When I was a little, little girl I often watched vampire shows and movies on television with my mom. This was, of course, in addition to our ghost and alien favorites. I was a sci-fi nerd in training, if you will. We watched many episodes of Dark Shadows and you could definitely find us on the couch on weeknights watching Mulder and Scully crush some alien bad guys on the X-Files. We were quite excited, then, when the movie Interview with a Vampire came out in 1994. I was about 10, mind you, and I could not tell you to this day if I ever saw more than a moment or two - blood, gore, and sex are often associated with vampires and this movie did not lack those. Toss in a little 90s hunkage (Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise anyone?) and 10 year-old Robyn was probably in a bit over her head.
Logistically, I felt the "interview" part of this novel was a waste. Louis's story was interesting and Rice told the story from his point of view. When reading the sections where Louis spends time with the student interviewing him, I found myself wishing to skip up to the next section. It was unnecessary.
Needless to say, as an adult reading Anne Rice's novel I was mature enough to understand the confusion Louis felt in a very different way than I did if I did happen to see the movie as a lass - Did he love humans? Did he want to destroy them? Why was he always questioning who he was? What was the deal with Claudia? She was a child but he loved her... or did he? I felt drawn to his confusion, his ordeal. Anyone of us, even those of us who are not vampires, can find ourselves lost in situations we never imagined ourselves in. How did I get here... ? we might think... Do I deserve such pain, such suffering? Louis was a character I will not soon forget - like an old friend who stops calling me for coffee dates because he is in a great deal of pain.
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