Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Dracula by Bram Stoker

72 reviews

june_t_michael's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

Ich fand das Konzept "Dracula Daily" interessant und als ich mitbekommen habe, dass es dieses Jahr erneut läuft, dachte ich: Da mache ich jetzt doch mal mit. Das ist interessant.

Und ich finde, dass es ein unglaublich interessantes Experiment war. Ich habe "Dracula" in der Vergangenheit schon etliche Male gelesen, das letzte Mal allerdings ist über zehn Jahre her. Vieles habe ich vergessen. Vieles fiel mir vielleicht einfach noch nicht auf, weil ich nicht dafür sensibilisiert war oder mir nicht viel dabei dachte.

Woran ich mich überhaupt nicht mehr erinnern konnte:
- Dass im Grunde genommen die Katastrophe, die die Handlung signifikant vorantreibt, durch Sexismus verursacht wurde. 

Nachdem Mina die Drecksarbeit als Sekretärin für die ganze Crew macht, beschließen die Männer, sie von der ganzen Action auszuschließen und lassen sie die ganze Zeit allein. In der Folge kann Dracula sie ähnlich aufsuchen, wie er Lucy mehrfach aufgesucht hat und es kommt zur "Blutstaufe" Minas, infolge derer sie Dracula aufhalten müssen, ehe Mina zu einer Vampirin wird.

Dass das so thematisiert und auch kritisiert wurde, fand ich dann schon erstaunlich für ein viktorianisches Buch.
- Wie lange Lucys Verwandlung gedauert hat. 

Ich erinnerte mich noch an die Episode dessen, dass jewesen aus Naivität den Knoblauch bzw. die Knoblauchblüten aus Lucys Zimmer entfernt hat und sie darum erneut/weiterhin ausgesaugt werden konnte. Aber ich erinnerte mich nicht daran, wie viele Transfusionen sie bekommen hat oder daran, dass im Laufe der Handlung ihre Mutter stirbt und dies unmittelbar mit Draculas Eindringen zu tun hat.

- Wie lange im Allgemeinen die ganze Lucy-Handlung gedauert hat.
- Wie unfassbar viele Ismen das Buch enthält. Mal eben dahingeworfene rassistische Vorstellungen, das Propagieren von Eugenik durch Van Helsing. Wann immer Mina gelobt wird, passiert dies in Form von "not like other girls" - seltsamen Vergleichnissen von einem männlichen Gehirn in einem weiblichen Körper (Transfeindlichkeit, anyone?) Und Gadje-Rassismus. Wenn ich nun außerdem an einen Artikel in der Jüdischen Allgemeinen über den Roman denke und mich an die Stelle erinnere, an der Dracula mit einem Beutel voller Gold durch die Gegend springt... Autsch.

Ich will nicht sagen, dass ich überhaupt keinen Spaß hatte. Das Konzept eines Romans ausschließlich aus zusammengetragenen Medien (Zeitungsartikel, Tagebücher, Briefe, Telegramme) finde ich immer noch charmant und es wäre was, das ich selbst mal ausprobieren könnte.
Die diversen englischen Dialekte, wenn auch teilweise mühsam zu lesen, fand ich interessant eingebunden und es ist ein sehr ... globalsiiertes Buch? Eine wichtige Nebenfigur ist ein Amerikaner, Van Helsing kommt extra aus Amsterdam und Sewart ist sein Schüler. Jonathan macht eine Dienstreise nach Transsilvanien, was aus England heraus zumindest gefühlt eine halbe Weltreise ist. Aber ähnlich wie in anderen Romanen aus dieser Epoche hirschen die Figuren durch die halbe Welt und das ist gefühlt sogar normaler als es für uns wäre.

Und auch sonst ist es historisch interessant, ein so altes Buch über ein so zeitlos gewordenes Thema wie "Vampirismus" zu lesen.
Aber meine Güte, ist das schlecht gealtert ^^

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Ableism, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Medical content, and Misogyny

Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism

Minor: Antisemitism and Rape

spookfish's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

While reading along with the dates had some downsides (pacing, forgetting some of the story from earlier), I really think it helped to build up the atmosphere and anticipation for me. From May~November I've had little passages to read, and each day that I had in my calendar was an absolute joy.
Despite its sexism by today's standards, our main two, Mina and Jonathan, are decidedly queer characters. Mina in particular fascinates me.
Time to watch many video essays haha.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Confinement, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, and Death

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Death of parent, Gore, Child death, Misogyny, and Sexism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, War, Antisemitism, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, and Racial slurs

midnightcomets's review against another edition

dark inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Reading this and listening to Re: Dracula has been a wonderful experience that I would recommend to people who find the writing of classics tedious. There were some points where the plot was a bit slower than I wanted it to be, and sometimes that could make me lose my spark a bit. However, I totally understand why it became such a phenomenon for the people of its era, and why it scared them so much. I will definitely reread this at some point!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Racism, Religious bigotry, Ableism, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Suicidal thoughts

peggy_racham's review against another edition

3.0

I expected more fighting and gore in this book. Dracula sort of vanishes from the book half way through. It has great parts, I loved Van Helsing, Mina, Lucy. Loved watching them figure out what's going on. But the ending falls flat for me

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Gore, and Racial slurs

parenthesis_enjoyer's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

a fantastic full-cast reading of Dracula. beautiful!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Murder

Moderate: Misogyny, Animal death, Racial slurs, and Sexism

Minor: Xenophobia, Classism, and Racism

the G-word is used in relation to Romani people

damiscous's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

Amazing! Admittedly, it did take me years after buying the book to actually read more than halfway and then months to commit to fully reading, but that is no fault to this classic novel. I didn't expect to enjoy it so much as I often struggle with long reads, but the narratives, imagery, and plot really pulled through. The book would've been much better if I had no prior knowledge of vampire lore, and some of the characters can be a bit stagnant, but Stoker uses his devices to deliver a chilling villain, enjoyable characters, and curious talking points to supply readers with various lenses in which to analyze and interpret this particular work. This book has definitely earned it's spot on my bookshelf and has helped reignite my interest in reading, classic novels, and horror.

However, it is important to be mindful that the work was originally published in 1897. That being said , this work does contain "weak" women, some misogynistic ideals, and ideas of the time. The characters are, for the most part, enjoyable, and there's a splash of romance that does, of course, read in the devotedly sexist fashion of the 1800s, but, hey, they do give a woman a gun, so that's nice. The book is long and can be wordy, as most older books can be, but overall, a wonderful, chilling, classic work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Misogyny

Minor: Racial slurs and Suicidal thoughts

armand's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

sophtanda's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Racism, Racial slurs, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Mental illness, Gun violence, and Misogyny

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

paularize's review against another edition

4.0

going to miss the mails of my good friend jonathan harker and his besties

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Confinement, and Blood

Moderate: Xenophobia and Racial slurs

foxclcves's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Death, Xenophobia, Murder, Racism, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Racial slurs, and Blood

Minor: Sexism, Stalking, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Body horror, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Child abuse, and Forced institutionalization