Book Review: Revisiting Anne Rice's 'The Tale of the Body Thief'

I haven't touched an Anne Rice book for twenty years now so I am very thankful to my friend Linda Chua Buan for bringing her back to my life again and relish how amazing the world she created and the creatures she conjured.

The Tale of the Body Thief puts the Vampire Lestat once again in the forefront. If you've seen The Interview with the Vampire, you will have an idea as to who the characters are in this book - Lestat (Tom Cruise), Louis (Brad Pitt) and Claudia (Kirsten Dunst).

However, there are new characters whom I encounter for the first time who play very vital roles in the book like David Talbot, Gretchen, and Marius. It would've been interesting if this book was adapted into a movie using present day actors.

It would be interesting to see who they cast into those roles, including a present-day Lestat, Louis and Claudia.

I also understand now why Anne Rice disapproved of Tom Cruise. Lestat had to be 6 feet with blonde hair and Alexander Skarsgard would've fit that bill perfectly.

Anyhow, this book introduces us to yet another type of being, which is the body thief - a person who can enter anyone's body, especially if that person is weak and can easily be suppressed.

That is basically the core of the story and the Vampire Lestat plays a very important role in that switching of bodies. It's like Tom Hanks' Big, but only this time, with vampires and body thieves.

And of course, this is no comedy. There's a lot of blood spilled and Rice writes from two points of view - Lestat as a vampire and Lestat as an ordinary human being.

She delineates both worlds very clearly and you understand the troubles that Lestat faces as he decides to become human.

I love how the story progresses as there are many twists and turns. However, I find it overly long and Rice could've chopped of 20% of the book.

I do not really enjoy philosophical musings very much and there are parts of the book which do that, and since this is not Tolstoy or Dostoevsky, I just want the action to keep moving and keep the philosophical musings to a minimum.

Otherwise, it's an exciting read, and once this virus is kaput, I will seek out Anne Rice's books in the bookstore and slowly complete her Vampire Chronicles.