Featured Book: The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova

Sara Trucksess

2010’s novel, The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova, reimagines the hallowed marble halls of Washington’s National Gallery of Art as the scene of an unlikely art crime. While the real NGA has, of course, been plagued by a few real-life incidents over the years, including actual attacks on paintings, the knife-wielding moment imagined in this novel is just that: a fictional moment inflicted upon a fictional painting. But Kostova is an excellent storyteller, delving deep into each character’s psyche and causing the reader to remind himself at every turn that this is, in fact, “just” a great novel.
The novel is narrated by a likable artist turned psychiatrist who becomes so impassioned by his client’s story that he makes both ethically and professionally questionable decisions in order to uncover the darkest secrets of his patient’s mind. We find ourselves amidst the crumbling shambles of imaginary painter Robert Oliver’s life. A brilliant artist with undiagnosed mental health issues, …