Dracula

Synopsis

The most famous figure of seductive evil in Western Literature, blood-thirsty Count Dracula has inspired countless movies, book, and plays. But few, if any, have been fully faithful to Bram Stoker's original best-selling novel of mystery and horror, love and death, sin and redemption.

Written in the forms of letters and diary entries, Dracula chronicles the vampire's journey from his Transylvanian castle to the nighttime streets of London. There, he searches for the blood he needs to stay alive- the blood of strong men and beautiful women- while his enemies plot to rid the world of his frightful power.

Loved

I honestly didn't know what to expect going into Dracula, but it exceeded any expectations and I absolutely fell in love with it! 

• I loved the delicious creepiness. Just as a disclaimer, I do not do horror things. I'm the kind of person who just somewhat assumes Voldemort or an orc or Jack the Ripper is hanging out in my backyard or under my bed, so I don't need any help getting creeped out (that said, I've always been the first one in haunted houses, so I guess I'm just weird). But this creepiness was perfect. It was eerie and mysterious, but wasn't too dark or too gory. It was the perfect amount of spookiness that gave me chills and made me pull the blanket up tighter, but didn't leave me with a pit in my stomach.

• The characters! I absolutely loved every single character. I loved that they were all so selfless and gallant. It definitely felt a tad bit chauvinistic with all the men going out to hunt Dracula and leaving the women behind. And of course we had a damsel in distress, but that's just classic novels for you. But I didn't realize there was such a good crew of people teaming up to fight Dracula. They are all so good. I love that even though two of them love the same woman, they both fight together and have no hard feelings. They are all selfless, brave, and eager to help- which was refreshing. No internal drama here, which was nice :)

• Van Helsing. Um why is this guy not more famous and praised in classic literature? Or maybe he is and I just haven't paid attention. He is so smart. And so good. And brave. He basically saves the whole human race from vampires because of his brains, wit and bravery. He is not the young, strong vampire hunter Hollywood would have us think he is. He is old, wise and humble. He is the real MVP here and I think he deserves more recognition in the literature world.

• I loved the format of this story. It's told in mostly journal entries and letters, but also random compilations of newspaper clippings and memoirs. I thought the compilation of random events made the story so interesting because it was coming from all sorts of angles. I loved the sense of mystery it created by having us figure out how all the parts of the story connect.

• The mystery. I love the eeriness of seeing all these creepy things happen all over and learning different things about Dracula and vampires in each story. I loved finding clues and seeing how all the pieces came together at the end- which they all did and it was very satisfying! Even though we know Dracula is behind all the creepy events, it was so exciting to see his trace in all these different stories and follow the threads that lead to him.

• Dracula himself. I absolutely love Dracula- I think he's my new favorite villain. I am fascinated by Vlad the Impaler (which started after reading Hunting Prince Dracula), and the legend that has turned him into Dracula is just so interesting to me. I love that Dracula is so creepy, but initially seems like a quirky old man to Jonathan Harker. I love all the lore that goes with vampires that we see in this story, such as putting crucifixes and garlic around your neck. It was fun to see where much of the vampire culture comes from. Dracula is the perfect classic villain with his castle, turning into a bat, his need for blood from beautiful people, and his stealthiness in the dark. Oh and he can scale walls. And he sneaks into psych wards and torments patients. And he crawls out of his tomb every night. Find me a better villain than that!

Didn't Love

• I honestly loved everything about this book- which surprised me! I didn't expect to love it so much- I mostly just read it to say I had. But I seriously loved it all! If it wasn't a classic novel written in 1897, I would be mad the women don't get to go out and fight. But that's just how classic novels go, so I'm not mad about it although it is frustrating. I do love how Mina is so smart and figures so many things out though.

Content

• Language: 
• I don't think there is any language here. Possibly a few "damns" and "hells."

• Sexual content: 
• Some female vampires dance provocatively in front of Jonathan Harker to put him under their spell. He finds himself with a "wicked and burning desire that they would kiss me" (pg 43 in B&N version). One of them is described as "voluptuous" and she runs her lips seductively down Jonathan's face down to his neck. He waits in "languorous ecstasy" for her to bite his neck before coming out of his spell.
• Dracula opens a wound in his chest and forces a female character to drink the blood from his breast (pg 306).
• One virtuous character becomes a vampire and becomes suggestive and seductive toward her lover, kissing him and trying to put him under her spell.

• Violence:
• Okay obviously we're dealing with a horror novel here, so we've got a LOT of violence. But, with it being written in a classic instead of a Hollywood format, the descriptions are not horribly graphic. However, there are many disturbing scenes in this story.
• Dracula lets a child be eaten by wolves while the child's mother watches and she tears her hair out.
• Female vampires feast on a human child in front of a main character.
• Many references to throat slashings, biting, and driving stakes through the heart (the only way to kill a vampire).
• A main character is turned into a vampire, so they sneak into the tomb and cut off the head and put a stake in their heart. It's particularly disturbing because the character had been good and dear to the people destroying the body.
• Dracula kills a man in an asylum. He is found in a pool of blood with his head "having been beaten on the floor." His back is broken and he slowly dies.
• Frequent scenes of Dracula sneaking into homes and sucking blood from the veins of men and women, slowly draining them of life and turning them into vampires.
• Many references to people disappearing and dying in mysterious ways.
• One character is killed by getting stabbed.
• Disturbing image of a character searching Dracula while he lies in his coffin. Descriptions of the sneer and hatred on his face while lying in his tomb (but is he awake. . . ?) :)

 Overall Thoughts

Like I said earlier, I went into this book wanting to read it just to say I read it. But I ended up totally falling in love with it! It was very creepy, but deliciously so. I loved the Victorian setting, the mysterious pieces coming together, the gallant group fighting the monster, and I loved Dracula himself as the perfect classic villain. There are many disturbing images and it's definitely not a light-hearted read, but it is heartening to see the characters fighting so hard together and keeping faith in the midst of such horror. I definitely recommend this, even if you don't like classics. I think everyone should read it to understand the real Dracula and where all the lore comes from. I read it around Halloween which was perfect!