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heatherb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Moderate: Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Blood, Animal death, Grief, Gun violence, Death, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Classism, and Child death
chalkletters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Dracula is very much a novel of its time: the attitudes towards women and religion and people from countries other than Britain are entirely 19th-century, as are the long speeches. Some of Bram Stoker’s long passages of description work really well as scene setting for a horror novel, but others are a little tedious if you’re reading purely for enjoyment and with 21st-century eyes.
That said, it’s not completely possible to read Dracula purely as a horror novel; there are too many things that don’t really make any sense. Why are all Dracula’s victims women, when he does away with plenty of men and has Jonathan Harker at his mercy? What, exactly, does Dracula want in coming to London? Not to mention, there are some pretty huge coincidences which stretch credulity if you’re not looking at Dracula as a metaphor for something.
The essays in the Norton Critical Edition did a good job exploring the many, many different fin-de-siècle fears that Dracula could be read to represent. These are somewhat long and dry if you’re not actually studying Dracula, but still worthwhile in the long-run. (That said, the ones relating to the various cinematic and theatrical adaptations of Dracula aren’t particularly necessary as background information on the novel.)
Bram Stoker’s characters fall into two camps: vampires (and Renfield) vs non-vampires. As there’s plenty of conflict between the two groups, it doesn’t really feel as though conflict between the non-vampires is missing, but it is a little unlikely that fully fleshed-out people would agree quite so completely about everything. Nonetheless, the characters are distinct with very little chance of muddling them up with one another, which is definitely an achievement.
Overall, it was fun to read a horror novel which really felt like a horror novel, and the Norton Critical Edition has hopefully prepared me for interesting discussions on my holiday!
Graphic: Death, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Mental illness and Gun violence
Minor: Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Antisemitism, and Child death
stalfos's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Violence, Grief, Murder, Stalking, Death, and Animal death
Moderate: Child death and Death of parent
Minor: Alcohol
mattiedancer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
- Fans of classic fiction and gothic literature
- Those looking to appreciate a slow read
- Misogyny, sexism, classism, death of a parent, death, illness, toxic relationships, blood, gore, death of a child, murder
Graphic: Grief, Sexism, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Death of parent, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, Animal death, and Child death
peggy_racham's review against another edition
3.0
Moderate: Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Gore, and Racial slurs
martin27's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Antisemitism, Violence, Animal death, and Xenophobia
Minor: Child death
chloenrogers's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, and Blood
Minor: Antisemitism
lmuthler's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Dracula offers a haunting monster tale, especially for those willing to wade through hefty chunks of description between the action.
Moderate: Blood, Death, Child death, and Sexism
cleotheo's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Child death, Medical content, Kidnapping, Blood, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Animal death
alicelalicon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Confinement, Medical content, Mental illness, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, Xenophobia, Sexism, and Grief