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A review by annamickreads
Reluctant Immortals by Gwendolyn Kiste
3.0
Zoomed through this one because it was a relatively quick read!
Although the premise is definitely inspired and an interesting way of giving voices to the female characters in each classic tome who didn't get much by way of agency (Lucy Westenra and Bertha Mason from 'Dracula' and 'Jane Eyre' respectively), I had a lot of questions the story never really answered.
It's entirely understandable that two female characters who had been otherwise abused and abandoned would become friends, but the circumstances were tripping me up. Lucy is a vampire, which explains how she's lived so many years, but Bertha is...a ghost? A revenant? And while Dracula's remains are seemingly kept in urns to follow Lucy around, is Mr. Rochester...also a ghost or a revenant?
Similarly, the choice to set the story in the late 1960s Hollywood didn't make much sense to me. Typically, setting offers an extra layer of emphasis, but since both 'Dracula' and 'Jane Eyre' are set in England and other parts of Europe, I was puzzled why the author settled upon California of all places, and in the 1960s-70s.
Otherwise, it was an interesting concept about women rewriting history, although I do wish the story had been told from a dual perspective because we only see Lucy's side of things. Fun for any literary classics fan!
Although the premise is definitely inspired and an interesting way of giving voices to the female characters in each classic tome who didn't get much by way of agency (Lucy Westenra and Bertha Mason from 'Dracula' and 'Jane Eyre' respectively), I had a lot of questions the story never really answered.
It's entirely understandable that two female characters who had been otherwise abused and abandoned would become friends, but the circumstances were tripping me up. Lucy is a vampire, which explains how she's lived so many years, but Bertha is...a ghost? A revenant? And while Dracula's remains are seemingly kept in urns to follow Lucy around, is Mr. Rochester...also a ghost or a revenant?
Similarly, the choice to set the story in the late 1960s Hollywood didn't make much sense to me. Typically, setting offers an extra layer of emphasis, but since both 'Dracula' and 'Jane Eyre' are set in England and other parts of Europe, I was puzzled why the author settled upon California of all places, and in the 1960s-70s.
Otherwise, it was an interesting concept about women rewriting history, although I do wish the story had been told from a dual perspective because we only see Lucy's side of things. Fun for any literary classics fan!