Beth F
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Michelle
Nicole
S. Krishna
Dracula – Book Review
I sent Brian to Half Price Books a week or two ago to pick me up a book, “Dracula,” by Bram Stoker. I sent him to get this book because, during a bout of reading ennui, I had accidently grabbed “The Historian” from my bookshelf. This led to me picking up “Vlad the Impaler” to read along with it. At this point, I decided that I might as well go to the most famous purveyor of vampire lore in the modern world: Bram Stoker. I sent Brian to HPB instead of going myself so that only one book, instead of four or five I haven’t got the time to read, would come home.
I had a couple of preconceived notions about “Dracula.” First, I thought it would be nice and fairly short, like “Frankenstein.” After all, how much could there possibly be to say about this monster? Evidently I was forgetting the lesson of the 676 pages of “The Historian.” I also imagined that “Dracula” would be readable, and not much more. I believed that it would enrich my theme read, but not that I would enjoy it for itself.
However, I was completely incorrect in my assumptions. I’m not sure how long a traditional copy of Dracula is, because mine was an annotated edition, “The Essential Dracula,” and was some 445 pages long. Luckily, my other assumption was just as mistaken. Although Stoker started to slip a bit as the book went on, the beginning of his story is extremely consuming and I was hooked almost immediately. It was always a struggle to decide whether I’d rather pick up “The Historian” or “Dracula.” “Dracula” often won.
I found most of the annotations extremely helpful. Some of them I skipped over, such as those describing this or that street in London which Stoker had described, but others helped me understand many of Stoker’s references and meanings that I might have otherwised glossed over. Actually, even the ‘boring’ footnotes helped me gain an appreciation for just how much research Stoker did to give his story of feeling of realism, which I think is part of what makes his story so horrifying. Instead of taking place somewhere mystical-seeming out in the forest somewhere, the majority of the action takes place in real, 19th century London.
I was surprised how much I really enjoyed this book and would actually recommend it.
Buy “The Essential Dracula” on Amazon:The Essential Dracula
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I read Dracula (a regular version, not an annotated one – maybe that would have helped?) last October, and I remember being disappointed at how little Dracula was actually *in* it. More Dracula, less about how Mina Harker is the perfect specimen of all that is womanhood, please!
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My book club went on a vampire streak last summer and we read all three books out in the Twilight series and The Historian. Dracula is on my TBR pile and now so is Vlad the Impaler. A theme read is such a good idea. I’ll have to keep the idea in mind as I plan out my summer reads. Thanks.
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Wow! That would be an interesting read! I read Dracula (the regular old thinner version) back in high school and it’s become one of my favorite books. I love the way it was written by a series of letters and for how little the book is, how much the imagination is pushed. I think Dracula and Frankenstein were some of the first books I read which made me realize that not all “classics” are stuffy and boring. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is also a great one.
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I agree with you that the beginning is amazing but that the book almost went downhill after that. There are some amazing scenes, but I think on the whole (since most people compare it to–) I prefer “Frankenstein”.
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Okay… I just wanted dashes there… no need for a weird winking/eyebrow raising smiley.
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It’s been 5 years since I read Dracula, but I’ve had the strange desire to re-read it for a while now. Like you, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the book. Although isn’t there a scene where Dracula is sort of breast feeding Mina his blood? I might be making that up…
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You aren’t making that up, that really happened. In fact, it happened while her husband was asleep right next to her. The rest of them all rush in and see it happening.
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