holiday reading - The Historian

I've just come back from 2 weeks in Ireland on holiday, and, as usual when on holiday, I've spent most of my time reading. I always find that it's a time when I can catch up, finish books that have been hanging around started but not finished, read ones that have been sitting there waiting for too long, and maybe discover some unexpected treats. I did all three, so feel very satisfied. The first thing I did was finally finish The Historian by Elisabeth Kostova. I'd started this on the recommendation of my daughter and it felt as if I'd been reading it for ever. It's certainly long, if nothing else - a kind of an amalgam of The Name of the Rose and Possession though nothing like as good as either. I've heard it mentioned as being a kind of Da Vinci Code for grownups but can't comment as I've never read the Dan Brown pageturner and don't intend to.
I have to say that I found it, not dull, as I managed to finish it, but unsatisfying and stodgy. The characters never sprang to life or leapt off the page - they were plot devices and that's all. The plot was labrynthine and, I suspect, deliberately complicated. I just about kept it together, and was determined to finish it, but I found it ultimately a dull, wearisome read.