what new yorkers are reading on the subway


Sunday, June 1, 2008

Interview With a Vampire

Uptown 5 Train in Manhattan
Jessica made me think of something I hadn't thought of before: That the book she was reading, Interview With a Vampire, by Anne Rice, is a classic. And surely it must be. Rice's tetralogy (or quartet, as Durrell might write) has spawned countless editions and films, influenced teenagers who wear black lipstick, and spawned narrated bus tours in New Orleans (which I have taken). Does such fanfare make a novel a classic? Would a university professor teach the book in a class of 20th Century American classics (the book was first published in 1976)? Perhaps there is something called a subway classic, and if so, Interview With a Vampire must be considered as one. The story, Jessica reminded me, revolves around a guy who interviews people about what they do and he interviews a vampire. Jessica, who is in marketing and event planning, was told by her boss to read the book. "She said it drags a bit in places but so far, I like it."

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