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Reviews tagging 'Addiction'
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories by Robert Louis Stevenson
35 reviews
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Suicide
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Unfortunately, i found it pretty slow going and, because the twist is so well known, the story isnt that engaging either.
I dont think its a bad book but I feel like this it is of its time. I can imagine that, when it was orginally written, it would have been a real page turner but it just didnt keep me that interested.
Its hard to relate to the characters when they are all rich, white men with self-aggrandising notions.
I dont think its a bad book but I feel like this it is of its time. I can imagine that, when it was orginally written, it would have been a real page turner but it just didnt keep me that interested.
Its hard to relate to the characters when they are all rich, white men with self-aggrandising notions.
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Suicide, Violence, Murder, Classism
Because it is a rather old book, the way it tackles potentially triggering content is very light compared to how a modern story might mention it.
adventurous
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A perfectly accurate adaption of the original novella. A good read to introduce the source material to younger readers who may be put off by the 'antiquated' language of the original. A fast read, and I enjoyed the art of Daniel Ferren. A bit simple and perhaps too fast for a tense mystery, but still fun.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Murder
Minor: Medical content, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Murder, Alcohol
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
i feel like ending the book on that final sentence of Jekyll's letter and not pulling back out to Utterson's POV to see his reaction or what people said of the case after is a really effective choice. it makes the darkness of Jekyll ending his life after that whole ordeal land really well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence
Minor: Confinement
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
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
Had to read for English GCSE
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Suicide, Toxic friendship
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Suicide
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a very interesting and in places somewhat unexpected read. I knew the basic premise that Jekyll and Hyde share the same body with Jekyll being the 'good' side and Hyde being the 'bad' side , but I hadn't anticipated the subtext of repressed homosexuality contained within the Hyde character. I also hadn't expected one of the characters to be accepting of this, but questioning of the perceived choice of partner . I also went into this expecting some discussion of substance use based on other media, but I wasn't expecting the suicide towards the end, I did find this to have been well done within the context of the story however.
Overall, I enjoyed this story and will likely re-read it in the future
Overall, I enjoyed this story and will likely re-read it in the future
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail