3 out of 4 stars
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It’s Hard to be a Vampire by Viktoria Faust is a collection of short stories. In this book, the ‘Croatian Queen of horror queen’ teleports the reader to a dark and twisted world of morbidity.
The book consists of nine short stories namely, It’s Hard to be a Vampire, The Gallery of Horrors, The Painting Strikes Back, Do Vampires Dream of Slaughtered Sheep?, Narcissus, Quietly They Rise From The Fog, Behind the Door, The Invisible Ink, and The Bloody Useless Bloodless Body.
I found It’s Hard to be a Vampire the most different out of all the stories. Though it had it’s fair share of morbidity, it was a touch lighter in tone than the others. In fact, I found it somewhat funny. It tells the tale of an obese girl named Sandra. Sandra loses her weight just to become a vampire. However, things does not pan out. She understands that it is truly hard to be a vampire. So she decides “to remain true to her first and only love: a full fridge.” However, that doesn't work out as well.
The Gallery of Horrors, and The Painting Strikes Back are two interrelated stories. The former revolves around a cynic painter named, Jan Turner. He believed that only God and painters “can make life in death.” His paintings were twisted and gory. Quite naturally, he was shunned by everyone. One night, everything changed. He not only became the wielder of the cursed brush, but also a renowned artist. However, the question remains, at what cost? The Painting Strikes Back focuses on vengeance. Here, a painting of Jan’s wife becomes the focal point. To tell the truth, I found these two stories to be the most morbid. Here, the relationship between the painter and his paintings truly reached new proportions.
Do Vampires Dream of Slaughtered Sheep? is a story of a vampire hunter who identifies more with the vampires he kills. This makes him crazed, and long for an avenue of escape. Narcissus deals with an extreme form of self love, and the destruction it havocs. Quietly They Rise From The Fog is the story of a never-ending city, a mystical fog, and a bridge. It is the story of a man who lost his loved ones, and longs to get lost himself. Behind the Door is a story that deals with fear. It depicts a fight between humans, and some inhuman species, who feeds on fear. The thing that I found most unique in the story was that it is written from the point of view of a person belonging to the inhuman species. The reader can’t help but sympathise with the monster. This makes the ending all the more scary. I found all four of these stories a tad abstract in nature. This made them more appealing.
The Invisible Ink, and The Bloody Useless Bloodless Body both deals with writers. The Invisible Ink focuses on the life of Hana, a compulsive writer. Written from the perspective of Hana's sister, it obliges the reader to think about the unwritten characters. The Bloody Useless Bloodless Body depicts the story of a cynical author and his fan. It tells the story of Andy Novak, a popular novelist who was famous for his vampire novels. Andy did not have a nice opinion about his fellow human beings. His stories showcased his views. Consequently, he had both fans and haters. Andy did not care about any of them. This very attitude became the cause of his downfall. Both The Invisible Ink, and The Bloody Useless Bloodless Body left an indelible mark on me. I found both these stories to be the most thought-provoking.
Overall, I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. The writing style was good, and the words flowed effortlessly. Viktoria Faust truly did a magnificent job at creating a dark milieu apt for her stories. Though, I have to mention that I found the stories to be more thought-provoking than scary. Also, I found a few errors in the book. However, that did not detract much from my reading experience.
Keeping in mind the pros and cons, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I recommend this book to anyone with a penchant for vampires, and all things morbid. However, I feel that younger children should steer clear of it due to its morbid tone. All in all, It’s Hard to be a Vampire is a perfect read for Halloween.
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It's Hard to Be a Vampire
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