Interview with the Vampire is unlike any book I have read before. It is dark, and fully embraces it, creating a chilling, yet strangely captivating atmosphere. It has managed to bring out visceral, strong emotions from me, the various actions and thoughts of the characters profoundly affecting me. The vampire I like the most at this point is Louis, as he is not only very sympathetic, but it is very clear he does not stoop to the deepest depths of depravity like Lestat, and I respect that. In books or movies or any other similar piece of media, I usually feel more certain about the outcome if it is framed as narration, but with this book, despite this style, I do not have the foggiest clue how things will progress leading up to the “present”; I find that both intriguing and foreboding. While I don’t usually pay attention to the potential symbolism or motifs, I still find this book very well written. When reading about Lestat’s various horrendous actions and musing, I feel both impressed by Rice’s talent in conveying his lapse in sanity though also concerned how she managed to portray him so well.
Interview with the Vampire poses some complex questions of morality that one can not really explore in the realms of humanity. They can only be explored within the context of vampirism. Often, I have found the situations that these questions come up so to speak in the story both appalling and often require me to step away. Unsurprisingly, these situations often include Lestat, who remains an enigma to us, with the only assured things being that he is hedonistic, sadistic, psychopathic, and petulant. As I read, more of these complexities come up with Claudia, who is described to be physically a beautiful five year old, but her personality and tendencies are something completely different, giving an extra uncanny feeling whenever passages are dedicated to her. All in all, while this book is truly intriguing and rich in complexities, I do not see it as a book that I would have read if it had not been an assigned reading book.
Working from home is somehow both less stressful and more stressful than going to school as usual. Some of the less stressful points are that I don’t have to wake up so early each day; don’t have to deal with the commute to and from school; can technically work at my own pace; can eat snacks whenever I want; and can wear casual clothes all day. On the other hand, due to the quarantine I have been going a little stir crazy, plus it is difficult to do classwork to its fullest when I can not interact with my teachers and classmates in person. Nevertheless, I am making the best of these circumstances, and I feel like I have more or less acclimated to them. Overall, I feel more satisfied with my control and new ease in my school days, yet still a bit thrown off and stressed by the lack of structure.
In these crazy times we are living in, simply going by people’s reactions, I feel like I am learning a lot of what people really are like. I have learned that in spite of what we have been led to believe, there are many people from all walks of life that will step up to do the right thing, whether through donations, moral support, services, or aid. In addition, pandemic has blown socio-economic problems with everything from housing to healthcare wide open for the world to see. We’re seeing how exactly societies and governments all over the globe are responding to this novel virus, learning what kind of leaders we truly have and what we need.
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