Dracula in Around the World in 80 Books

Jan 09, 2020 Suvi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: cities_london, _book-shelf, _great-britain, horror, _favorites, novels, vampires, _ireland, _europe-eastern, 1800s

"You think to baffle me, you with your pale faces all in a row, like sheep in a butcher's. You shall be sorry yet, each one of you! - - - My revenge is just begun! I spread it over centuries, and time is on my side."

Small town library. Me when I'm between 10 and 12. I'm bored, but I've already devoured all the children's books that interested me. I shuffle down to the mysterious adult fiction shelves, and almost immediately I'm enthralled by the scary cover of Dracula. I take it to the desk

"You think to baffle me, you with your pale faces all in a row, like sheep in a butcher's. You shall be sorry yet, each one of you! - - - My revenge is just begun! I spread it over centuries, and time is on my side."

Small town library. Me when I'm between 10 and 12. I'm bored, but I've already devoured all the children's books that interested me. I shuffle down to the mysterious adult fiction shelves, and almost immediately I'm enthralled by the scary cover of Dracula. I take it to the desk and the slightly intimidating librarian lady asks me: "Are you sure you want this?" I say yes, but in my mind I'm going through all the times I've read the infamous Noidan käsikirja (Usborne Guide to the Supernatural World) cover to cover. How bad can it be?

Re-reading Dracula after all this time made me love it even more (a lot of it was probably too boring for a young kid). The realistic epistolary format further enhances the creeping dread (especially when we're given information that not all the characters know), and many eerie scenes are still effective today: the Carpathian mountains at night, Jonathan's experiences at the castle, the ship Demeter and its mysteriously disappearing crew, Dracula's nightly visits, the sightings of a "bloofer lady" in Hampstead Heath etc.

It's always scary to revisit literary memories, but luckily I found all the familiar things I loved the first time around and discovered many new things. For instance, it's easy to dismiss Mina as just a damsel in distress, but not only does she and Jonathan have mutual respect for each other and a healthy unusually non-19th century relationship, she's caring, intelligent, skilled, and has an active role in defeating the count. With the words of Van Helsing: "She has a man’s brain – a brain that a man should have were he much gifted – and a woman’s heart".

Dracula is so seeped into the popular culture that it probably feels both strangely familiar and unfamiliar when you read it the first time, but it's not a novel you want to skip. It deserves its status as a classic, and I would argue that Stoker's writing (beautiful descriptions, atmosphere building etc.) deserves even more credit.

And, you know, it's just fun to see the hang-ups of Victorians be blown to smithereens by a lurking vampire who enjoys slurping the blood of pretty maidens (or a pretty maiden licking his chest). ...more

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Aug 28, 2007 Kay rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, haunted-strange-macabre

So much has been done with the Dracula legend in popular culture that it's easy to lose sight of Stoker's original -- and, invariably, to be a little disappointed in it.

Still, it's undoubtedly a classic. It just goes on a little longer than the modern reader might wish. I read some other Stoker novels, out of curiosity, and found Dracula to be by far his best. ...more

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Dec 03, 2008 My work is never done rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Well it wasn't bad but neither was it as good as it could have been.

For starters, the Count kind of looked like the stereotypical villain complete with the bushy eye brows (lol) although the man is such a genius and has created a master plan worthy of Sherlock Holmes' Moriarty, he speaks such a broken English that it is hard not to laugh at him at times.

The part that made me laugh the most was when he was speaking to Mina in her chambers before he was changing her into a Vampire and said

"When my ...more

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Mar 01, 2012 Anie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, fiction, male-protagonist, male-author, 2012, ebooks, horror, project-gutenberg

This was a fantastic book. First off, it's creepy. Even for an atheist with no belief in the supernatural, it's really rather creepy. Second, it's an epistolary novel (how I love them, despite their hackneyed use and portrayal as a `lower' fiction), and he juggles the characters quite well---he makes good use of the format. Third, the ending---the last encounter with Dracula---is beautifully short. Although there's quite the buildup to this meeting, the meeting itself is short, as one would thin ...more

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Apr 05, 2009 Jen rated it really liked it

Shelves: classic-fiction, british-literature

I wanted to read the classic vampire book among all the vampire hype lately and am I glad I did. Dracula is a compelling and scary story, even though anyone who pays any attention to pop culture would know the general plot. However written in journal entries from a few of the characters perspective the story unfolds and is really compelling. I highly recommend this book to anyone.

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Jul 19, 2007 Fabiola Miranda added it

Shelves: books-i-need-to-finish-reading

I need to finish reading this book. I won't lie...the reason why I stopped was because it was soooo scary and I reading it at night...I'm a pansy. I got scared. The book is frighteningly good. ...more

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