Thursday

Book review: Dracula

Dracula- Bram Stoker
After enjoying Frankenstein so much, I made it my business to read as much classic Victorian Gothic literature as possible. I wasn't a huge fan of Jekyll and Hyde, but I was really excited about Dracula. I was obsessed with vampires when I was a teenager (pre-Twilight, thankfully, so I never went through that phase!) and I was pretty sure I'd love this.

We all know the story of Dracula: Creepy dude lives in a Transylvanian castle, sleeps in a coffin (well, a box in this case), shows no reflection, garlic aversion. It turns out he sneaks out at night to suck the blood of unsuspecting victims and turn them into vampires himself. No big surprises there. Specifically, the novel centres around a young lawyer, Jonathan Harker, and his wife, Mina as he is sent on an assignment to the aforementioned castle and finds its inhabitant, Count Dracula, embroiled in his life. 
The story is told chronologically through the diaries, letters and telegraphs of the central characters, as well as newspaper articles from the time. This was really interesting as it meant the reader gets a real understanding of each character... in theory. Actually, the characters all seemed a little two-dimensional to me. Quincey is the brave American, Dr Seward is the intelligent academic, Van Helsing is the slightly eccentric brains behind the group and Lord Godalming is... just there. The women were particularly annoying. I know there are historical cultural and societal factors to bear in mind but they are so blooming bland! Mina seemed to have some sort of guts to her, using her wit and initiative to help propel the group towards the destruction of Dracula, but she always seemed to hang back just when I thought she was going to surge forward. At least she was more interesting than Lucy though. Oh, Lucy. "Sweet, dear Lucy" with all her "loveliness" and "purity". She floats around in white, simpering and blushing. I've never so desperately wanted a character to be killed off! 

Having said all that, the story was fascinating and really drew me in. I read the first 200 pages on the journey to and from Plymouth, so I got to read a huge chunk in a couple of sittings. I'm not sure if it's a coincidence but, as soon as I got home and started reading in nightly bursts, the story began to drag and nothing much seemed to happen. Perhaps it would have been more interesting if I had read it in fewer, more prolonged sittings. I also found the ending insanely anti-climactic. Endings, for me, can make or break a book and this one left me with an overwhelming feeling of "Oh, is that it?"
This review has ended up being quite negative, which is odd as I actually really enjoyed the book. I loved the beautiful descriptions of settings, I loved the inagery, I loved the way I began doubting every character and really put me in that mindset of not knowing who to trust. I even started wondering whether Van Helsing was one of Dr Seward's asylum patients, convincing everybody to believe in his delusions. I'm very glad to have read it. Next stop: The Portrait of Dorian Gray. 

Buy Dracula here

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10 comments :

  1. I love your taste in books! I found Dracula a great book that caught from beginning to end, and I enjoyed Frankenstein as well. Currently I'm reading The Picture of Dorian Gray as well, what a coincidence ;)

    XO Imke

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    1. Haha that's so funny! What a strange coincidence!

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  2. I read this recently as well and I completely agree with what you said about the women in the book. I found it hilarious when they kept saying that Mina had the brain of a man because she was so clever and when they had to keep their plans secret from her because she was too "delicate"! I'm glad that women don't get treated like that anymore! I found that it really dragged on in the middle as well, they just weren't doing anything! Great review :)

    www.edeltherese.com

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    1. I know! I guess the times were different then though, so perhaps she was exceedingly "manly" for a woman!

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  3. Dracula is better on stage than in book. I don't usually say that, but it's the truth.


    katielikeme.com

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  4. Good review, I personally found Dracula a bit too heavy. I've studied a lot of Gothic literature at uni and if you're looking for more to read I'd definitely recommend Matthew Lewis's The Monk and Austen's Northanger Abbey (which is a parody of the gothic but still pretty interesting!).

    http://abigailalicex.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. Ooh I'll check those out. Thank you so much!

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  5. Great review, I've not read this book but my friend has & goes on & on about how much the endless amounts of description annoyed her. The story seems quite interesting & gripping though maybe I'll give it a read myself soon :)

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    1. I recommend giving it a go but be prepared for the waffle!

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