Dracula

The original is still the greatest. I love the epistolary format, a fine Victorian convention used by many great writers of the 19th century and a good way to solve the multiple POV issue. This particular volume by Penguin has excellent background notes and provides some information on Bram Stoker -- a contemporary of Oscar Wilde *and they even courted the same woman!!!* and his times. The book itself is also a pleasure to read, with the textured cover and ribbon bookmark attached to the spine -- a sure sign of class!

I expected something much different. This was well written it just wasn't for me.

Jonathan Harker is traveling to Transylvania, representing an English law firm to close a real estate deal with a mysterious client. A few days after arriving, however, he begins to have serious misgivings about Count Dracula's creepy behavior, his feelings becoming particularly more dire when he realizes he is trapped inside the castle and unable to return home. So begins the horror story of one of the most well-known villains in all of western literature.

I quite enjoyed finally getting a chance to read the original story of the monster who has inspired a veritable avalanche of films and books in pop culture. It's interesting to reflect on how much vampire lore originates directly in this novel (not casting reflections, repelled by garlic), as well as the ways in which it differs starkly (this Dracula is white-haired and bushy-moustached).

So I have heard of people raving about Dracula, so I finally picked it up to read.

Quite honestly I was rather disappointed. I am not a huge fan of the format, and also not a fan of most of these characters' journals that we are reading.

I did enjoy the first section, where Jonathan is first introduced to Count Dracula and his dealings with the Count first hand during his 'captivity'. Now that was suspenseful and creepy. For the rest of the book, we barely see or interact with Dracula at all. For the most part the group of intellectuals spend so much time going over records and journals and running every where like headless chickens that it was so boring and felt like it was dragging on and on.

Speaking of the group of intellectuals, they all seem to be very open minded and accepting about the whole vampires, blood transfusions and other vampire related stuff. But they are all so boring. I feel like the same information is being repeated over and over again. Van Helsing is very annoying, as is everyone with their long winded speeches about honour and blah blah blah. Ok, I admit, I started skimming and blanking out during some long winded sections of the book, but clearly I didn't miss all that much.

That climax was so....anti-climatic! Like after all that work, that is how it ends?! The big confrontation moment came boiling down to a a few minutes of fighting. Oh. What a let down.

Think you know Dracula? If you haven't read the book then you only know the Hollywood story and not the real Dracula. He is more of an overarching evil that a constant presence that the heroes are fighting. The story is told from journal entries, telegrams and letters more than actual dialogue which I found to be very interesting and engaging. I can only imagine the horror people felt as they read this story for the first time. Before all the movies and slasher films Dracula was the horror that made you hide under the sheets and not look out the window at night, lest you get caught in his gaze and become his prey. This book must have made it seem that no one was safe at night.

An epistemological novel, the classic story of Dracula is subtle in the way the horror develops. The narrative is a bit slow and forced due to the nature of it's construction of the narrative but it is fun to read "old fashioned" writing styles. Since most everyone has some level of familiarity to the story this also affects how the pace and suspense build. A bit slow in some parts but worth reading if you are interested.

Is this legit? The full original?

Dracula, while an overly long and drawn out novel, is quite a bit of fun at times. The book fits loosely in sections, some of which are better than others and deliver more scares. The opening act, detail Johnathan Harker's time at Dracula's castle, is the best portion and delivers best on the creepiness. Throughout the remainder of the book there are intermittent scares and dread, but the novel loses much of its steam once the story switches its setting to London.

Over all, I greatly enjoyed this book, but it will in no way become a regular read for me. I might return to it on occasion, but could easily see myself skipping around to read only the portions of the book which I most enjoyed. I'm glad to have read this book, if only because it is Bram Stoker's Dracula, but it was a bit of a chore to get through even though it only took me a bit over a week. It was a good read to end my Christmas vacation, however.

Hello, darlings - Written in 1897 by Bram Stoker - Dracula introduced the world to a vile, despicable, and ruthless blood-sucking fiend like no other before.

A solid read. One of the classics that needs to be read at least once. While Dracula himself does not appear to often to terrorize the various protagonists, the idea of Dracula does just enough to keep you on the edge of your seat and pushing to the end. The beginning of the story should be considered the highlight of the novel as Dracula inspires a true sense of terror in the reader.

I wish Stoker had not spread the story so thin across six individuals but, I can definitely recommend the book based on the quality of the writing and the fact that this book spawned Dracula, who has come to become one of the most iconic monsters of the current era.