Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in The Complete Idiots Guide to the Ultimate Reading List

Oct 28, 2010 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it liked it

Shelves: ultimate-reading-list, classics, ebooks, fiction, horror, novels, fantasy, science-fiction, before-i-die

This story of a doctor who splits off his dark side with a potion might have been much more impressive in its psychology of duality when published in 1886. The novella kept me reading from start to finish, without really moving me--the story is kept at one remove until it's last few chapters by being seen through the perspective of Utterson, Dr Jekyll's friend and lawyer, a rather bland figure. The last two chapters are letters from a friend and colleague of Jekyll, then finally Jekyll himself, ...more

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Oct 23, 2010 Cee rated it really liked it

Shelves: horror, classics, mystery

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is quite different from what I was expecting. I've seen countless movie interpretations and adaptations of the story, but none of them seem to capture the real intention and mystery of Stevenson's novella.

Usually his story is turned into a science-fiction action-packed romp, while the original is much more subtle. It's more mystery than science-fiction. We follow the lawyer Mr Utterson, who is a bit concerned about his friend Dr Jekyll, when Dr Jekyll cr ...more

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Jan 15, 2010 Matt rated it it was ok

Shelves: own, classics, horror, audiobook-library-loan, 2012

I listened to this in audio book form. This is a classic on the same page as Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. Once I got past a few problems, I found this to be a very entertaining book. I found the language and parts of the plot extremely hard to follow. I also found myself wishing for better descriptions of Mr. Hyde. I suppose I should blame Hollywood to tainting my imagination with images of giant hunch-backed monstrosities. That is very obviously not the image that the author intended. I did enjo ...more

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