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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
dark
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
A primeira metade é bem melhor que o restante. A partir do meio, fica bem cansativo e o fim não é muito interessante. Porém, acredito que tenho que considerar a época em que foi escrito. No geral, é um bom livro.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I’ve tried to finish this twice, once in high school and now at 39. It’s too slow and I don’t fully understand what’s happening, I guess I just can’t understand old timey talk.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Was very gripping at times, with characters I enjoyed reading about. Though there wasn’t substantial variety between the young men, I did like how emotional they all were. I also liked what a sweet, eccentric, also incredibly emotional and theatrical man Dr. Van Helsing was. Mina was the best character, and I appreciated how the men seemed to acknowledge her intelligence (even if her brain was compared to a man’s, apparently the only explanation for its cleverness 😅).
I took everything in stride, but what I found most unacceptable was them leaving Mina out, not just of the action, but often of the briefing!! It made sense later, whenthey linked her connection to Dracula, but they did it before they knew of that for her ‘protection’, when she more than proved by that point she could handle what they could. She was the sole reason they had the information they did and that they were all even on the same page, and to leave that person out of future information is the most short-sighted, irresponsible, illogical act yet. I was very angry, because it’s not even the sexism - it’s the stupidity!
But I found it being a reoccurring theme, that there would be shoddy logic to support a certain action, and then very often they would do something completely different with contrasting shoddy logic. Like when they decide to leave Mina out of plans, then bring her in, then she said she shouldn’t hear the plans, then they were going to leave her behind, then she said they must bring her, which lead to her hearing all the plans… like, what?
Also, the amount of times they kept leaving Lucy alone, afterso much effort used for all the multiple blood transfusions (Lucy must have been AB+, lucky thing) when Van Helsing especially seemed to understand what was happening… and that they wouldn’t think to give Mina a crucifix and garlic when they left her alone (or just everyone carrying them around at all times)… or that Van Helsing couldn’t draw a circle around the horses, the bastard… or why not bribe the men at the end rather than fight their way through… so many points seemed unnecessarily bumbling.
How much time they all spent reading each others diaries though 😂 I also found it strange that even when they knew their future diary entries would be read by the group, they still kept writing rather personal things lol
I liked the format of compiled journal entries too, and how part way through the compiling of them actually occurred and emphasis given to continuing. I found this interesting. Fantastic memory for everyone, especially getting the dialects just so for the side characters. I do appreciate how this was highlighted on more than one occasion though, as if Stoker knew how unbelievable the level of detail was.
Van Helsing went on quite a few too many passionate rants for me though (while I did like the one about believing the impossible, many of the others were so repetitive, contradictory, or just long), and moments in-between the action was quite drawn out. Best part was the early chapters whenJonathan was trapped in the castle, and whenever Dracula was active. I don’t know why I loved these parts so much, but discovering Dracula was the driver was very satisfying, and even more than that was when he pulled out the short-hand letter. And just him telling him to write letters for the future - chilling! Really loved the overall suspense, but unfortunately suspense was often lost when there was too much inaction. Ending was satisfying but a bit lacking in theatrics.
Great overall ambiance. I also read at night and often while it rained, which added to the atmosphere 🦇
Favourite excerpts:
Jonathan: He did not come at once into the library, so I went cautiously to my own room and found him making the bed. This was odd, but only confirmed what I had all along thought--that there were no servants in the house. When later I saw him through the chink of the hinges of the door laying the table in the dining-room, I was assured of it; for if he does himself all these menial offices, surely it is proof that there is no one else to do them. This gave me a fright, for if there is no one else in the castle, it must have been the Count himself who was the driver of the coach that brought me here.
Jonathan: I have given the letters; I threw them through the bars of my window with a gold piece, and made what signs I could to have them posted. The man who took them pressed them to his heart and bowed, and then put them in his cap. I could do no more. I stole back to the study, and began to read. As the Count did not come in, I have written here. ..
The Count has come. He sat down beside me, and said in his smoothest voice as he opened two letters:
"The Szgany has given me these, of which, though I know not whence they come, I shall, of course, take care. See!"-he must have looked at it-"one is from you, and to my friend Peter Hawkins; the other" here he caught sight of the strange symbols as he opened the envelope, and the dark look came into his face, and his eyes blazed wickedly-"the other is a vile thing, an outrage upon friendship and hospitality! It is not signed. Well! so it cannot matter to us." And he calmly held letter and envelope in the flame of the lamp till they were consumed. Then he went on:-
"The letter to Hawkins--that I shall, of course, send on, since it is yours. Your letters are sacred to me. Your pardon, my friend, that unknowingly I did break the seal. Will you not cover it again?" He held out the letter to me, and with a courteous bow handed me a clean envelope. I could only redirect it and hand it to him in silence. When he went out of the room I could hear the key turn softly. A minute later I went over and tried it, and the door was locked. 😨
Mina: “I could not resist the temptation of mystifying him a bit-I suppose it is some of the taste of the original apple that remains still in our mouths”
Oh! but it seemed fresh and pure in the night air after the terror of that vault. How sweet it was to see the clouds race by, and the brief gleams of the moonlight between the scudding clouds crossing and passing--like the gladness and sorrow of a man's life; how sweet it was to breathe the fresh air, that had no taint of death and decay; how humanising to see the red lighting of the sky beyond the hill, and to hear far away the muffled roar that marks the life of a great city. Each in his own way was solemn and overcome.
