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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
I mostly listened to this one instead of reading it and I think that was the best choice I could have made as I did switch to reading at one point and I just couldn't do it. Like a lot of older writers, Stoker did his best to phonetically write down accents whenever someone didn't have a posh British accent and I have no idea how anyone can read these passages. It might be my dyslexia, but my brain just can't do it, so it was a massive relief to just be able to listen to them instead. If you also struggle with that type of thing, then I highly recommend going the audio route.
As for the actual story of the book, I found it wonderfully gripping! I didn't know if that would be the case because it's such a well known story now and I didn't know how much of the tension came from not knowing that Dracula was a vampire. The answer is almost none because a good part of the story's tension relies on the characters being in the dark while the audience knows all, so it really doesn't matter how much knowledge you bring to the table. It's still a good story, provided you don't mind older writing styles, which I don't.
I can see why this one stood the test of time and why it has inspired so many other stories. It's a wonderful read - or in my case, listen - that I will likely revisit when I need something entertaining to engage my brain while I do mundane tasks around the house.
A quick warning for modern readers: this book is a product of its time, so there's some very minor racism, a smattering of classism, a decent helping of sexism, and a heavily religious tone to the whole novel. If any or all of those things upset you, then this may not be the book for you.
As for the actual story of the book, I found it wonderfully gripping! I didn't know if that would be the case because it's such a well known story now and I didn't know how much of the tension came from not knowing that Dracula was a vampire. The answer is almost none because a good part of the story's tension relies on the characters being in the dark while the audience knows all, so it really doesn't matter how much knowledge you bring to the table. It's still a good story, provided you don't mind older writing styles, which I don't.
I can see why this one stood the test of time and why it has inspired so many other stories. It's a wonderful read - or in my case, listen - that I will likely revisit when I need something entertaining to engage my brain while I do mundane tasks around the house.
A quick warning for modern readers: this book is a product of its time, so there's some very minor racism, a smattering of classism, a decent helping of sexism, and a heavily religious tone to the whole novel. If any or all of those things upset you, then this may not be the book for you.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Re-reading it as an adult made the older language much easier to comprehend. There's a reason why it's a classic: it's fun. It's a bit slow in the middle, but the buildup to seeing Dracula and his castle and the ominous atmosphere back in England for the other characters make it a thrilling adventure.
slow-paced
4/7 Read-A-Thon book
FINALLY FINISHED! WOOOOO! This slayed. Rip Quincey you would've loved that one Pedro Pascal edit.
FINALLY FINISHED! WOOOOO! This slayed. Rip Quincey you would've loved that one Pedro Pascal edit.
A stimulating epistolary work. Romantic and clearly has driven certain themes in entertainment even today.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
slow-paced
just watch the vampire diaries. atleast the vampires are hot in it.
came for the vampires, stayed for the gothic vibes. the vampires in and of themselves aren’t really the Big Bad like a lot of pop culture portrays but more as a plot device or a metaphor of the times? i mean, the female vampires were obviously commentary on victorian repression and purity culture, and a lot of the plot had me confused as to whether stoker was trying to take a feminist or anti-feminist approach. maybe he wasn’t trying to do either!! but that was definitely the lens that i read a lot of this through considering that he repeated the word voluptuous at least 6x everytime he talked about a woman vampire and had his female characters preach about the braveness and worthiness of men at least 2x each time they switched to their own pov. it’s a product of the times, though, and i actually do think it was quite enjoyable for that. classic gallantry and honestly, beautiful representations of human relationships and love, romantic or platonic. i think my favorite portion of the book was when the audience knew that dracula was the culprit behind lucy’s illness, but the main characters (save van helsing) did not. it really added to the all-encompassing nature of him that the characters described. i think that was diluted in later parts of the book but it served it’s purpose.
read 2 reviews talking about gung ho manliness and the presence of evil being noticed because people got sexy and i feel like that really does take up a lot of the book…fun, interesting read though, it was definitely a little slow at times and maybe i just wasn’t immersed enough, but this being an epistolary novel meant that sometimes i would imagine shit happening and the characters taking their time to sit down and write about it and then i got taken out of it
read 2 reviews talking about gung ho manliness and the presence of evil being noticed because people got sexy and i feel like that really does take up a lot of the book…fun, interesting read though, it was definitely a little slow at times and maybe i just wasn’t immersed enough, but this being an epistolary novel meant that sometimes i would imagine shit happening and the characters taking their time to sit down and write about it and then i got taken out of it
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced