The Strange Case of Dr. J...
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The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Recorded by David Barnes in 2006 (LibriVox Recordings)
audiobook
Published
2006
(first published 1886)
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KUDOS, KUDOS and more KUDOS to you, Mr. Stevenson!! First, for bringing me more happy than a Slip N Slide on a scorching summer day by providing Warner Bros with the inspiration for one of my favorite cartoons, Hyde and Go Tweet:
...I mean who didn't love giant, cat-eating Tweety Hyde.
Second, and more seriously, when I tardily returned to your classic gothic novella as an adult, you once again red-lined my joy meter with the strength and eloquence of your story craft. You...more
...I mean who didn't love giant, cat-eating Tweety Hyde.
Second, and more seriously, when I tardily returned to your classic gothic novella as an adult, you once again red-lined my joy meter with the strength and eloquence of your story craft. You...more
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K.D.
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501 Must Read Books, 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (2006-2010)
The duality of man. There are both good and evil in everyone. Two-faced Janus in Roman mythology. Like Erika Kohut who passes by a sex show house on her way home from music conservatory school where she teaches in the morning in Elfiede Jelinek’s novel The Piano Teacher. This 1886 novel, Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson purports the belief that even in people who the society looks up to, there are some evil, thoughts or completely their other strange side, lurkin...more
Rating Clarification: 3.5 Stars
After my personal literary debacle that was Frankenstein: Or The Modern Prometheus, I approached this classic with trepidation. However, it seemed like a good time of the year to try another "mankind vs. monster" kind of read, so I took the plunge.
I'm glad I did, as I really enjoyed this story of a man divided against himself. Even though Robert Louis Stevenson told the story almost entirely through a third party, and there was a...more
After my personal literary debacle that was Frankenstein: Or The Modern Prometheus, I approached this classic with trepidation. However, it seemed like a good time of the year to try another "mankind vs. monster" kind of read, so I took the plunge.
I'm glad I did, as I really enjoyed this story of a man divided against himself. Even though Robert Louis Stevenson told the story almost entirely through a third party, and there was a...more
Here's the plot, you all know it: a man, by arcane means, becomes another man. Now, here's the argument of the book: suspense comes from not knowing what questions to ask, not merely ignorance of their answers. Stevenson makes this technical argument by means of POV placement, interior monologues, and placement in time. He doesn't start the book by showing you Dr. Jekyll as he concocts his transformative substance and then becomes Mr. Hyde, as I had assumed he would. Instead, he begins with ...more
Judge Dredd creative duo Alan Grant (writer) and Cam Kennedy (artist) turn their hand to adapting another of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic stories to the graphic novel medium. Previously the pair had adapted Kidnapped. The results are a faithful abridgement of the book, thankfully retaining the original structure and point of view that made the original work so unique, rather than the direct chronology and horror treatment that nearly all the screen versions have preferred. The text is also g...more
A chilling tale which details the interplay between the forces of good and evil. A physician/scientist endeavors to segregate his personality through alchemy into a "dual-self" by isolating the good into one being and of evil into another. The consequences are tragic. At once, the narrative becomes an allegory for humankind, depicting the devilish results which occur when a human soul, through choice, gives innocent, or at least thoughtless license to darkness. Stevenson sequential...more
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This is quite different from the film versions out there. The story is minimalist by comparison, but flavored pleasingly by Stevenson's Victorian prose. Unlike the films, the book has no initial pedantry of Jekyll railing to the philistines about the timidity of the conventional scientific establishment or the dual nature of good and evil in man (this latter concern is saved for the very end of the book); there is no virtuous love interest or meddling father-in-law or whore named Ivy to bring ou...more
One of the problems with reading classic books for the first time is that, through film adaptations, parodies, tributes, or pure cultural saturation, you usually know 50-90% of the plot already. In essence, the book is spoiled for you before you even start. Stripped of suspense, shock value, and the simple propulsion of not knowing what happens next, the books are forced to stand on the quality of the story and the craft with which they were written.
As I've spent most of 2011 catchin...more
As I've spent most of 2011 catchin...more
Daniel
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People who'd like a taste of life's hardships
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a creative sci-fi. It was a bit short and perhaps better if it was a bit longer, but I enjoyed it a lot.
The part that interested me the most was the part where Dr. Jekyll kept turning into Mr. Hyde without any control. The bad part of him is stronger than the good part of him, I guess. Maybe Jekyll had emotional problems that were too big a burden. Or, maybe being Hyde was like smoking cigerettes; unhealthy but addicting. Eventually it got the best of...more
The part that interested me the most was the part where Dr. Jekyll kept turning into Mr. Hyde without any control. The bad part of him is stronger than the good part of him, I guess. Maybe Jekyll had emotional problems that were too big a burden. Or, maybe being Hyde was like smoking cigerettes; unhealthy but addicting. Eventually it got the best of...more
Mariel
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Why didn't Jekyll just find some immoral man's man to live vicariously through?
