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Dracula

Bram Stoker

Start date: June 1, 2014

Finish date: June 30, 2014

Discussion: Book/Genre of the Month

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What Members Thought

Sep 09, 2009 Gaijinmama rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

It is truly amazing, with all the vampire books I have been devouring lately, that it took me this long to read the one that kind of sets the standard for vampires.
The story is chilling in that wonderful , creepy Victorian way. More than the presence of the monster, what scares me the most is the sheer isolation of the place and time. Right from the beginning,Jonathan Harker is in an out-of-the-way castle in an out-of-the-way part of Eastern Europe, and hello, folks, there are no cell phones or ...more

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Oct 30, 2010 Terri rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, horror, vampires

I can't believe it took me so long to read this since I love vampire books. I really enjoyed it. I love the diary style story. I can see why it was so popular. And of course, it was nice to have a truly evil vamp for a change. ...more

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Apr 15, 2014 Paras rated it liked it · review of another edition

Reading a book from 1980s was surely an enjoyable experience, adding to the fact that it was one of the first fictional books which was plotted upon vampires. Although the whole experience was acknowledgeable, if one didnt know anything about vampires, but I could help but feel that a lot of it was dragged.
Even though the author used some 400 pages in describing the wrath of the vampire and his dangers, the work of finishing him was taken in seconds and was not much of thrilling experience as on ...more

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May 07, 2014 Rachel rated it really liked it

“Do you not think that there are things which you cannot understand, and yet which are; that some people see things that others cannot? But there are things old and new which must not be contemplate by men´s eyes, because they know -or think they know- some things which other men have told them. Ah, it is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all; and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain.” ― Bram Stoker, ‘Dracula’

Abraham ‘Bram’ Stoker’s chilling masterpiece ‘Dr “Do you not think that there are things which you cannot understand, and yet which are; that some people see things that others cannot? But there are things old and new which must not be contemplate by men´s eyes, because they know -or think they know- some things which other men have told them. Ah, it is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all; and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain.” ― Bram Stoker, ‘Dracula’

Abraham ‘Bram’ Stoker’s chilling masterpiece ‘Dracula’ was a great read! I have heard so many people complain that this novel is boring that it really did put me off the idea of picking it up to read for a long time. There are also quite a few abridged versions out there which again put me off (definitely don’t read those first, read the unabridged version). However, as you will know I am a huge fan of ‘The Classics’ at this was one of my ‘to read’ books, so I picked it up and plunged into it straight away. A few hours later and I was half way through it was so good!

Was it boring? Absolutely not! Perhaps I found the beginning of chapter Twenty Seven a little dull, but after all the disturbing incidents, mysterious puncture marks appearing on necks and raving lunatics I think that the ending was going to be a bit of an anti-climax. Nevertheless, it was a suitable ending for the book, although today’s audience would see it as very much of an ‘and-they-lived-happily-ever-after’ scenario.

Personally I found it a very enjoyable read as structurally it is composed of a series of journal entries, letters, newspaper articles, and memos which really brought the novel alive. As today’s readers are somewhat de-sensitised to the ‘horror genre’ I actually found this book more thrilling to read at night (yes, I did only read it from 11pm onwards to try and scare myself Victorian style). Perhaps all those readers were associating boredom with not actually appreciating how terrifying this would have been to a Victorian audience. In my opinion it is definitely worth reading, and I am very glad that I did. It certainly deserves to be categorised as a Classic. I am sure that this is a novel which I will come back to in the future and enjoy just as much as I did the first time.
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