You probably mean @vraik!
I’ve been following Vrai Kaiser for awhile now, but never reached out… Because of your ask, I finally did so tonight and we chatted a bit tonight! ^_____^
I’ve read some of their IWTV analysis here, and over on their blog, Fashionable Tinfoil accessories. Here’s the tumblr masterpost of their IWTV review.
One of the things we talked about tonight is that different ppl engage with fandom in different ways. Some ppl engage with canon by making fanart, fanfic, cosplays, etc., some ppl do it by examining the text, considering it on its own and also re: the cultural impact it has on its readers.
Vrai presents some intriguing opinions with a really good sense of humor in their writing style, and they have great pics from various sources (w/ fun captions!) to break up the text, definitely worth checking them out ;D
[^X one of my memes, it’s Neil Jordan, certified vampire therapist]
Reading through Vrai’s reviews, this was something I grabbed onto and I really like it, re: Louis as an unreliable narrator [from The Consulting Analyst – Interview with the Vampire (Part 2)]:
I know I keep coming back to the fact that Louis lies and leaves things out of his story above and beyond his own ignorance of others, but it’s a crucial thing to return to in parsing out some manner of “truth” from the events we’re being told about. Between this account and Lestat’s own bitterness-tinged declaration that follows is an actuality, and the ambiguity of what defines that “truth” is very much at the heart of what allows these books to survive from one generation to the next. Even as parts become antiquated, you can always read a truth behind the bluster that speaks to you in a way Anne’s writing wasn’t able to cover. The ideas of these outsiders outlive the frame.
For a final touch on the subject, here’s an important moment from a little bit earlier.
“But you mustn’t be afraid to ask me anything. If I held something too close…” And when the vampire said this his face darkened for an instant. He frowned, and as his brows drew together a small well appeared in the flesh of his forehead over his left brow, as though someone had pressed it with a finger. It gave him a peculiar look of deep distress. “If I held something too close for you to ask about it, I would not bring it up in the first place,” he said.
So Louis as good as admits that he’s hiding things. It’s our job as readers, from here, to suss out where those lines get drawn.
