THE SWAN THIEVES by Elizabeth Kostova

THE SWAN THIEVES

by

Elizabeth Kostova

            Renowned painter Robert Oliver was arrested after he pulled out a pocket knife in the National Gallery, lunged to slash a painting hanging on the gallery wall, and assaulted the security guard who prevented his attack from succeeding. Oliver ended up in a psychiatric facility under the care of Dr. Andrew Marlow, a psychiatrist who himself is a painter.

            Other than a few initial words, Oliver paints but does not speak, forcing Dr. Marlow to become creative in his attempt to help Oliver. Through Dr. Marlow’s detective work, Robert Oliver’s backstory is revealed to us. From some old French letters with which Oliver is obsessed, we also learn about the life of Beatrice de Clerval, a 19^th century young French woman who was a gifted painter working at the time of the great Impressionists. How do the pieces of Oliver’s life fit together? Who is the mysterious woman Oliver paints over and over? What would drive this artistic genius to such a drastic act? As Marlow unravels the threads, past and present collide.

            I listened to The Swan Thieves on audiobook after listening to, and enjoying, the audiobook of Kostova’s first book, The Historian. Both audio recordings were done with “casts”, rather than one reader, which I enjoyed. The chapter names in The Swan Thieves, which identified which character was narrating, felt redundant on the audio, but undoubtedly would make sense on a true reading of the book.

            I absolutely loved The Swan Thieves. It is an engaging book that immerses you in the world of art, immerses you in Robert Oliver’s world – his work, his women, his world, his illness. We are treated to a picture of the artist. We are also immersed in Marlow’s world and are treated to the picture of another artist.

            I had expected twists and turns like those found in The Historian, but The Swan Thieves did not go there (which I found to be quite refreshing). Nonetheless, I found the book to have a very satisfying ending.

            Despite the passage of time since I finished this book, just thinking about it is enough to start me gravitating once again to Robert Oliver’s bright life and genius. This book is definitely one of my favorites.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED