Dracula by Bram Stoker

[Lukeozade100]

Well I guess we all know about this book, but still heres a blurb from Amazon;

When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula with the purchase of a London house, he makes horrifying discoveries about his client and his castle. Soon afterwards, a number of disturbing incidents unfold in England: an unmanned ship is wrecked at Whitby; strange puncture marks appear on a young woman's neck; and the inmate of a lunatic asylum raves about the imminent arrival of his 'Master'. In the ensuing battle of wits between the sinister Count Dracula and a determined group of adversaries, Bram Stoker created a masterpiece of the horror genre.

 

I'd tried reading this when I was 12, and gotten about a 1/4 of the way through and lost the book and not thought it worth buying again, but recently I felt for

[Kell]

We read this one alongside Carmilla by J Sheridan Lefanu a while back - it was very interesting to compare the two as Carmilla directly influenced Stoker in his writing of Dracula.

 

You can see the thread HERE.

[Lukeozade100]

That is pretty interesting, Draculas my first ever vampire book since kids ones (I got really scared by vampires ater reading a goosebumps when i was 7 or 8!!), i'm now reading I Am Legend but think that'll probably be my last vampire book for a while, especially with Carmilla not seeming that amazing.

[poppy]

I read this not long ago and was a little underwhelmed. I thought Van Helsing rather long-winded and it just seemed to drag a bit. But I still think it's worth a read, it's interesting to see where the original idea came from.

I've always loved vampire movies ever since I watched old black and white ones, usually starring Christopher Lee. I actually found them quite hilarious, they were so over the top and melodramatic ....but then I do have a rather odd sense of humour

Edited October 7, 2008 by poppy

[Ben Mines]

I was also underwhelmed. There is some evocative imagery though. One memorable scene is that night when Jonathan looks out his window and sees the Count (who, contrary to the popular conception of a vampire, does not wear a cape or have brilliantined hair) scaling the wall of his palace like a lizard and realizes that his host is a monster. The Victorian gentlemen's hunt for this vampire that makes up the second half of the novel, on the other hand, is pretty hammy.

[Echo]

I really enjoyed this book, but it's been 8 years since I read it. Maybe it's time for a re-read?

[Charm]

I really enjoyed this book, but it's been 8 years since I read it. Maybe it's time for a re-read?

 

Same here. Only its 25 yrs since I read it! Again maybe time for a re-read

[Freewheeling Andy]

I think I read it in '92. From what I remember it's a perfectly entertaining, rather low-brow late Victorian romp. There was nothing very classy about it, but it did, at least, keep the suspense and drama and pace going all the way through.

[~Andrea~]

I thought the first half was excellent, page-turning stuff. The second half was disappointing - but I still think it's worth a read.

 

It's also impressive given it was the first of a kind. Yes there were other vampire stories before this, but this really defined the genre.

[bookie]

This is like a bible for all vampire fans and believers.As a book it's not so great( my opinion).

Edited December 24, 2008 by bookie

[Anika]

I am currently reading this book for the first time. Mainly to see how it compares to all the movies I've watched over the years, and because I just read Le Fanu's "Carmilla". I'm not really into all the vampire genre, that seems to have exploded on the scene, but I love Victorian fiction so that's really what prompted me to pick this one up.

 

I agree that Van Helsing gets a bit verbose and it's so rediculous how the diary entries relay information in a way no one would EVER write an actual diary, but I sum it up to artistic license. About 3/4 of the way through it, and not ecstatic about it, but just one of those books I can tick off my list of "should read" when I'm done.

[Stephanie2008]

This is on my to be read list, after the next two or three I have. I did try to start it but I just wasn't in the mood for this kind of book so decided to wait a few weeks

[Scarlette]

I read Dracula earlier this year. It was my first venture into classic literature. It was an interesting read, although I had expected more of it. I felt that some of the characters were a little dull - Mina and Jonathan - but others, such as Renfield and Van Helsing were well written and I loved reading the parts told from their perspectives. I might give this one another try sometime in the future.

