Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Dracula by Bram Stoker

94 reviews

ellanarose's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Classism

prettiestwhistles's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Medical content, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Chronic illness, Gun violence, Terminal illness, and Alcohol

lilifane's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

I liked it very, very much, and it's definitely one of my favourite classics now. It was really cool to finally get to know the source material for so many Dracula stories out there, and I have to admit there were a lot of things I didn't expect and that surprised me. 

Loved that the story only consists of letters, diary entries and newspaper articles. Loved all the atmospheric settings and the characters. And loved how all the different parts of the story came together. 

I just don't know if I chose the right method to consume it for the first time. I read it through Dracula Daily (while listening to the audiobook along the way, which was a good decision btw) and although it was a great motivator to finally start the book, and it was fun to experience the story on the same days of the year it took place, I had a few issues with it. 

First of all, I didn't know that the letters etc. were not always presented in chronological order in the book. So I missed the original intention of the author who chose to withhold things and present them later (for example, letters that were delayed or articles that were read later than their publication date). This didn't happen often, but I feel, some scenes would have had a different impact on me if I had read the material at the intended point in the book. They still had an impact the way I read them, knowing more than the characters  sometimes. But again, for the first read I probably would have chosen otherwise if I had known this. 

Then there are several weeks in between where nothing happens. And so I was forced to take these breaks before continuing with the story. Towards the end, this worked really well for me because I really wanted to know what happens next and the anticipation kept me excited. But at the beginning, especially with so much repetition (Lucy's part basically), the story was dragging. It felt like the first half of the book took forever and the pacing was off, when in reality it would probably have been much quicker if I had just continued reading without waiting for the next appropriate date. I guess we'll never know. :D 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Forced institutionalization

melancholymegs's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Death of parent

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

mmefish's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Terrifying in the best way possible, “Dracula” is an iconic piece of literature for a reason.
If only the lengthy dramatic exclamations by the characters were cut by half…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, and Grief

Minor: Animal death, Child death, and Xenophobia

bookgurl488's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, and Bullying

Minor: Grief, Colonisation, and Classism

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Drug use

mjones14's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

1.5

Very tough to get through. Whilst the initial 4 chapters and latter half of the novel were ok, it was way to dense to be enjoyable. The diaries were written in the same style making the characters lack that extra depth. The end felt too rushed. However it is understandable why it infiltrated the literary cannon and modern culture as it remains iconic to this day.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Grief

roaze's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism