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Title: Trash in Silken Clothing
Review: While Codrescu's prose is clear and elegant, all those showy words can't conceal this novel's true, trashy nature. Countess Bathory is indeed an intriguing personage, but the story of her life is contorted by Codrescu's heavy-handed storyline and his unsuccessful attempts at weaving two disparate stories into one effective drama. The gratuitious sex and violence, while intended to be shocking, comes off as cheap, crude, and rather embarrassing. Those interested in the history of Countess Elizabeth Bathory should look elsewhere.
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