This past week I read Seth Grahame-Smith’s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The
trailer for the movie adaptation coming out in June looks like such fun, and
whenever possible, I like to read the book before I see the movie. (Note: This
rule did not apply to the Lord of the
Rings trilogy. Have you tried to
read those damn books?! Sometimes it’s easier – and more entertaining – to just
watch the movie.)
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Vampire Hunter, because Graham-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was held in such high esteem, yet I
barely made it through one page before I bailed on that one. As a friend of
mine so succinctly put it, “Yeah, well, I haven’t been able to wrap my brain
around the Jane Austin version yet, so…” Despite my apprehension, though, the
epistolary-style Abraham Lincoln: Vampire
Hunter turned out to be an amusing read, as well as very thought provoking.
Of course, we all know the end of Abraham Lincoln’s story:
An evening at the theater turns into an untimely end to a great life, thanks to
the disgruntled John Wilkes Booth. So while Lincoln the vampire hunter triumphs
and prevails in many things, we all know the demise that awaits him in the end.
My big anticipation was learning how vampires fit into that ending.
While I certainly enjoyed this journey, I did feel the
ending lacked a certain punch. I guess I just expected a bit more of a creative
spin on the hows and whys of what motivated John Wilkes Booth to assassinate
Lincoln. Granted, Graham-Smith’s fictional interpretation fit the story, and
stayed as close as possible to its historical context. I was just hoping the
explanation would be a bit more involved and personal. After all, at this
point, I’m already willing to suspend disbelief and accepting that Abraham
Lincoln, one of the greatest Presidents of the United States, hunted mythical
creatures in his spare time. Doesn’t that warrant a flashy ending, something
further outside of the historical box?
That being said, there was an element of the ending that I
found to be gratifying, if a bit predictable. But I’m not a spoilers kind of
girl, so you’ll just have to get out there and read the book for yourselves,
boys and girls.
Or Google the cliff notes.
As I said before, I also found Vampire Hunter to be quite
thought provoking. I often found myself distracted with discerning which pieces
in Grahame-Smith’s fictional adaptation were actual truths. Lincoln may not
have been a vampire hunter, but even so, his actual life was no less exciting
and profound. And, frankly, a bit sad.
I found myself on Google a lot, needing to know answers to
questions like, “Did Lincoln really lose three of his four sons before they
reached adulthood?” The answer to that was yes. It is also recorded that
Lincoln suffered from bouts of depression, more often referred to back in the
day as “melancholy”. Some sources relayed this information as if it was
surprise, shocking that such a great man could feel anything less than
happiness and gratification for all he achieved. But if you lost four of your
three sons before they reached adulthood, might it be possible that all of your
hard work, all of your great achievements, might feel just slightly
bittersweet?
It’s a reminder that even the greatest of individuals, the
ones that achieved the most in their lives personally, professionally, or
socially, can be just as ordinary as the rest of us in their sorrow and pain.
