guise, this helpless form!”). This is precisely why she despised both her fathers; Louis, who consumed her first, and Lestat, who finished the work. However, as it was Lestat’s blood that gave her life, Louis was partially disavowed and exempted from his sins, and Claudia was able to genuinely love him, however complicated her emotions were (“I love you still, that's the torment of it. Lestat I never loved. But you! The measure of my hatred is that love. They are the same! Do you know now how much I hate you!”). When they reached Paris, she decided to transform Madeleine, as a way to live both vicariously through and beside her, to relieve some burden of her interdependence. When the options are either that or death, Louis has no choice but to abide by her demands. Ultimately, this book has revolutionized the portrayal of vampires in literature. Where they were once depicted as repulsive, revolting monsters responsible for countless horrendous murders, they now possess an enticing charm and engage in sensual, seductive (yet nonetheless deadly) acts. Previously viewed as mindless abominations, they now exhibit complexity that prompts further discussion about their nature and character. The story portrays them as individuals whose experiences evoke sympathy, despite their reprehensible behavior. Louis embodies a reflective nature, a penchant for deep thought, and a thirst for knowledge and beauty—qualities I can relate to to some extent. While I sympathize with his predicament of being created by Lestat, who proved to be a dreadful mentor, Louis's constant brooding eventually became overwhelming. He seemed perpetually entrenched in negativity and suffering, despite expressing a desire to embrace the wonders of his new vampire existence, which he never seemed to achieve. Towards the end, he, once the most connected to his humanity, became even more detached and numb than Lestat or Armand. Yet, given the circumstances—being transformed into a monster, despising his nature, enduring emotional abuse and manipulation, losing his beloved, and enduring centuries of existence—it's not surprising. In such circumstances, any of us might undergo a similar transformation. Therefore, while I don't harbor dislike for him, I can't help but feel profound sadness for his plight, which is the same for any of the characters in this book. Through the characters of Louis, Lestat, and Claudia, Anne Rice invites readers to question the nature of humanity and the consequences of immortality. While the story may be dark and unsettling, it ultimately serves as a powerful meditation on the human condition and the eternal struggle between light and darkness.

In a darkened room a young man sits telling the macabre and eerie story of his life - the story of a vampire, gifted with eternal life, cursed with an exquisite craving for human blood. Anne Rice's compulsively readable novel is arguably the most celebrated work of vampire fiction since Bram Stoker's Dracula was published in 1897. As the Washington Post said on its first publication, it is a 'thrilling, strikingly original work of the imagination . . . sometimes horrible, sometimes beautiful, always unforgettable'.

Interview with the Vampire

Josephine Cammarano

Nikki Pease

it helps to picture jacob anderson and the rest of the amc cast well i finally read it. i’m sure my dad would be rolling his eyes that it took amc’s show to make me do it, but secretly happy i finally did as he asked me to years ago. i’m still sad he can’t experience it with me but it’s cool it’s cool, he lives on in my heart and im sure there’s a metaphor in there somewhere about those who love us never truly leaving us. as for the book itself, i did really enjoy it, more so toward the end when louis starts to gets his head out of his ass. i dislike some of the language used regarding how he spoke of claudia and other women, but it seems that was also a part of his inner conflict, whether to treat her like a child or a woman. claudia is one of the most interesting characters in fiction i think. each iteration of her is so complex and makes you question so much about death and womanhood. it makes me sad for anne’s loss but from what i understand she found god at the end so hopefully they found each other in the afterlife. 🤷🏻‍♀️ rambling but of course i miss my dad and i wish i believed in an afterlife sometimes. onto the vampire lestat ❤️

Cara Stegemann

** need to add quotes to Notebook. ** (Please note that my reviews are intended to be notes to myself - my memory is failing, and I need reminders about books I want to reread and books I didn’t finish. My reviews are not intended to be particularly useful for other readers.)

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Anne Rice, this sensuously written spellbinding classic remains 'the most successful vampire story since Bram Stoker's Dracula' (The Times) In a darkened room a young man sits telling the macabre and eerie story of his life - the story of a vampire, gifted with eternal life, cursed with an exquisite craving for human blood. Anne Rice's compulsively readable novel is arguably the most celebrated work of vampire fiction since Bram Stoker's Dracula was published in 1897. When Interview with the Vampire was originally published the Washington Post said it was: called Interview with the Vampire a 'thrilling, strikingly original work of the imagination . . . sometimes horrible, sometimes beautiful, always unforgettable'. Now, more than forty years since its release, Anne Rice's masterpiece is more beloved than ever.

