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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Pretty compelling despite the synopsis not being something interesting to me. My favourite part was the first point of view with Holt, and I was kind of disappointed the rest of the book didn't keep with that extremely dark and horrific theme with body horror. Fun fact: The Beetle was even more popular than Bram Stoker's Dracula, yet isn't as popular today.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia
I want to try reading this again in the future, but right now I am not strong enough
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Someone get Dante on the phone he forgot one of the circles of hell
A satisfying and evocative horror tale.
Not a fan of the sexism or gross racial stereotypes, though.
Not a fan of the sexism or gross racial stereotypes, though.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
1 star as educational material - if you were to read a textbook you couldn’t have learnt more about racism and fear of the subversion of white gender norms in Victorian England. The printing of this book is a waste of resources.
A motley cast is drawn together by their shared involvement with the workings of a dangerous, uncanny entity, an "Oriental" man with the ability to transform into a beetle. Which, yes, deserves the scare quotes and is frequently as silly as it sounds: vast swathes of this are ridiculous and have aged poorly. It's also surprisingly readable, a classic text with dated racist depictions but an incredibly accessible voice.
And it shares numerous similarities with Dracula: the release date, the horror of Orientalism (particularly as it dangerous respectable British society, particularity white women of a certain class), and many more superficial similarities in style and plot which feel remarkable when viewed in the context of Dracula. It's a fascinating coincidence that made me think of twin films and the fact that similar works released at the same time point more to contemporary cultural anxieties than they do to each other.
I don't know that I "liked" this, but it's so dang readable and it's a fascinating reading experience - particularly the (obviously super problematic~ but perpetually interesting) handling of gender.
And it shares numerous similarities with Dracula: the release date, the horror of Orientalism (particularly as it dangerous respectable British society, particularity white women of a certain class), and many more superficial similarities in style and plot which feel remarkable when viewed in the context of Dracula. It's a fascinating coincidence that made me think of twin films and the fact that similar works released at the same time point more to contemporary cultural anxieties than they do to each other.
I don't know that I "liked" this, but it's so dang readable and it's a fascinating reading experience - particularly the (obviously super problematic~ but perpetually interesting) handling of gender.
Everyone should read this. It was released the same year as Bram Stoker's Dracula and was actually more popular at the time, but has since fallen into obscurity. I think it's even better than Dracula and definitely twice as weird, a genre-spanning supernatural romp that draws from Dickens, Conan Doyle, Victorian romance, and weird scientist fiction and involves cross-dressing, sex cults, and just about everything else. Make sure if you get the Broadview edition to not read the footnotes the first time 'round, they're chock-full of spoilers.