I took everything in stride, but what I found most unacceptable was them leaving Mina out, not just of the action, but often of the briefing!! It made sense later, when
But I found it being a reoccurring theme, that there would be shoddy logic to support a certain action, and then very often they would do something completely different with contrasting shoddy logic. Like when they decide to leave Mina out of plans, then bring her in, then she said she shouldn’t hear the plans, then they were going to leave her behind, then she said they must bring her, which lead to her hearing all the plans… like, what?
Also, the amount of times they kept leaving Lucy alone, after
How much time they all spent reading each others diaries though 😂 I also found it strange that even when they knew their future diary entries would be read by the group, they still kept writing rather personal things lol
I liked the format of compiled journal entries too, and how part way through the compiling of them actually occurred and emphasis given to continuing. I found this interesting. Fantastic memory for everyone, especially getting the dialects just so for the side characters. I do appreciate how this was highlighted on more than one occasion though, as if Stoker knew how unbelievable the level of detail was.
Van Helsing went on quite a few too many passionate rants for me though (while I did like the one about believing the impossible, many of the others were so repetitive, contradictory, or just long), and moments in-between the action was quite drawn out. Best part was the early chapters when
Great overall ambiance. I also read at night and often while it rained, which added to the atmosphere 🦇
Favourite excerpts:
Jonathan: He did not come at once into the library, so I went cautiously to my own room and found him making the bed. This was odd, but only confirmed what I had all along thought--that there were no servants in the house. When later I saw him through the chink of the hinges of the door laying the table in the dining-room, I was assured of it; for if he does himself all these menial offices, surely it is proof that there is no one else to do them. This gave me a fright, for if there is no one else in the castle, it must have been the Count himself who was the driver of the coach that brought me here.
Jonathan: I have given the letters; I threw them through the bars of my window with a gold piece, and made what signs I could to have them posted. The man who took them pressed them to his heart and bowed, and then put them in his cap. I could do no more. I stole back to the study, and began to read. As the Count did not come in, I have written here. ..
The Count has come. He sat down beside me, and said in his smoothest voice as he opened two letters:
"The Szgany has given me these, of which, though I know not whence they come, I shall, of course, take care. See!"-he must have looked at it-"one is from you, and to my friend Peter Hawkins; the other" here he caught sight of the strange symbols as he opened the envelope, and the dark look came into his face, and his eyes blazed wickedly-"the other is a vile thing, an outrage upon friendship and hospitality! It is not signed. Well! so it cannot matter to us." And he calmly held letter and envelope in the flame of the lamp till they were consumed. Then he went on:-
"The letter to Hawkins--that I shall, of course, send on, since it is yours. Your letters are sacred to me. Your pardon, my friend, that unknowingly I did break the seal. Will you not cover it again?" He held out the letter to me, and with a courteous bow handed me a clean envelope. I could only redirect it and hand it to him in silence. When he went out of the room I could hear the key turn softly. A minute later I went over and tried it, and the door was locked. 😨
Mina: “I could not resist the temptation of mystifying him a bit-I suppose it is some of the taste of the original apple that remains still in our mouths”
Oh! but it seemed fresh and pure in the night air after the terror of that vault. How sweet it was to see the clouds race by, and the brief gleams of the moonlight between the scudding clouds crossing and passing--like the gladness and sorrow of a man's life; how sweet it was to breathe the fresh air, that had no taint of death and decay; how humanising to see the red lighting of the sky beyond the hill, and to hear far away the muffled roar that marks the life of a great city. Each in his own way was solemn and overcome.
Ongeveer een dikke week geleden Drácula gezien, een Spaanse versie van het welbekende verhaal. Het merkwaardige aan de film was dat het gelijktijdig met de Bela Lugosi versie werd opgenomen, maar dat de Amerikanen overdag filmden terwijl de Spanjaarden dat tijdens de nacht deden. Een degelijke film trouwens en bovendien één die heel wat uitgebreider was dan zijn Engelstalige tegenhanger. Dat deed me denken dat er toch meer in het boek zat dan de vele verfilmingen deed vermoeden en zodanig eens aan het originele werk begonnen.