Okay, first, one of the problems with reading this book in this day and age is that this book is mainly a mystery that hinges on the fact that you, the reader, don't know that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are the same person. Well, of course, in 2011 we all know the basics of the story. Reading this book is almost a pointless errand because the big final reveal, the solution to the whole mystery, is in the final chapter where Stevenson finally tells you that Dr. Jekyll created a potion that turns h...more
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Esta novela gráfica es una adaptación bastante competente de la novela de Stevenson. Aunque un especialista en la obra de Stevenson encontraría muchas divergencias respecto de la trama, esta adaptación es mucho más fiel al original que muchas de las adaptaciones que se han hecho en Hollywood. El estilo gráfico de Bowen es sumamente pulcro y tiene un sabor decididamente europeo, en sus trazos, sus colores y la distribución de los paneles. En ese sentido, es un comic bastante tradicional, pero sum...more
Halfway through the first chapter of Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a character named Richard Enfield says, “I took the liberty of pointing out to my gentleman that the whole business looked apocryphal, and that a man does not, in real life, walk into a cellar door at four in the morning and come out with another man’s check for close upon a hundred pounds.” He conveys this to his lawyer cousin, Mr. Gabriel Utterson, as he recounts the odd sto...more
Another classic that I have never read. I was surprised at how short this book is. Not really a "novel," more like a long short story. The beauty of this story is that we get the events from the perspective of a lawyer (Mr. Utterson), even though it's in third person. Then, at the end, we get the whole story from the perspective of Dr. Jekyll, himself. Oddly, all of the representations that I have ever seen of this story (even the Bugs Bunny parody) really don't quite do it justic...more
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“The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” is really a story about one person and one persona, Dr. Henry Jekyll and his bad faith. Stevenson's great insight in this story has nothing to do with a picture of a divided psychology at all, but the moral seduction of such a picture. Further, I would assert that unless we reject the account that Jekyll gives, Stevenson's story is apt to appear incoherent and has a major plot hole.
Hyde really functions as a mask for Jekyll, a “ring of Gy...more
Hyde really functions as a mask for Jekyll, a “ring of Gy...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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This can be read as a sort of allegory, with time itself the universal drug that can make a person change utterly. Those of us with an inbuilt resistance to it are left high and dry, desperately wanting to talk to our old friend Dr Jekyll but faced only with the grim and merciless reality of Mr Hyde. The drug is a thief that robs us of our loved ones as surely as death does.
Inca un suport pentru ideea de personalitate dubla si conflict intre doua firi contradictorii. Si inca o batalie in care nu castiga niciuna din ele.(nu cred ca e corect sa zic "inca" din punct de vedere cronologic al cartilor ca obiecte..) Mi se pare fascinant la personajele dedublate frica de a-si recunoaste adevarata fata(partea rea a ei) lor insile si de-a si-o exprima in afara. Un fel de frica a omului de rand sa-si recunoasca unele vise ca facand parte din subconstient, din esenta...more
شاهدت العديد من الأفلام المستمدة من هذه الرواية الكلاسيكية الخالدة لكن قراءة الرواية شيء آخر تماما أكثر جمالا وأكثر متعة
ربما لأن أغلب الأفلام استخدمت الفكرة في أفلام رعب وبعضها بطريقة ساخرة
ربما لأنها لم تركز على المغزى الحقيقي من هذه الحكاية
الرواية جادة وصاحبها يود أن يرسل لنا رسالة هذه هي رواية الوحوش النائمة التي تسكن في البشر وتحتاج للخروج أحيانا
أليس في كل واحد منا يسكن دكتور جيكل ومستر هايد
مناخ الرواية غامض ومثير غريب وممتع
ربما لأن أغلب الأفلام استخدمت الفكرة في أفلام رعب وبعضها بطريقة ساخرة
ربما لأنها لم تركز على المغزى الحقيقي من هذه الحكاية
الرواية جادة وصاحبها يود أن يرسل لنا رسالة هذه هي رواية الوحوش النائمة التي تسكن في البشر وتحتاج للخروج أحيانا
أليس في كل واحد منا يسكن دكتور جيكل ومستر هايد
مناخ الرواية غامض ومثير غريب وممتع
Although it's a very tiny book, it took me a long time to read it. The rhythm is somewhat slow, it doesn't have that many situations, spinning mostly around the question "who is Mr Hyde and how does he have so much power over Dr Jekyll?" This is revealed on the last chapters, the most interesting part of all and which leads us to question the dual nature of Man. The last chapter is really magnificent, showing both natures fighting each other: one part wanting to satiate all his appetit...more
A well-written creeper! Also a brilliant critique of the human condition and the scientific quest to perfect it. Henry Jekyll is tempted to lead a double life. He concocts a potion and the hideous Hyde comes out, but instead of leaving Jekyll alone he begins to take over.