[Kimmy619]

I read this earlier this year and despite high expectations, I didn't really enjoy it. The language was very 'flowery' for want of a better word and the story took a while to get in to. I actually found it a little boring. I am glad that I have read it, but wouldn't read it again.

[~Andrea~]

and because I just read Le Fanu's "Carmilla".

 

Then you may be interested in the comparative reading circle discussion we had on Carmilla and Dracula some time ago here:

http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=3499&highlight=classic+vampires

[Ed]

I very much liked Dracula, in fact I've just started reading it again. I first read it expecting fairly little, it was my first attempt at a classic and I thought that, knowing the story as everyone does, I'd find it boring. In fact I found that knowing what Dracula was made the first part, in the castle, more entertaining rather than less so. I agree with some of the other comments here about how the second half of the book is less good, it does tend to drag a little. However, I certainly found it kept my interest all the way through and overall I enjoyed it a lot. I've just finished reading Carmilla as well, it'll be interesting to compare them.

[Kylie]

I was almost going to ask you in your intro thread whether you had read Carmilla. What did you think? I really enjoyed it (I posted my thoughts in the comparative reading circle that Andrea linked to earlier).

[Anika]

Thanks for the link, Andrea! I'll be sure to check it out!

 

As for "Carmilla", I really enjoyed it very much! I wish the story was longer, though, because I like Le Fanu's writing style quite a bit. 'Schalken the Painter' is a good creepy story.

 

I just finished 'Dracula' last night, and yeah, there's a definite slackness in the pace of the last part.

 

One thing I thought was weird is the lack of minor characters. In those days, they had so many servants, etc., who lived-in, but few are mentioned; none by name. Nor are any employees or functionaries under Dr. Seward refered to. You get the feeling he runs the place by himself, which could hardly be the case. ( .........yes, I get caught up in certain little unrealities in fiction, I'm afraid. Can't help it.)

 

And Renfield's sudden insights of erudite clarity made me laugh, but his history before, and why, he comes to the asylum should have been more detailed, in my opinion.

[BookJumper]

despite high expectations, I didn't really enjoy it. The language was very 'flowery'

It's a matter of taste, I suppose - the floweriness of Stoker's writing was one of the highlights as far as I was concerned !

[Kylie]

I agree, Giulia! I'm all for flowery prose, which is one reason I loved Dracula so much.

[Raskolnikov]

None of the above readers seem to have been struck by horror the way I was. This book is very powerful, it haunted me for days even after finishing it. Very few artists actually did that to me. I got the same trauma watching Rosemary's baby.

[BookJumper]

None of the above readers seem to have been struck by horror the way I was.

Not to worry, it did thrill and chill me - isn't that why one reads gothic literature? I didn't think it necessary to remark on it because it seems obvious to me that a good gothic novel will elicit scaredness.

[Morbid Hermit]

Actually one of my birthday gifts was a nice new edition of Dracula - it's a classy looking blood-red hardback, with a foreword from Elizabeth Kostova, who has written a book called The Historian which apparently ties in with the Dracula concept, which seems intriguing although it's a recent novel.

[BookJumper]

I haven't read The Historian yet but many on here have and have loved it; I believe there's a dedicated thread in the Horror section you might like to peruse I have seen the edition you refer to and indeed it's very snazzy, although I'm saving up for the New Annotated .

[Morbid Hermit]

I haven't read The Historian yet but many on here have and have loved it; I believe there's a dedicated thread in the Horror section you might like to peruse I have seen the edition you refer to and indeed it's very snazzy, although I'm saving up for the New Annotated .

 

Thanks 'Jumper! I just read that thread (through an advanced search) and it has increased my interest. I still have a lot to read right now, but will bear The Historian in mind for the near future (I'm sure I've seen the paperback of it at Oxfam before IIRC).