Anne Rice is most famous for writing the series “The Vampire Chronicles” with the first book being “Interview with a Vampire.” This book was her debut novel in 1976 but was based on a short story she wrote back in 1968 after her child’s death. It had mixed reactions from critics when it first came out but slowly grew in popularity as the series went on and was adapted for movies and television.
A vampire sits down with a younger reporter, simply called “boy” in the story, one night and explains his life before he became a vampire and his life since the change. The reader soon learns that the vampire, Louis de Pointe du Lac, met another vampire Lestat de Lioncourt after Louis’s brother died and the two of them connected. Lestat soon turned Louis into a vampire, but it isn’t everything Louis thought it would be. Louis becomes depressed and wants to split from Lestat. However, Lestat, upon learning about it, turns a young girl into a vampire, forcing Louis to stay and help raise her.
The story is so much more than just a vampire explaining his life, but an exploration in guilt, grief, parenthood and what it means to human. It is an interesting read as the characters slowly fall apart doing the course of the book and see the world in a new lens. It is a must read for both the vampire media fan and the enjoyer of gothic media.
