This biography of the Countess Bathory was a fantastic novel, a wonderful first person description of a descent into madness. At first, I wondered why the book was skipping over the deaths - then I realized they were being skipped over because in her eyes they were barely worth mentioning - and then as she descended into madness, it all started to come into focus - she was laying blame, her mind poisoned, her status as narrator became more and more unreliable, and, in the end, the book told the tale exactly as it should have been told. It is well-written and quite effective. I have always found Elizabeth Bathory to be fascinating and was quite excited to find this book. Honestly, it started out well, and I was thoroughly enjoying it, however, I felt it lost steam about 75 pages in. I kept forgetting I was reading about Elizabeth Bathory, the blood countess. I feel that the author kept skirting over the atrocious crimes the countess was said to committed; I felt she was trying to make her into a relatable, understandable character. It was a struggle to finish this book for me. It was also a lot shorter than I would have liked. Originally it focused wonderfully on her childhood, then the beginning of her betrothal. Yet I felt after that point, it started skipping vast chunks of time. Overall, while the writing style was great, the story and flow was definitely not for me.
What do You think about La Contessa Nera (2010)?
Interesting. Not a great novel, but the historical perspective was worth the read.
—MsDiaz12
Interesting. I want to read more about Countess Bathoray.
—Ginger