Handig natuurlijk dat ik thuis nog ergens een editie had rondslingeren, maar jaren geleden was dit in ieder geval niet voor mij weggelegd. Ik kon me nog herinneren dat de schrijfstijl me verveelde en dat ik na ongeveer een vierde van de bladzijden al serieus aan het strijden was om verder te lezen. Dat is echter iets wat nu helemaal niet het geval was. De stijl die Bram Stoker hier hanteert met verschillende dagboekfragmenten, krantenknipsels en dergelijke voelt misschien op den duur wat als een gimmick aan, maar het relaas aan het begin van het boek tussen Jonathan Harker en Dracula is misschien wel van het hoogste niveau dat ik reeds heb mogen lezen. Vergeet Edgar Allan Poe, Stoker is de man die je moet lezen wil je wat gotisch griezelen. Wel een beetje jammer dat hij het niveau niet de gehele tijd weet vast te houden. Het personage Mina vervalt meer en meer in een cliché (terwijl ik het in het begin nog zo fijn vond dat Stoker er zo'n sterke vrouw van maakt) en de climax voelt wat teleurstellend aan. Had misschien nog net iets meer strijd tussen de graaf en ons groepje helden willen zien, nu oogt het allemaal nogal gehaast.
Maar nu haal ik enkel maar een paar minpuntjes aan en dat is verre van terecht. Vandaag de dag is Dracula wat achterhaald op een aantal aspecten, die bloedtransfusies onder andere, maar het ligt wel aan de basis van een heel fijn subgenre. Een aantal interessante personages, een geweldige slechterik en heerlijk gestoorde krankzinnige. Meer heb je soms niet nodig
Handig natuurlijk dat ik thuis nog ergens een editie had rondslingeren, maar jaren geleden was dit in ieder geval niet voor mij weggelegd. Ik kon me nog herinneren dat de schrijfstijl me verveelde en dat ik na ongeveer een vierde van de bladzijden al serieus aan het strijden was om verder te lezen. Dat is echter iets wat nu helemaal niet het geval was. De stijl die Bram Stoker hier hanteert met verschillende dagboekfragmenten, krantenknipsels en dergelijke voelt misschien op den duur wat als een gimmick aan, maar het relaas aan het begin van het boek tussen Jonathan Harker en Dracula is misschien wel van het hoogste niveau dat ik reeds heb mogen lezen. Vergeet Edgar Allan Poe, Stoker is de man die je moet lezen wil je wat gotisch griezelen. Wel een beetje jammer dat hij het niveau niet de gehele tijd weet vast te houden. Het personage Mina vervalt meer en meer in een cliché (terwijl ik het in het begin nog zo fijn vond dat Stoker er zo'n sterke vrouw van maakt) en de climax voelt wat teleurstellend aan. Had misschien nog net iets meer strijd tussen de graaf en ons groepje helden willen zien, nu oogt het allemaal nogal gehaast.
Maar nu haal ik enkel maar een paar minpuntjes aan en dat is verre van terecht. Vandaag de dag is Dracula wat achterhaald op een aantal aspecten, die bloedtransfusies onder andere, maar het ligt wel aan de basis van een heel fijn subgenre. Een aantal interessante personages, een geweldige slechterik en heerlijk gestoorde krankzinnige. Meer heb je soms niet nodig
This novel seems to be the originator of the "monster of the week" type of novel/tv show episode. It contains many of the archeotypes that won't go away, like the "crazy" scientist with all the answers to questions paranormal. It has a bunch of well meaning guys whole break the law to hunt the various monsters, in this case vampires. It has the standard damsels in distress who are infected by the monster and must be saved. I don't know whether this all is a good thing or not. Hard to blame a book for causing 200 years of rip-offs of varying quality. I do have to give it credit for managing to put all the various elements together rather successfully.
The book does have some pacing problems, however. It wouldn't be hard to eliminate half of the text without losing any meaning. It's also told through a series of journal entries so we only see the action as told by an observer after the fact, which creates a bit of distance. But that may have well be the limits of novels at the time, so it's hard to slam it too hard for that.
So all in all, a 4 star read with a few problems that keep it from being 5 star.
The book does have some pacing problems, however. It wouldn't be hard to eliminate half of the text without losing any meaning. It's also told through a series of journal entries so we only see the action as told by an observer after the fact, which creates a bit of distance. But that may have well be the limits of novels at the time, so it's hard to slam it too hard for that.
So all in all, a 4 star read with a few problems that keep it from being 5 star.
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No