Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Dracula by Bram Stoker

79 reviews

midnightcomets's review against another edition

dark inspiring mysterious tense medium-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? No

4.25

Reading this and listening to Re: Dracula has been a wonderful experience that I would recommend to people who find the writing of classics tedious. There were some points where the plot was a bit slower than I wanted it to be, and sometimes that could make me lose my spark a bit. However, I totally understand why it became such a phenomenon for the people of its era, and why it scared them so much. I will definitely reread this at some point!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Religious bigotry

peggy_racham's review against another edition

3.0

I expected more fighting and gore in this book. Dracula sort of vanishes from the book half way through. It has great parts, I loved Van Helsing, Mina, Lucy. Loved watching them figure out what's going on. But the ending falls flat for me

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

llsugarspicell's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

damiscous's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

Amazing! Admittedly, it did take me years after buying the book to actually read more than halfway and then months to commit to fully reading, but that is no fault to this classic novel. I didn't expect to enjoy it so much as I often struggle with long reads, but the narratives, imagery, and plot really pulled through. The book would've been much better if I had no prior knowledge of vampire lore, and some of the characters can be a bit stagnant, but Stoker uses his devices to deliver a chilling villain, enjoyable characters, and curious talking points to supply readers with various lenses in which to analyze and interpret this particular work. This book has definitely earned it's spot on my bookshelf and has helped reignite my interest in reading, classic novels, and horror.

However, it is important to be mindful that the work was originally published in 1897. That being said , this work does contain "weak" women, some misogynistic ideals, and ideas of the time. The characters are, for the most part, enjoyable, and there's a splash of romance that does, of course, read in the devotedly sexist fashion of the 1800s, but, hey, they do give a woman a gun, so that's nice. The book is long and can be wordy, as most older books can be, but overall, a wonderful, chilling, classic work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny

Minor: Racial slurs and Suicidal thoughts

armand's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

sophtanda's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, and Misogyny

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

paularize's review against another edition

4.0

going to miss the mails of my good friend jonathan harker and his besties

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Racial slurs and Xenophobia

foxclcves's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail

emmaward55's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

average person eats 3 flies a year" factoid actualy just statistical error. average person eats 0 flies per year. Flies Renfield, who lives in an asylum & eats over 10,000 each day, is an outlier adn should not have been counted

Okay now that that's out of my system, I have to confess, I read this book is a rather unorthodox fashion, as part of the Dracula Daily emails, whereby the letters in the book are emailed out to readers on the corresponding dates. It's a fun idea for an epistolary novel and I found that it suited the format well. However, did I manage to keep up with those emails? Heck no! In fact, I only managed to finish it now, a month after the book has ended, because I started copying the emails into a text-to-speech bot and listening to months at a time. 

The above being said, I really enjoyed my first experience with Dracula! I especially loved the characters of Mina and Van Helsing, and Jonathan "wifeguy" Harker gets a mention too. Although the book some times suffered for it's period typical Christianity and sexism, it was refreshing how Stoker broke free of that at times and allowed Mina to be more than just the wife in jeopardy. Like every man in this book, I too would give my life for Mina Harker at the drop of a hat.

In term of the ending, it did feel somewhat anti-climatic. I understand that an outright fight between Dracula and the party would have ended in Dracula's survival, but I was expecting more than just a quick brawl with a group of unnamed (and unimportant) men and them stabbing the Count as he slept.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

Minor: Cursing and Alcohol

orchidlilly's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Dracula's horror has a kind of slow burn that makes it very hard to capture in movie form. This also makes it, for those of us who are used to more thriller-like horror, or for those who are already aware of vampires as a concept, a bit of a slow read. There are times when the book drags on, most notably the newspaper sections and legal proceedings. It is rife with that classic British brand of racism, which while expected, is no more pleasant than it would be now. It also has a good bit of that 19th century sexism which is annoying, if only because of how repetitive it becomes, and how much of a hindrance to the plot it is.
All in all, an interesting read, but a good bit of the charm and suspense is lost to the changing principals of time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Drug use, Misogyny, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Colonisation