A review by bree_h_reads
Dracula by Bram Stoker

dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • 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

2.5

I wish this book and the information around it weren’t so well known, I think experiencing this as the slow burn mysterious horror from the beginning and uncover it alongside the characters.

I think the characters were solid overall. I think Mina, Lucy, and Jonathan were the best followed by Arthur and Quincy, then Van Helsing, with Sewerd at the rear. Honestly, I think Mina and Lucy were the book’s most interesting characters, but were often hindered by the book’s rampant misogyny. While I expected it, considering the time,  it always floored me when Mina had proved she could handle the situation and they said she was too delicate. It was really frustrating, even if expected, because it led to the boys making stupid and illogical choices about how to handle Dracula. Especially with Van Helsing who seemed to be the only one that understood what they were up against.

I also think this was incredibly well written. Scenes were properly haunting, especially the scene about the final attack against Lucy from Dracula. It was chilling to read her recounting it, and then the following scenes where they try their best to keep her alive. I was pleasantly surprised with how easy the text was to follow considering its age. I also thought the narrators for this audiobook were REALLY strong, my only complaint being how hard the voice for Van Helsing was to understand.

Really my biggest issue is that this book is anti-immigration and REALLY xenophobic. Dracula is meant to represent eastern European immigrants coming to England and preying on the elderly, children, and the pure and good English women. I would even argue that his feeding on Lucy and Mina (and having Mina drink his blood) is meant to parallel SA. That’s not even getting into the fact that he’s helped in his evil plans by Romani and Jews that seem to fully support him. I’m not denying that this part of the book is a product of its time, but I also don’t think that puts it and it’s ideas about critique.

Overall I fully understand why this is a classic and is so influential. I’m, however, glad most modern vampire stories seemed to have dropped the anti-immigrant themes of Dracula and leaned more into themes around class or the harm of vilification of othered groups. I will say though, Dracula adaptations are missing out on making it found footage horror, I’d give all my money to see that be made.
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