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A review by poisonenvy
Dracula by Bram Stoker
dark
slow-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
3.0
I was 18 or 19 the first time I read Dracula (or perhaps I was 17? I think I remember signing it out from my high school library now that I think about it). I finished it unimpressed, but went "I'll read this again when I'm older and I'll see if I like it any better once my reading tastes have matured."
Alas, or so much. The things that annoyed me then still annoy me now: the fact that it, like 95% of epistolary novels, does not read in the way people actually make journal entries, the phonetic spellings of people's accents, the overt religiosity which is fine for most of the book but becomes extremely thick in the last quarter or so. I doubt very much the lack of distinct character voice between any of our characters bothered me back then, though it does now.
Overall, the novel just falls flat for me. I respect what it has done for the vampire genre of fiction. I absolutely recognize it's place in the canon of English literature. It's fine and I don't like, hate it (and I'll be reading it again pretty much immediately to write a paper on it and the idea doesn't fill me with dread). But overall, this book just lands flat for me.
Alas, or so much. The things that annoyed me then still annoy me now: the fact that it, like 95% of epistolary novels, does not read in the way people actually make journal entries, the phonetic spellings of people's accents, the overt religiosity which is fine for most of the book but becomes extremely thick in the last quarter or so. I doubt very much the lack of distinct character voice between any of our characters bothered me back then, though it does now.
Overall, the novel just falls flat for me. I respect what it has done for the vampire genre of fiction. I absolutely recognize it's place in the canon of English literature. It's fine and I don't like, hate it (and I'll be reading it again pretty much immediately to write a paper on it and the idea doesn't fill me with dread). But overall, this book just lands flat for me.