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Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'
El bizzar cas del Dottor Jekyll e del Scior Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
6 reviews
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think I would have enjoyed the first half of this book a lot more if the plot twist hadn't been spoiled before I was born. However, I do find the statement of Dr. Jekyll to be very interesting. I can see why this is a classic, despite me not being able to read it in the intended way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Suicide, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse
Minor: Alcoholism
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
“…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
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Blood, Murder, Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Suicide, Cannibalism, Classism
Minor: Racism, Sexism, Death of parent
I do believe it would be wrong to read these works without a level of cynicism. Partly what makes this collection so interesting, but also so backwards, was just how pseudoscientific Victorian era science really was. When reading Stevenson’s work, you start to realise how we have actually held onto many of these pseudoscientific beliefs in our collective unconscious, and noticing this has given me the incentive to finally dismantle it. However, if you find that rampant ableism is too much for your sensibilities, I would give this book a miss.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In the beginning, I found absolutely no enjoyment in this book. However, as I grew accustomed to the writing style, I actually fell in the love with the prose. Especially the last chapter, Jekyll's account, was beautifully written. This part specifically brought up some interesting moral questions.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Suicide, Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Confinement
The word "faggot" is used once, though I'm not sure in which sense.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Violence
Minor: Ableism, Suicide
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Murder, Alcohol