Move over Anne Rice, Carlos Fuentes's new book, Vlad, brings a new vampire to the literary world. And he is nothing like Lestat, the over-the-top, rock n' roll vampire created by Rice, or even Lestat's sensitive, conscience-stricken pal, Louis. And Vlad couldn't be further from the wimpy vampires living in the forests of Washington State in the Twilight series.
The book, actually more of a novella, brings back a vampire that could be a cousin to Nosferatu, the infamous movie vampire of 1922. Hideous, ghoulish, utterly without a conscience--but apparently with tons of money and some new skills that Lestat never had.
If vampires are a reflection of a time and place--which the 1980s Lestat certainly was--Fuentes has created a rather horrifying view of Mexico City today. In contrast to Nosferatu who functioned in small, enclosed societies--a village, a ship--Vlad views the millions of citizens of Mexico as an enormous blood bank in which he can practice his evil ways anonymously. Fuentes, however, humanizes his story by telling it from the viewpoint of an upper-middle class married lawyer who becomes ensnared in Vlad's transition from the Old World to the Western Hemisphere.
And while on the topic of vampires, I just learned that Christian Grey, of 50 Shades of Grey, began his life as a vampire. E.L. James started writing the novel as a fan spin-off of the Twilight characters--even using their names from the book series. Twilight fans objected strenuously, so she changed a few things, including the names.
The Christian Grey in the early part of the trilogy would have been a terrific vampire for the 21st Century! A young telecom/shipbuilding gazillionaire mogul with a taste for kinky sex. ( It was Anne Rice who defined vampires as sensual but basically non-sexual). E.L. James had the opportunity to create a new kind of sexy vampire and she blew it. Alas, James turned him into a typical romance hero who goes from being a knight in shining armor with some hidden flaws to a married guy living in the 'burbs redeemed by the love of a good woman.
Then there is the Twelve where a dozen vampires run rampant in Eastern Europe during one of those old horse and saber wars. These vampires do more than suck blood. They are utterly ghoulish and their actions are described in bloody detail. I did not get far into the book before I returned it to the Pasadena Library.
So ghoulish Vlad and ghoulish Twelve seem to be the current roles that the undead are playing in literature these days. Vampires feasting on the masses are apparently the reflection of this era. I'd prefer a kinky Christian Grey vampire any day of the week.
