I'm shocked by the range of reviews for this book. It's really quite entertaining and well written too. As a Balkan historian, I am impressed with the girth and accuracy of the history woven throughout The Historian. It is indeed biased to a western perspective but regardless one must remember that this book is a novel, ie for entertainment purposes first and foremost. I was entranced by Kostova from page one and was very sad to finish. I hope she writes much more!

I'm not sure why so many reviewers have complained about the page length. The point isn't to see how many novels one can read and how quickly. Novels are simply for entertainment and the longer the better! If a book isn't entertaining then put it down and get something else-- there's plenty to choose from, don't waste your leisure time. Why read an entire novel and be displeased with it?