Number 1 in series

Interview With The Vampire

Anne Rice é muito rica nos detalhes, no storytelling, em te fazer estar ali com os personagens. O Louis chega a ser insuportável as vezes, com a sua melancolia sem fim. Gostei de ler o livro, finalmente, e ver as diferenças dele para a adaptação do filme, tem algumas grandes diferenças. Ambas as obras são incriveis!

Denis Crepaldi

Ah, Louis. The immortal wet sock. The OG energy vampire. 

Karla

Unsure about the rating, but this was SUCH A TRIIIP, thanks Cass for making so curious for so long that I finally gave in

Annabella

Ok I was promised sad gay vampires and I got that but I got way more weird underage plot than I bargained for?

Bowie 

I liked this, i think a lot of the concepts around vampirism it brings up are very compelling and i can see its fingerprints in almost every other modern vampire story. no spoilers but the idea that the world is not overpopulated with vampires because they kill themselves after a while of not being able to keep up with changing times is so real

fris🐝

Clarice Lispector

Este romance começa com um jovem repórter entrevistando Louis de Pointe du Lac, nascido em 1766 e transformado em vampiro por Lestat. Luis conta sua história aos ouvidos atentos do repórter, revelando segredos do mundo dos vampiros.

Entrevista com o vampiro

This book is really a door opening. I was already interested in the topic of vampirism and its metaphors for other subjects in life, and Interview with the Vampire fullfilled all those thought wandering through my mind. 

The characters have such depht that not only the fact the story is told through an interview roots the whole plot in something close to reality. These people feel real at the same time that they reach the post of iconic. There's not one character more likely to represent goth, rich, vampires than Lestat.

The relationship between him and Louis carries such weight throughout every minimal action later on the book that you feel how immortality carries on on the perspective of the character of the happenings of their non-life.

Everything is so dramatic and memorable even though there are jumps in time, the way Louis carry on the story doesn't leave the reader left out, even when there are topics you wish were more detailed, or told from another perspective (hence the necessity for the other books, which I will be going after).

It is an awesome read and it definitely spurred on my excitement about halloween in this time of the year.

soir

This book is really a door opening. I was already interested in the topic of vampirism and its metaphors for other subjects in life, and Interview with the Vampire fullfilled all those thought wandering through my mind. 

The characters have such depht that not only the fact the story is told through an interview roots the whole plot in something close to reality. These people feel real at the same time that they reach the post of iconic. There's not one character more likely to represent goth, rich, vampires than Lestat.

The relationship between him and Louis carries such weight throughout every minimal action later on the book that you feel how immortality carries on on the perspective of the character of the happenings of their non-life.

Everything is so dramatic and memorable even though there are jumps in time, the way Louis carry on the story doesn't leave the reader left out, even when there are topics you wish were more detailed, or told from another perspective (hence the necessity for the other books, which I will be going after).

It is an awesome read and it definitely spurred on my excitement about halloween in this time of the year.

Started off in physical form and had to change to audio bc of time. But this book? I get why they say it has a Gothic Vampire sense to it. I loved this book and I think I will be reading the rest of the series bc I need answers. 

Also known as the gayest Gothic Vampire book without being the gayest Gothic Vampire book you'll read. 

Tsu 💙

Started off in physical form and had to change to audio bc of time. But this book? I get why they say it has a Gothic Vampire sense to it. I loved this book and I think I will be reading the rest of the series bc I need answers. 

Also known as the gayest Gothic Vampire book without being the gayest Gothic Vampire book you'll read. 

A contemplative read. Certainly a philosophical look at life (including the end of life, of course) and what it means to be alive. Rice does a wonderful job of describing despair and that cold seizure that anxiety has over the body. Grief is hard to deal with, I understand why she wrote and wrote and wrote. 

Kiersten

An Odyssey of Grief that explores life and its beauty through the lens of death. Rice’s prose easily suck you into Louis’ mind and feel his immense emotions 

Florence

venus

** spoiler alert **
           gay vampire baby traps his lover… YOU WONT BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!

Molly M

not sure what i was expecting but it was not that

envee

In a darkened room a young man sits telling the macabre and eerie story of his life - the story of a vampire, gifted with eternal life, cursed with an exquisite craving for human blood.
--back cover

The First Book in the Vampire Chronicles

Filipa Carvalho

Writing down a review for this book in hopes it’ll help me figure out my feelings for it. 

