Imagine living forever and hating yourself and the companions bound to you for alleternity. This is the problem Louis faces in Anne Rice's Interview with theVampire.

The story begins in San Francisco, where a boy awaits aninterview with someone who is other worldly. The vampire enters and begins hisstory as the boy listens in awe. He opens by explaining he was grieving the lossof his brother and had sunk into a dark world of drinking and womanizing. Hisreal problem, however, did not begin until he met Lestat, a vampire. Louis takesLestat's offer to become one of the immortal, thinking it will end his suffering.Only later does he realize that becoming a "creature of the night" isworse than being one of the living.

Louis hates taking others' lives tosurvive, but Lestat keeps telling him to forget about that dark aspect. They rompthrough the nights of eighteenth century New Orleans for years until Louis givesinto his blood lust and feeds on an orphan girl. They make her into the hauntingvampire-child Claudia, and this is when the story picks up. The three traveltogether until Claudia, driven mad by her eternal youth, splits from the trio.

The plot itself is amazing, but this is not what makes the story soenthralling. For the first time in modern literature, a book tells an in-depthstory of a vampire. You feel bad for Claudia, Louis, and to a lesser extent,Lestat, even though they murder. It is disturbing, but you do not see them asmonsters, only people with tormented souls trying to survive.

Anne Ricemakes her characters likable and, for the first time since Mary Shelley'sFrankenstein, people feel for the bad guy. It is easy to dislike Dracula, butmuch harder with Louis. Rice also has an amazing ability of description. TheTransylvanian countryside, Paris, and especially New Orleans all make you feellike you are walking alongside the characters. The trio's posh lifestyle isdescribed extensively too. The fabrics of clothes, the china, furniture, and evenwallpaper are given meticulous detail to allow the reader to visualize the richworld Anne Rice has dreamt up.

Rice also conveys emotion magnificently.There are times when you hate the main characters, and others when you want tocry for Louis and Claudia.

This is my favorite book. The first time Iread it, I put it down only after falling asleep late at night. It is anaddictive page-turner, and offers more surprises than one would think. Irecommend this book to anyone who loves fiction rich in detail and emotion. Areader will become attached and not able to put it down.