Reviews

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

fantasynovel's review against another edition

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3.0

This is my 3rd time reading this book, and I feel like I liked it the most this time for some reason.

emmalemonnz's review against another edition

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1.0

Oh gosh. It's so bizarre reading a book from (pause while I work out the number) 132 years ago; what was considered horrific then compared to what we are bombarded with on a daily basis now is almost laughable.
The intensely personal narratives we are used to reading now make it difficult to empathise with the characters in 19th century novels. They seem so stand-offish and proper; it's like a massive barrier, holding me so far back that it's like watching a grainy, stilted silent film on the tiny screen of my dad's old black and white 'portable' television from the other side of the room.

Having said that, I didn't hate reading this. It's true that I read it out of a feeling of obligation: "It's a classic; I should read it." Despite that, I did get into it. I wasn't drawn to it the way I am with my other current read, Catherine Chidgey's "The Wish Child", but I wasn't reluctant to read it, the way I sometimes am with obligatory reading, like pedagogy articles, or the first dozen times I tried to read Dickens' "Great Expectations" (which I'm glad I stuck with, because I ended up quite liking it).

Ultimately, the most fascinating thing to me about the book was that I learned Stevenson wanted it pronounced "Jee-kill," not "Jeck-ill".

alcastro1989's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

3.5 stars. 

Solid classic with a great story on the duality of man. Definitely a benchmark for sci-fi and horror movies and books. 

While the story was great this classic felt a lot wordier, but that could just be my preference. The wordiness made it a little boring at some parts. And I found myself upping my narrator’s speed to get through it quicker. 

Which the narrator was awesome. 

opimenta's review against another edition

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challenging funny informative lighthearted mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

comefromaway's review against another edition

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

2.0

This was incredibly dull!  Maybe it wouldn’t be if society hadn’t ruined the ‘twist’ for me.
The whole story consisted of telling rather than showing. And so the wording was just so long winded.
Also it seemed they couldn’t decide if he was called Harry or Henry the whole way through cause it flicked back and forth.

neilmartin's review against another edition

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3.0

Great classic.

sofia_santana's review against another edition

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

5.0

rosies_elfhame's review against another edition

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5.0

I have always loved the story about dr.Jekyll and mr.Hyde and yet i've never read the whole thing. Now that I have This is so well made and it makes me love it even more. Oh dear, What else is there to say. A tragic story about the battle between Good and evil. All characters so well crafted and so mysterious. Just lovely 🌸

fulare's review against another edition

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4.0

Quick and easy. I think it would have been even better if the premise wasn't spoiled. I think the science of this doesn't make sense, especially the change in physical appearance. The novella as a whole though really makes you think though about the dual nature of personalities and a person's conscience. I enjoyed this! 

sugata's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.25