Reviews with content warning for Suicide - The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde / Der seltsame Fall von Dr. Jekyll und Mr. Hyde

Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde / Der seltsame Fall von Dr. Jekyll und Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

73 reviews

carolinebl's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I really enjoyed this audiobook. I had previously watched a silent film adaptation, and - like the rest of the world - I was familiar with the story. How remarkable a novel it must have been when it first came out and one was able to read it with fresh eyes! I find it very interesting the explanatory constructs that novelists of this time felt the need to employ; often one will read the plot through letters, as a retelling etc. If Stevenson was a contemporary author the perspective of the novel would have been very different, but I still enjoyed the build up - though some sections could have been shortened/lengthened accordingly. Jekyll’s dilemma still feels very apt over a century later.

Content Warnings

thequeercaseofmarius's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

“…I thus drew steadily nearer to that truth, by whose partial discovery I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one, but truly two.”

The legacy that Dr Jekyll and his alter ego, Mr Hyde, have left on the Western world is a strange one. Almost 140 years later, most people can still recognise these characters when they appear onscreen, perhaps even know of the original story they are from, and yet surprisingly few people can say that they’ve actually taken the time to read the novella. I’m here to tell you that it is absolutely worth your time to do so.

While The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde unfortunately hasn’t aged as well as some of its contemporaries, its historical value is nonetheless fascinating as it presents a unique and complex insight into the 19th century psyche. However, I did find without the historical context it’s incredibly easy to miss a lot of the story. The Penguin edition with notes by Robert Mighall phenomenally helps with this, and I couldn’t recommend this version more.

You can tell that Robert Louis Stevenson was an incredibly intelligent man, well-read on the current sciences of his time with equally impressive creativity to boot. I thoroughly enjoyed his writing style, I found it to be very vivid, moody, and even frightening at times. His use of suspense and terror as well is nothing short of remarkable, and I came to notice this more when reading the short stories I was previously unfamiliar with; The Body Snatcher and Olalla. They were great reads, I would say just as much as Jekyll and Hyde was.

Content Warnings

multimindz's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark slow-paced

Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I have DID.

This is the book everyone thinks of when I mention my disorder or they discover it - and then fire/evict/threaten me?

I usually would say "People can be stupid" but this is far beyond the pale. It's sh*tty writing that confused me from start to finish. DID can change your demeanor (doesn't make you trample others, you're thinking of what people without DID do ... and then hunt for an excuse dumb people will believe), even your accent and vocal timbre - but you still have the same body and face. The more concerning people in this story are the ones without the DID, given how coldhearted they are the nanosecond someone shows any sign of mental malady. No compassion, all hate and "should have been born a better person".

Everyone, you're all aware this is a fictional story written by a guy who read the first known case of Dissociative Identity Disorder in the West (some guy in France in the 1800s was discovered to have it) in the newspaper and went "I have a crappy idea, let me share it with the world!" - and not a How-To guide on how to treat people with disorders, especially DID, right?

If anyone in the work had a shred of compassion - or, better yet, took a minute to think outside their gravely myopic egos - it would have at least been minorly better written.

The book was dreck, long story very short.

Content Warnings

james_burridge's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Had to read for English GCSE

Content Warnings

pam_simpson06's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

midnightcomets's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The biggest spoiler of the book is the one everyone knows, but I still enjoy reading gothic classics immensely, and this has an interesting conversation on the nature of good and evil and the shades of grey people are.

Content Warnings

cakrawala's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

At first, you get bored. In the midway, you'll be "GODDAMN THIS ONE IS GOOD". Lastly, you finished the book with "Ah, it could've been better."

I love this book, one of easy to read classic. The vocabularies are easier to understand compare to another classics. The writing style is also good. The only thing that annoys me was the ending, or I could say, the truth. If it's more realistic, I would give 5 stars without no doubt. A 10/10. Eventhough there's clue for the ending along the way reading, it's still surprised me.

Content Warnings