Interview with the Vampire
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Interview with the Vampire is a novel by Anne Rice written in 1973 but it was not published until 1976 by Alfred A. Knopf. It was originally a short story but as Anne Rice was writing it, it took off spinning the tragic and triumphant life experiences of a soul. The book centres on themes of immortality, loss, sexuality and power. It quickly became a cult success and has had a huge influence on present Goth culture. It was followed by several sequels, collectively known as The Vampire Chronicles.
In 1994 a succesful film version was directed by Neil Jordan. It starred Tom Cruise as Lestat, Brad Pitt as Louis, Antonio Banderas as Armand, Stephen Rea as Santiago, Christian Slater as Daniel Malloy and an 11 year old Kirsten Dunst as Claudia.
What set the novel apart from its predecessors of the vampire genre was its confessional tone offering the point-of-view of the vampire himself and touching on existential despair and the sheer boredom of lifeless immortality.
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Synopsis
In present day San Francisco, the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac tells the story of his life to a journalist. The story begins on the plantations of New Orleans where Louis is the owner of the Pointe du Lac plantation. He is bitten by the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt, turning him too into a vampire. His soul, however, survives this transformation. Over many years, Louis tries to resist Lestat's attempts to corrupt him, refusing to take human life, but eventually his vampiric hungers overtake him, and the pair become a two-man killing machine.
The one bright spot in Louis' life is the orphan Claudia, whom he and Lestat "made" and treat as a surrogate daughter. Louis fears that Lestat will corrupt her as he did him, however, and the two fight fiercely.
After living together in New Orleans for 65 years, Claudia rebels and tries to kill Lestat. Fearing Lestat's revenge, Louis and Claudia flee to Europe. In Paris they are confronted with a cult of vampires, led by the seductive, seemingly kindhearted Armand, in the Théâtre des Vampires (probably a reference to the theatre of the Grand Guignol). These vampires want to impose their way of living on Louis and Claudia. This leads to a confrontation that kills Claudia. Louis takes revenge by burning down the theatre and all the vampires inside.
Louis wanders the world aimlessly for hundreds of years, feeding on whoever is unlucky enough to trust him. Returning to New Orleans, he find Lestat, who survived Claudia's murder attempt but was horribly disfigured. Louis turns his back on his friend and foil in pity and disgust.
As Louis ends his story, the journalist, completely seduced, demands that Louis make him a vampire. Horrified, Louis refuses and flees. The journalist then seeks out Lestat, who gladly grants his wish.
See also
External links
- Anne Rice Official Site (http://annerice.com)
- Script, Images and Sound Files from the Film (http://anneke.hispeed.com/vampire/interview.html)
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- Interesting Article - Interview With The Vampire Is The Real Pornography (http://www.spectacle.org/595/vamp.html)
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