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veelaughtland's review
3.0
This was an interesting little novella. The hints of vampirism are incredibly subtle (possibly a little too subtle?), and the writing is quite verbose at times, but overall the mood and tension that Stevenson evokes here is very well done. The film adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula came to mind while reading this.
Although I found the ending to be quite disappointing, not amounting to much, I enjoyed this little tale for what it was. I wouldn't re-read it though, and if you want a really good vampire novella from a similar time, then I would recommend Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu instead.
Although I found the ending to be quite disappointing, not amounting to much, I enjoyed this little tale for what it was. I wouldn't re-read it though, and if you want a really good vampire novella from a similar time, then I would recommend Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu instead.
sabsabal's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
feeona's review
4.0
"...no dearer hope than to forget you, and no greater fear than to be forgotten."
Short but powerful. 'Olalla' is a story about love and desire on the one site and reason and tradition on the other. I liked every page of it.
Short but powerful. 'Olalla' is a story about love and desire on the one site and reason and tradition on the other. I liked every page of it.
stacialithub's review against another edition
3.0
Olalla is sometimes seen as an early vampire story that pre-dates Bram Stoker's Dracula. (John Polidori wrote [b:The Vampyre: A Tale|472966|The Vampyre A Tale|John William Polidori|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347792075s/472966.jpg|461235] in 1819 during the same summer trip when Mary Shelley wrote [b:Frankenstein|18490|Frankenstein|Mary Shelley|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1381512375s/18490.jpg|4836639]; RL Stevenson wrote Olalla in 1885; Stoker wrote [b:Dracula|17245|Dracula|Bram Stoker|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1387151694s/17245.jpg|3165724] in 1897.)
I enjoyed Stevenson's story but I'm not sure I would have thought of it as a vampire story unless I had been told that previously. Imo, the 'vampire' connection was pretty shaky. Instead, it's a gothic story that fits the spirit of my October reading. It is set in Spain & some of Stevenson's descriptions reminded me of descriptions of Spain in Washington Irving's [b:Tales of the Alhambra|403733|Tales of the Alhambra|Washington Irving|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348287270s/403733.jpg|1596541](written in 1828).
If you want to read Olalla, it is available through Project Gutenberg as part of a larger collection of Stevenson's stories.
The kindle version I have includes a few pages of biographical information on RL Stevenson. It was fun to read about his family's work in civil engineering & lighthouse design (which ties in quite a bit to [b:Lighthousekeeping|15052|Lighthousekeeping|Jeanette Winterson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328875027s/15052.jpg|2531716], a book I read earlier this month).
I enjoyed Stevenson's story but I'm not sure I would have thought of it as a vampire story unless I had been told that previously. Imo, the 'vampire' connection was pretty shaky. Instead, it's a gothic story that fits the spirit of my October reading. It is set in Spain & some of Stevenson's descriptions reminded me of descriptions of Spain in Washington Irving's [b:Tales of the Alhambra|403733|Tales of the Alhambra|Washington Irving|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348287270s/403733.jpg|1596541](written in 1828).
If you want to read Olalla, it is available through Project Gutenberg as part of a larger collection of Stevenson's stories.
The kindle version I have includes a few pages of biographical information on RL Stevenson. It was fun to read about his family's work in civil engineering & lighthouse design (which ties in quite a bit to [b:Lighthousekeeping|15052|Lighthousekeeping|Jeanette Winterson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328875027s/15052.jpg|2531716], a book I read earlier this month).
nusighba's review
3.0
There's something so cozy and enchanting about gothic horror novels, and Olalla is one of them. Although it massively missed out on the horror factor, but it was gothic enough; not to mention the gorgeous style of Stevenson's writing, which kept the story indulging to read regardless of the course of the plot. One thing I absolutely, absolutely loved is how Stevenson described the emotions one goes through while having a crush, or a love at first sight. Ah, Stevenson crafted these emotions so beautifully and passionately it made me feel nostalgic.
I think Olalla is overall a beautiful book if you excuse the often bland plot and solely judge it by the writing.
I think Olalla is overall a beautiful book if you excuse the often bland plot and solely judge it by the writing.
woolfardis's review
4.0
Robert Louis Stevenston was a 19th Century Scottish writer, most famous for Treasure Island and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Olalla is an early short story about a young English soldier recovering in the Spanish mountains from his war wounds.
"And if they knew you were the handsomest and the most pleasant man that ever came from England (where I am told that handsome men are common, but pleasant ones not so much so), they would doubtless make you welcome with a better grace."
It is a very well-written really Vampire take, pre-dating Dracula by 12 years. It is of the early Gothic type, where the horrors are narrated only via the narrator himself, and not gone in to much detail. It is majestic in its description, as any first-person story should be, but which all modern-day ones lack completely.
"[Love] should lie no longer under the bonds of silence, a dumb thing, living by the eye only, like the love of beasts; but should now put on the spirit, and enter upon the joys of the compete human intimacy."
A tale of old-kind love, which at its heart is not so different to ours now, but one which speaks so much more deeper than many I have encountered.
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"And if they knew you were the handsomest and the most pleasant man that ever came from England (where I am told that handsome men are common, but pleasant ones not so much so), they would doubtless make you welcome with a better grace."
It is a very well-written really Vampire take, pre-dating Dracula by 12 years. It is of the early Gothic type, where the horrors are narrated only via the narrator himself, and not gone in to much detail. It is majestic in its description, as any first-person story should be, but which all modern-day ones lack completely.
"[Love] should lie no longer under the bonds of silence, a dumb thing, living by the eye only, like the love of beasts; but should now put on the spirit, and enter upon the joys of the compete human intimacy."
A tale of old-kind love, which at its heart is not so different to ours now, but one which speaks so much more deeper than many I have encountered.
Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest | Shop | Etsy