The eternal evil

Approximately ten years ago I read The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. 

It is a thriller and a gothic novel at the same time, and it weaves in the threads of the ancient European history.

Ten years ago I could not put the book down, it was so addictive and overpowering. However, when I was done with it, I searched in vain for the main message.

The book focuses on the eternal evil in the world. 

In the story, the evil takes the shape of Vlad the Impaler (Drakula), who is still around us, with us and has plans for us. The resistance against, and the victory over, the evil takes years, costs the lives of many, and extracts the last drop of dedication and strength from the main characters. But all of this struggle was lost on me. The eternal evil did not exist around me or even in my mind.

Recently, I re-read the book. Why? Finally, in my life a collided with the evil. No, it was not in the shape and form of Drakula, it was just a regular looking guy at my job, who wrecked our work community, demolished the careers of many colleagues, ousted them from their positions, and tried to do the same to me. 

I finally stared at the face of evil. A vague and depressed feeling of despair and fatality pushed me to take The Historian from the shelve and read it again.

This time, I read the book slowly. I truly enjoyed the cinematographic quality of the narrative, the tours through some of the most picturesque and some of the most obscure places in Europe. I also relived the horror of the characters, who for the first time realized that evil existed.

Finally, a message emerged.  The message was to accept that evil exists and that even when the struggle with evil is unequal and unfair, I should carry it on and defend my identity and dignity. 

Once I read that a true art elicits individual interpretations. The same book or drawing, if true art, would elicit different thoughts, emotions and associations in different people. 

The message I received from The Historian is likely to be a very personal one, but I hope that if you read the book, you will discover your own.