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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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:
N/A
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Cannot BELIEVE I waited so long to read this. While this book is definitely not without fault, I really enjoyed it and am so mad at myself for not giving it a chance earlier. So many wonderful characters with distinct, well-written personalities that all-but leap off the page and an adventure that kept me engaged to the end.
With that being said, the treatment of the two main women, specifically in the case of Lucy, is shaky at best and Dracula is not featured nearly as much as I would have wanted. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the distinctness of all of the characters; you get a real sense of who they are and why they do what they do, though I do think Stoker leaned too hard into the idea of them being heroes that he sacrificed some of the more complicated aspects of their personalities and made them all a bit generic in reference to their motivations.
All in all, I appreciate Stoker’s Dracula not only for foundation it laid for my all-time favorite supernatural creature, but also for the genuine fun I had while reading this.
With that being said, the treatment of the two main women, specifically in the case of Lucy, is shaky at best and Dracula is not featured nearly as much as I would have wanted. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the distinctness of all of the characters; you get a real sense of who they are and why they do what they do, though I do think Stoker leaned too hard into the idea of them being heroes that he sacrificed some of the more complicated aspects of their personalities and made them all a bit generic in reference to their motivations.
All in all, I appreciate Stoker’s Dracula not only for foundation it laid for my all-time favorite supernatural creature, but also for the genuine fun I had while reading this.
The last 1/3 of this book is what drug this book down for me. After an amazing and atmospheric first 1/3 and a less exciting but still interesting second 1/3, this book eventually got bogged down in needless repetition and pace killing exposition of the obvious. The climactic scenes were also a let down. The finale where they confront Dracula is literally a sentence long, and after sitting through countless scenes of praising Mina as a pure goddess and back and forth planning this was a major let down. However, as a classic of the vampire genre, it was fun to read the progenitor of all sorts of pop culture references and vampiric lore. I also, really did enjoy the atmosphere of the the first 2/3 of the book and found it effective and fun. The last 1/3, not so much.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Glad I finally read this. So much didn't age well but I was able to get a short story out of it.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
bumping this up a single star because i think i paid more attention this time .. and, i suppose, have become more versed in the “”Victorian Novel.” most of all, i’m finishing this novel interested in the ways in which the narrative works and information is encoded/curated , affected by that show-stopping mina/dracula/jonathan scene, and *desperately* wishing twenty-first century narrative justice being given to mina, who is incredible, but pretty completely ruined by stoker, i’d say.
“Well, I shall tell you. My thesis is this: I want you to believe.” “To believe what?” “To believe in things that you cannot.”
“Well, I shall tell you. My thesis is this: I want you to believe.” “To believe what?” “To believe in things that you cannot.”
I find Dracula terrifying not because I fear a vampire will manifest in my room, but because the evil that Dracula represents is a reality in our world. Bram Stoker was a protestant Christian and wrote Dracula as a symbol of the devil. Dracula cowers from the crucifix and eucharist and only fully takes hold of those who, in some way, even unconsciously, let him in.
That mirrors a deeper spiritual truth. Just as Dracula cannot enter a home unless he is invited, the devil waits for that small, willing moment when our defenses are down and our discernment clouded. As James 1:14-15 warns, “each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
That’s what makes Dracula so terrifying. And yet, even so, the story reminds us that evil cannot stand the presence of the holy. Dracula flees from the cross because it is a symbol of the power that utterly defeats him. The crucifix is more than just a repellent; it is a symbol of the power that ultimately defeats evil: the sacrificial love of Christ, whose blood gives life instead of draining it.
Thanks for reading!
That mirrors a deeper spiritual truth. Just as Dracula cannot enter a home unless he is invited, the devil waits for that small, willing moment when our defenses are down and our discernment clouded. As James 1:14-15 warns, “each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
That’s what makes Dracula so terrifying. And yet, even so, the story reminds us that evil cannot stand the presence of the holy. Dracula flees from the cross because it is a symbol of the power that utterly defeats him. The crucifix is more than just a repellent; it is a symbol of the power that ultimately defeats evil: the sacrificial love of Christ, whose blood gives life instead of draining it.
Thanks for reading!