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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
i would hate to review this book in numbers, but i find it even harder to put my thoughts into words. what i say will sound dramatic because, with reproach, it is that dramatic to me
to start with a lovely detail: to turn le fanu's iconic dr hesselius, who archives the supernatural and the metaphysical into prof hesselius, waiting on her flight to a conference is brilliant. to open and close with the sentiment of remembering, honouring past loves (not) forgotten is a choice that i very much enjoyed. the epilogue was cute. and nobody should be above smiling at a twilight reference.
regarding formal elements: le fanu's carmilla is not a longer story, yet this feels significantly faster paced. i believe it may be due to the original being more stifled in its emotiveness, laura in particular being given a different kind of intensity much earlier. i might have liked a slower progression for laura but i do not particularly mind this aspect, more of an observation.
now, i struggle to find the means to explain, but i do not know what to think about the choice to make laura's and carmilla's relationship explicitly erotic early on. i understand the significance. i understand that this is a story about shame and liberation from shame. surviving with the shame, living with the shame. perhaps it is what i mentioned above, that it feels too fast-paced. but laura breaking free from the shackles of shame is barely contained into a thought before it is suppressed again. she claims that shame has no place in her bed, immediately after she bends to the inquiries of the concerned inhabitants of the castle, confessing that she has dreamt, shamefully. carmilla denies dreaming. le fanu's laura is not allowed the time it takes to process her feelings, still in a haze of confusion by the end of the novella. here, laura's emotions overtake her, acutely aware of their implications at every point. perhaps what i expected was something in between, a place where both characters would build expectations of the other without confessing; growing towards each other in search of something they could not find within themselves. that act of letting go of shame fell short for me. it was there, it was vivid, but it lacked the momentum needed to feel liberating. girls are caterpillars until the summer heralds their transformation into butterflies. what i'm trying to say, laura, to me, is still that caterpillar.
there is much else i would need to say, but i may have to sit with my thoughts for a while longer before i can.
a final note... did i misunderstand: is what laura's father said about his wife's mother true?
"it appears to be the painting of one countess mircalla karnstein. mircalla is not a name in my lineage, but my late wife's mother's maiden name was karnstein." (p. 50)
if laura's grandmother's maiden name was karnstein, then...?
to start with a lovely detail: to turn le fanu's iconic dr hesselius, who archives the supernatural and the metaphysical into prof hesselius, waiting on her flight to a conference is brilliant. to open and close with the sentiment of remembering, honouring past loves (not) forgotten is a choice that i very much enjoyed. the epilogue was cute. and nobody should be above smiling at a twilight reference.
regarding formal elements: le fanu's carmilla is not a longer story, yet this feels significantly faster paced. i believe it may be due to the original being more stifled in its emotiveness, laura in particular being given a different kind of intensity much earlier. i might have liked a slower progression for laura but i do not particularly mind this aspect, more of an observation.
now, i struggle to find the means to explain, but i do not know what to think about the choice to make laura's and carmilla's relationship explicitly erotic early on. i understand the significance. i understand that this is a story about shame and liberation from shame. surviving with the shame, living with the shame. perhaps it is what i mentioned above, that it feels too fast-paced. but laura breaking free from the shackles of shame is barely contained into a thought before it is suppressed again. she claims that shame has no place in her bed, immediately after she bends to the inquiries of the concerned inhabitants of the castle, confessing that she has dreamt, shamefully. carmilla denies dreaming. le fanu's laura is not allowed the time it takes to process her feelings, still in a haze of confusion by the end of the novella. here, laura's emotions overtake her, acutely aware of their implications at every point. perhaps what i expected was something in between, a place where both characters would build expectations of the other without confessing; growing towards each other in search of something they could not find within themselves. that act of letting go of shame fell short for me. it was there, it was vivid, but it lacked the momentum needed to feel liberating. girls are caterpillars until the summer heralds their transformation into butterflies. what i'm trying to say, laura, to me, is still that caterpillar.
there is much else i would need to say, but i may have to sit with my thoughts for a while longer before i can.
a final note... did i misunderstand: is what laura's father said about his wife's mother true?
"it appears to be the painting of one countess mircalla karnstein. mircalla is not a name in my lineage, but my late wife's mother's maiden name was karnstein." (p. 50)
if laura's grandmother's maiden name was karnstein, then...?
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
A retelling of Carmilla, following the events of the original fairly closely until around the midway point where it decides "ok but what if this really was a love story ". This novel poses two new questions as it changes the story - what if Laura returned Camilla's ardor and had to grapple with her identity, and what if Carmilla's love was true and she opened up to Laura about her own truth ? It also offers up an answer which the original lacked: who was Carmilla's mother, anyways ?
The resolution for the climax is a bit too contrived for me -a vampire witch shows up, tells Laura that killing herself will save Carmilla, and then it saves them both through magic . It knocked half a star off for me. But I did very much like the final few pages of the epilogue, when we returned to the framing of the story.
The resolution for the climax is a bit too contrived for me -
challenging
emotional
mysterious
emotional
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I acquired Carmilla and Laura from the author's kickstarter. I've always been interested in reading Carmilla, I actually remember watching the web series when it came out a little over ten years ago (wow). But man this book is just like all things beautiful and hella spicy haha.
I can tell which bits were the retelling of Carmilla and the extra bonus stories were what Simper had written themself. While it's not bad or anything, it's just kind of funny having this juxtaposition of flowery words and then have Laura call Carmilla hot.
But man, this book legit made me cry a few times, especially reading this really reminds me of my partner and I. While alas, I am not a vampire, there are a tonne of similiarities between myself and Carmilla and my partner and Laura. But what breaks my heart is reading Laura's agony of wishing for a future where she and Carmilla don't have to hide their love. I'm just glad that they were able to see it.
Also, considering the last extra story is set in 2001, I gotta wonder. How'd Carmilla and Laura react to 9/11.
I can tell which bits were the retelling of Carmilla and the extra bonus stories were what Simper had written themself. While it's not bad or anything, it's just kind of funny having this juxtaposition of flowery words and then have Laura call Carmilla hot.
But man, this book legit made me cry a few times, especially reading this really reminds me of my partner and I. While alas, I am not a vampire, there are a tonne of similiarities between myself and Carmilla and my partner and Laura. But what breaks my heart is reading Laura's agony of wishing for a future where she and Carmilla don't have to hide their love. I'm just glad that they were able to see it.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I liked this rewrite a bit more than the original, thankfully a queer person got their hands on the story and got rid of some of the “cautionary tale” aspects of the story. I do, however, wish some things had remained the same so that there was still as much suspense as there had been in the original.
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I liked a lot of the changes from the original book, but wish that some other things had been kept in this version. Overall an enjoyable enough short read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Chronic illness, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Rape, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia
3 stars. I wanted to like this a lot more than I actually did. The writing is gorgeous and lush but the characters of Carmilla and Laura left a lot to be desired. I could never really connect with either of them and their relationship did nothing for me. This honestly left me feeling the same kind of underwhelmed the original Carmilla story did. I can see why this has such high ratings but it never really came together for me.
lesbian vampires. need i say more? however i will. This book is a lovely quick read about lesbians in the 1800s French countryside. It is dramatic and poetic as that time is which makes the romance of it all so much better. some of the dramatics go a bit far but honestly i think that plays into the whole aesthetic. it’s short so there isn’t much more to say. only just LESBIAN VAMPIRES. ok that’s it
dark
emotional
sad
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:
Yes