Written by: Anne Rice
First published: Alfred A. Knopf, 1976, 338 pages

The modern vampire craze, fueled largely by Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” books and films, casts the creatures in an exceedingly sympathetic light. The vampires of today’s fiction are glamorous, sexy, even heroic, as embodied by Robert Pattinson’s portrayal of Edward Cullen, the teen-vamp heartthrob of “Twilight.”

This is by no means a new take on the mythos. In fact, the groundwork for Edward Cullen was laid more than 35 years ago with Louis de Pointe du Lac, the protagonist of Anne Rice’s classic 1976 novel, “Interview with the Vampire.”

Like Edward, Louis is sensitive and pensive. And, for much of his centuries-long existence, he refuses to feed on humans like all the other fanged demons. He remains attached to humanity long after his own blood goes cold.

But, thankfully, the similarities end there. Unlike Edward, Louis does eventually sink his teeth into human necks—thousands of them, in fact.

That Louis never fully accepts his predatory nature and feels continual remorse for his victims is what makes Rice’s book so interesting. For although the novel is filled with blatant eroticism (and homoeroticism), and although there are buckets of blood and gore, this isn’t really a story of romance or horror. Instead, Rice uses vampires as a vehicle to explore deep, philosophical questions about human nature, life and death, good and evil, investigating each in graphic color (namely, red).

Prior to his metamorphosis into a nocturnal bloodsucker, Louis was a wealthy plantation owner in late 18th-century New Orleans. Distraught over the death of his beloved brother, he becomes a suicidal, fist-fighting drunkard whose nightly flirtations with death culminate in an unprovoked vampire attack one fateful evening. That vampire, named Lestat, accosts Louis again a few nights later and completes his transformation. The two become platonic partners who live together on Louis’ plantation, sleeping in coffins by day and hunting for blood meals by night.

Lestat is an elegant and deceptively charming creature who toys with his prey before draining them of blood. But Louis, at first, cannot bring himself to kill a human, instead feeding on rodents and other animals.

His charitable streak ends one night when, driven by desperate hunger, he bites a cherubic little orphan girl named Claudia. She, too, becomes an immortal vampire, trapped forever in the body of a seraphic child. Louis, feeling responsible for this unholy aberration, becomes her devoted protector.

Claudia takes to vampirism with vigor, but as her mind grows keener, she becomes increasingly frustrated with her infantile body. Curious about their origins, and feuding bitterly with Lestat, Claudia and Louis travel to Europe, where vampires are rumored to have prowled the streets for centuries. At a theater in Paris, they discover a mysterious cult of the undead, led by the 400-year-old Armand, whose spellbinding power has a profound effect on them both.

Louis recounts his lurid life story for a young reporter, referred to simply as “the boy.” Rice’s narrative is technically third-person, although whole chapters pass in the form of lengthy, first-person monologues.

Louis is one of the most compelling vampires of 20th century literature. As he searches for the meaning of his existence, he ponders lofty questions about humanity, religion and mortality, and is continually frustrated by his lack of answers.

During a conversation with Armand, the two debate whether good and evil are black and white, or if there are gradations of each. Does a single sin make a person evil? If not, how many sins does it take to earn damnation?

There’s also an intriguing dynamic between Louis and Lestat. The latter seems perfectly comfortable with his vampire instincts and thinks Louis is a fool for resisting his own. Their quarrel raises questions about whether a person has the ability to change his own nature. And even if he can, should he? Or should he indulge the irrepressible impulses that are so fundamental to his being?

Like with so many interpretations of vampire mythology, the book is rife with sexual imagery. Although Rice’s vampires are utterly uninterested in sex, the exchange of bodily fluids that occurs with each feeding is unabashedly carnal. And the relationships between Louis and all three of his coconspirators—Lestat, Claudia and Armand—are layered with sexual tension. For example, during his first night as a vampire, Louis and Lestat (played by Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise in the 1994 film adaptation) sleep on top of each other, face to face, in the same small coffin. Talk about homoerotic.  

“Interview with the Vampire” is the first novel in Rice’s 10-book series, “The Vampire Chronicles.” Whether you’re a horror buff or not, it’s quality reading. Rice builds her plots and characters slowly and meticulously, offering content that is both intellectual and edgy. She’s a killer writer.