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Dracula

Bram Stoker

Start date: March 1, 2020

Finish date: March 31, 2020

Discussion: Group Reads

Why we're reading this: March 2020 Completist Selection - Irish Authors Poll Winner
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What Members Thought

Nov 05, 2020 Tom rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Why a 5 Star rating? Well mainly because besides Sherlock Holmes, Dracula is an iconic literary character that has been immortalized in countless renditions of theatrical plays, books, films, TV adaptations, games and comics. When an author creates a story and the character he creates becomes a literary legend, it deserves the recognition of a 5 Star Classic. "Tales of the supernatural had been circulating in Romanian folklore for centuries when Irish writer Bram Stoker picked up the thread and Why a 5 Star rating? Well mainly because besides Sherlock Holmes, Dracula is an iconic literary character that has been immortalized in countless renditions of theatrical plays, books, films, TV adaptations, games and comics. When an author creates a story and the character he creates becomes a literary legend, it deserves the recognition of a 5 Star Classic. "Tales of the supernatural had been circulating in Romanian folklore for centuries when Irish writer Bram Stoker picked up the thread and spun it into a golden tale of ghoulishness that has never been out of print since its first publication in 1897." http://romaniatourism.com/dracula-leg...
The Introduction by Brooke Allen is a great Bram Stoker mini biography which gives the reader a knowledgeable background on the author.

NEED A LITTLE MORE DRACULA?
If you are in the mood for a film adaptation of Dracula I recommend that you watch a free film found on YouTube. Although admittedly the film production is quite dated and honestly very cheesy and cheaply done the portrayal of Dracula done by Louis Jourdan is well worth the watching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96OII...
It is a BBC Adaptation from 1977. Often considered the most faithful version to the novel with Louis Jourdan as the Count. Believe me except for the physical description Jourdan nails Stoker's Dracula. To show Jourdan's masterful portrayal of the Count watch this 4:37 minute clip if you can't watch the 2 and a half hour movie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_w3a... Jourdan makes Lugosi look like a cardboard cut-out cartoon character (IMHO). The following I have found is an accurate critique of the 1977 film adaptation.
"Devotees of vampire cinema have long esteemed this heretofore hard-to-see adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel, made for BBC-TV in 1977. Count Dracula puts Louis Jourdan in the fangs and cape, in a version subtitled--and played as--a Gothic romance. This is one of those 1970s TV productions that use film for exteriors and video for the interiors, a tactic that increases the general sense of cheapness about the whole thing (although the location stuff is good, including scenes on the cliffs of Whitby, the port town where Dracula comes to visit England). With 150 minutes to play with, the production has more of Stoker than many film versions include, although there's still some shuffling of the original. It's all a bit slow, and surprisingly cheesy at times, even with the occasional startling image: Dracula scooting bat-like down the side of his castle, or the vampire brides preparing to devour a baby (a scene cut from some subsequent showings of the series, but restored here). Frank Finlay makes a focused Van Helsing--a minimum of camping, thankfully--and Susan Penhaligon and Judi Bowker are respectively hot and cold as Lucy and Mina. Jourdan is effective, although he's off screen a lot and really gets his good bites in toward the end. You'll need some patience, but Jourdan drinks it dry." --Robert Horton Robert Horton is a member of the National Society of Film Critics, and the longtime film critic for the Herald (Everett, WA), and Seattle Weekly. He is a regular contributor to Film Comment magazine ...more

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Jan 03, 2019 Summer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: venture-to-the-vampiric

Venture to the Vampiric #3

Ah, the classic vampire novel!!

It's raised from a 4 (from memory) to a 5 star!

Those beginning chapters are just exquisite, the mystery and the atmosphere and the intrigue... just top notch.

There are parts of the novel where it gets a little slow, but I just love the form of narration, switching back and forth through the handful of key narrators and news articles and messages. I also adore that the novel is building itself up as it's being written, you get shown when/ho Venture to the Vampiric #3

Ah, the classic vampire novel!!

It's raised from a 4 (from memory) to a 5 star!

Those beginning chapters are just exquisite, the mystery and the atmosphere and the intrigue... just top notch.

There are parts of the novel where it gets a little slow, but I just love the form of narration, switching back and forth through the handful of key narrators and news articles and messages. I also adore that the novel is building itself up as it's being written, you get shown when/how the collection of letters/diaries etc. is being put together as you read, when they're being transcribed and each persons experience/diaries added to the collection, until we discover at the end its a complete document which only our protagonists, and their son, will read. It's just so creative and I absolutely love that.

This is a second read for me, really focusing on the essence of the 'vampire' here, what traits and lore does the novel set out? Such a clever development of the myths and stories that came before it. It struck me that the novel did really religify (if that's a word) the concept, making a clear distinction between the devil/vampires, and the holiness of God and his followers.

Dracula was a sufficiently strong and formidable foe, but with just enough weaknesses, and timing, to bring about his defeat. I'd actually forgotten the ending, and I was a little worried towards the end that Dracula might actually win! Losing Lucy and the battle for Mina demonstrated that it may not always be a happy ending.

I really enjoyed the female vampire characters (although I don't love the reason behind it - almost subjugation of women... - but I'll ignore that for now). The wives and the bid for new wives were a really creepy concept, but added a flair to the story. Van Helsing too is such a fantastic character, and Dr. Seward brings the themes of mental illness in a time in history when it was only just beginning to be understood...

The ending, too, almost brought tears to my eyes! I didn't remember poor Quincey, but I love that we found out their son was named Quincey, and our characters all got a happy ending. They're heroes - but no one, except their son, will ever know!

Fantastic novel. ...more

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