The only good thing about never having read this classic is savoring the joy now. From its chilling story line to its urban London setting; from its breadth of volcabulary to its incisive reflections upon human nature; from its poignant glimpse into the bounds of friendship and intoxicating power of evil, this book stands alone, in my opinion, as the height of pleasure in learning. My only negative: it is too short. Enjoy this classic if you have not, reread it if you have!
It's amazaing to me that this tale came to be such an iconic horror archetype after finally reading it.
It suffers from the idea that any actual horror needs to be at least two or three steps removed from the actual story, i.e. only hearing of criminal behavior third hand from the narrator who heard it second hand from another acquaintance. And even then just talking about the occurances in an offhand and indirect way, giving away no details.
All in all it was an excelle...more
It suffers from the idea that any actual horror needs to be at least two or three steps removed from the actual story, i.e. only hearing of criminal behavior third hand from the narrator who heard it second hand from another acquaintance. And even then just talking about the occurances in an offhand and indirect way, giving away no details.
All in all it was an excelle...more
I listened to the audio version from Livrivox on CraftLit. I enjoyed it.
كانت اول قصة اقراها من سلسلة الادب العالمي للناشئين التي اصدرتها
مكتبة الاسرة ...تاكدت في حينها وانا اقرؤه اني اعشق الخيال العلمي لقدر كبير
قصة جميلة جداا
بس اعتقد ان اغلب الادب الانجليزي اصبح قاصرا قراءئته على المرحلة مابين 13 عاما الى 18 عشر لان اكبر من ذلك سيتسخف الروايات هذه كثيرااا
مكتبة الاسرة ...تاكدت في حينها وانا اقرؤه اني اعشق الخيال العلمي لقدر كبير
قصة جميلة جداا
بس اعتقد ان اغلب الادب الانجليزي اصبح قاصرا قراءئته على المرحلة مابين 13 عاما الى 18 عشر لان اكبر من ذلك سيتسخف الروايات هذه كثيرااا
I actually read the new Signet Classic, the one with the Intorductory essay by Nabokov, which I recommend the first ten pages and last 2 paragraphs of. I also really enjoyed the Afterward by Dan Chaon. It didn't really occur to me the connection between Jekyll/Hyde and Jack the Ripper.
As for the story, I am much more impressed by it than any adaptation I've seen. The fact that Dr. Jekyll loses control of his transformations, and thus turns to Mr. Hyde not at will in the end, I think is key. ...more
As for the story, I am much more impressed by it than any adaptation I've seen. The fact that Dr. Jekyll loses control of his transformations, and thus turns to Mr. Hyde not at will in the end, I think is key. ...more
This book was different to what I expected. I didn’t expect that the reader’s discovery of the horrors of the Dr’s experimentation to take the point of view of one of the Dr’s friends. This made the story interesting, though knowing the outcome made it rather dull. Since it is the journey that is important rather than the destination, I would say that the author manages to be wonderfully descriptive and uses a distinctly different language to that of the Dr and his friends. I imagine it is diffi...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jekyll's and Hydes relationship. | 7 | 36 | Feb 14, 2012 01:22pm | |
| Book Lovers UnInt...: Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis | 6 | 13 | Feb 02, 2012 08:59am | |
| AP Indy Reads Ploehs: Does Mr. Hyde live within everyone? | 9 | 18 | Nov 01, 2011 06:21pm | |
| AP Indy Reads Ploehs: Dr. Lanyon | 2 | 8 | Nov 01, 2011 06:11pm | |
| Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Understanding A Fear Of Monsters | 5 | 13 | Oct 29, 2011 08:23pm | |
| AP Indy Reads Ploehs: Mr. Hyde's Potrayal | 5 | 16 | Oct 27, 2011 02:23pm | |
| AP Indy Reads Ploehs: Mr. Utterson's reasons. | 3 | 8 | Oct 27, 2011 04:31am |
Robert Louis (Balfour) Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a leading representative of Neo-romanticism in English literature. He was greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling and Vladimir Nabokov.
Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow de...more
More about Robert Louis Stevenson...
Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow de...more
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“Quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm. ”
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“If he be Mr. Hyde, I shall be Mr. Seek.”
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