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A review by bree_h_reads
Carmilla: A Vampyre Tale by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Somehow, it took until I read this book for me to realise that my favourite perfume was a reference to this book. (Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs I would sell you my SOUL for Melancholy Fire to become a permanent scent.) That aside, I think for a book with so much racism and all about the horrors of women’s sexuality a 3.5 rating is rather generous.
I enjoyed the characters from as much presence as we got from them. I was super into Carmilla and Laura’s dynamic. I really loved watching them be so taken with each other and how the writing managed to convey the intensity of their passions and affections. I could really buy into them being taken with each other, or at least Laura being taken with Carmilla and Carmilla seeming taken with her. I think that was my favourite part, the ambiguity around the question if Carmilla’s feelings for Laura were true. Personally I believe they were, but given the reveals we get it’s thrown into question. Honestly, I wish that this relationship and Laura’s feelings had been more considered at the end of the book when everything is revealed, because Laura had no reaction. I would have loved to see more of her thoughts and anguish in that moment, her horror, but we got nothing.
I think the issue I noticed most in this book was repetitive writing and echo words. Whenever Carmilla was in a scene it was always mentioning how tiny she was. It came up over and over and over, not only across multiple scenes, but multiple times within those scenes. It also relied very heavily on the world languid to describe Carmilla. It pulled me out of the story and stuck out like a sore thumb.
Unfortunately, the themes are kind of what kill this book for me. While it’s so easy to get swept up in Sapphics and then the later horror of the reveal, at it’s core this book is about the horror of women’s sexuality (and arguably about a Dangerous Sapphic Woman preying on a isolated, pure, young, well-off woman and luring her into danger with her sexuality and affections). You can really see where this book inspired a lot of the inherent sexuality of vampirism and it makes sense that in the modern day that connection has become more appealing and accepted as opposed to a sin. I think this is also why so many people, especially sapphics latch onto this story. Death of the author, this could very easily be a story about Laura exploring her sexuality and that being ripped away from her by men who don’t and won’t understand.
Overall, I really liked this and tbh I would love to see a modern adaptation that isn’t about how women’s sexuality and sapphic/homosexual love is Scary and Evil. I totally get why so many people love this book, I too am now feral for our lovely vampire and her lover.
I enjoyed the characters from as much presence as we got from them. I was super into Carmilla and Laura’s dynamic. I really loved watching them be so taken with each other and how the writing managed to convey the intensity of their passions and affections. I could really buy into them being taken with each other, or at least Laura being taken with Carmilla and Carmilla seeming taken with her. I think that was my favourite part, the ambiguity around the question if Carmilla’s feelings for Laura were true. Personally I believe they were, but given the reveals we get it’s thrown into question. Honestly, I wish that this relationship and Laura’s feelings had been more considered at the end of the book when everything is revealed, because Laura had no reaction. I would have loved to see more of her thoughts and anguish in that moment, her horror, but we got nothing.
I think the issue I noticed most in this book was repetitive writing and echo words. Whenever Carmilla was in a scene it was always mentioning how tiny she was. It came up over and over and over, not only across multiple scenes, but multiple times within those scenes. It also relied very heavily on the world languid to describe Carmilla. It pulled me out of the story and stuck out like a sore thumb.
Unfortunately, the themes are kind of what kill this book for me. While it’s so easy to get swept up in Sapphics and then the later horror of the reveal, at it’s core this book is about the horror of women’s sexuality (and arguably about a Dangerous Sapphic Woman preying on a isolated, pure, young, well-off woman and luring her into danger with her sexuality and affections). You can really see where this book inspired a lot of the inherent sexuality of vampirism and it makes sense that in the modern day that connection has become more appealing and accepted as opposed to a sin. I think this is also why so many people, especially sapphics latch onto this story. Death of the author, this could very easily be a story about Laura exploring her sexuality and that being ripped away from her by men who don’t and won’t understand.
Overall, I really liked this and tbh I would love to see a modern adaptation that isn’t about how women’s sexuality and sapphic/homosexual love is Scary and Evil. I totally get why so many people love this book, I too am now feral for our lovely vampire and her lover.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Blood
Moderate: Racism, Murder
Minor: Death