Like many others that read Interview with the Vampire, I saw the movie first and definitely got into vampire stories because of Twilight (don’t worry I didn’t go into it thinking it was a ya romance). 

I really appreciated the discussions and topics in the book, like religion, morality, death, love, the passing of time and the inevitable change of the world and humans. There were some beautiful quotes there. But the book did drag for me in a lot of places. I usually love in depth descriptions and hearing the inner musings of the characters, but Louis got too in his head for his own good! 

The fact that Claudia exists as a character creeps me the hell out. Not, you know, the demonic child itself. But the sexualization of a literal 5-year-old. I don’t know about that… <spoiler>I think Louis could have questioned his morality and evil without having to kiss Claudia. He would have had the same struggles and the story could have perfectly continued if she remained as his child. Why did it have to be this weird mixture of them being parent and child but also lovers? Especially when latter we’re introduced to Armand and we’re specifically told that their love was not like that, because vampires have no need for that.</spoiler>

I’m also not sure what the conclusion to this book is supposed to be? <spoiler> Sure, not all books need to have this profound meaning, but for all the discussions it had, to end with Louis being such an apathetic character reads almost ‘we live, we suffer, we die’. For most of the book I thought it could be something like ‘we need a reason to live, be it the people we love or the art we see’, but by the end Louis has nothing but he still caries on? Sure, you could argue he's not really living anymore. Is the message one as to feel their emotions in order to live? </spoiler> Anyway... I’m rambling with myself at this point. 

Finally, Armand deserved better!<spoiler> I know he killed Claudia, but we already established my feelings for her.</spoiler> He was the character I wanted to know the most about, and I’m aware there’s an entire book about him, but I don’t think I liked this book enough to want to continue with the series.

Cody Degen

** spoiler alert **
           Mostly okay. The passage between Armand and Louis regarding the world passing by to be really thoughtful and probably what I’ll take away from the book, but the rest was just fine

Kind of predicted the very end? I said to myself "No, that would be too obvious" but then again maybe it had to happen.

This was better than I thought it was going to be - I always know when a book is having an effect on me when I read it before bed, and then get up two hours later and start doing stuff dimly aware and half asleep. I have a vague impression of trying to close all the windows in the house so vampires didn't get in early this morning/last night. (War Of The Worlds did the same thing. I got up and started to try and have a really intense conversation with my husband, only to later find out everything I was saying was gibberish)

Finished the book. Proceeded to give loud unarticulated opinions to my husband about it for 10 minutes. Trew the book across the room. I don't know.

Mae Erceg

Wow, I never pictured myself loving this book as much as the movie but I really did love it more. I saw the movie in high school and I didn’t appreciate it until I was older but now that I’ve read the book, I could care less about the movie. The characters are so brilliantly complex and well thought through, the storyline is so detailed without being stuffy, and the ending was just perfection. I will definitely be reading this series. It’s too good to miss. If I could give this 10 stars out of 5 I would. A high recommendation is not enough. READ IT.

Bri Billaney

I was very much influenced to read this series by the new show that came out in 2022. I loved the movie more than I love the books or the show, not going to lie here. It was great, but the movie just hit differently. The show is much more true to the books than the movie, but somehow the movie just... did it better.

Interview With the Vampire

Without much context (haven’t seen the movie or new series), I went into this with what I thought were realistic expectations. 

I found myself disappointed and bored, though 🥲 Mild curiosity and hype kept me from dropping it.

Emiley Jones

Without much context (haven’t seen the movie or new series), I went into this with what I thought were realistic expectations. 

I found myself disappointed and bored, though 🥲 Mild curiosity and hype kept me from dropping it.

Content warning for pedophilia. 

2.5 stars,,,closer to 2,,,

Gonna be honest I skim read the last 40% of this in maybe 20 minutes cos this book exhausted me. I started this in May and now it’s almost Christmas I just can not anymore omg.

Listen I like the characters and the story as a whole a lot but MY GOD THIS BOOK KNOWS HOW TO BORE YOU! GOING OVER EVERY SINGLE DETAIL EVERY FEELING...ITS BORING! The plot points and what happened were really interesting but man it’s the delivery...I could not sit through another page of it I just could not so I skim read the last 40%...it’s so dull and mundane yet somehow still an entertaining story? Wild honestly. I think I just hate Louis

Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire

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