This book is nearly driving me to madness. No wonder it captured the interest of posterity though.
A little backdrop from my childhood:
When I was four, I was staying with a relative who let me stay up late at night and watch Dracula. I was a very sensitive child who rarely watched tv at all so this made a huge impression on me. I remember being terrified of bats flying into my window. To this day, I remember the images of those black and white figures from the (1931) version??
Now, after I finish reading this, (currently 80% through) I must prepare myself to watch the movie for the first time since I was four years old. Will its hold over me be amplified or dispelled?
I'll let you know.
We Open:
The novel started out strong with a riveting opening recounting the tale of Jonathon Harker's visit to Transylvania as a guest and solicitor to the mysterious Count Dracula told through the medium of his journal.
This audio book has two readers; a male and female and they are truly amazing; fine reading and even different voices and accents for the different speakers. (Duke Classics audio book version - there are several)
This is where I rant for a second:
Dr. Van Helsing's long monologues began to wear on me in the next portion of the book which takes place in England. He was tending poor sick Lucy who had a penchant for sleep walking to the graveyard where a tall dark figure was found "bending over her neck," I couldn't wait for her to either convalesce or perish as quickly as possible. Firstly, her sickly sweet Victorian female persona was more than mildly annoying.
It's a book of its time; as the ladies are always being gently shafted out of anything interesting, are more virtuous than angels and are never even for a second brought down from their lofty pedestals to anything resembling normal human behavior. Seriously, vampire Lucy had a lot more personality than her human predecessor; it was almost a shame that she had to have a stake driven through her heart by her poor ex fiancée who also kind of suffers from one dimensionality.
I'm not even finished with the book and I really don't know the plot so I'm committed to finishing it so I can watch the movie (s). I just had to rant about it a little bit to get it off my chest.
The author also likes to ramble along a bit too much into side characters who have little to do with the main story line.
I'm a sad person of my time who just is in a hurry and wants people to cut to the chase just a little bit more. I'm usually nicer to authors who are still living sorry Bram; if you're reading this from the hereafter; I'm sure you understand my perspective. I've never once fainted because of being shocked by something someone said so...
Ok; one more thing. The "guys" form a vampire hunting guild and have all these secret meetings and stakeouts that would be "ever so much for poor Mina" so they leave her alone at night in her bedroom....
Excellent idea guys. Guys who does visit her while you're out "working?" The man who harnesses the mist and flows through cracks in doors, materializing to mesmerize and bite. She doesn't want to say anything about her "strange" dreams because it might worry them? They don't do any serious inquiry about her strange onset of paleness and fatigue that poor Lucy suffered from and "died" from like last week?? Oh by the way have we noticed that her teeth are getting sharper? Best not speak of it; she might faint.
Also bro doesn't put it together that his mental patient Renfield is obsessed with bats, blood, and has a "lord and master?" hmmm. Could these things be connected somehow?
If Van Helsing would do less talking and hinting around the subject and more fact connecting... well.... the story could be less tortuous and shorter.... Also Mina might not have Count Dracula attached to her slender virtuous Victorian neck.
Human History of Vampires
I'm no connoisseur of things horror, gothic etc. I'm not versed on this stuff; but a cursory plunge in google has informed me that legends of blood sucking monsters are rife in ancient folklore from multiple civilizations, people groups, and different continents.
I watched Twilight so I know Bella did her research. I'm a sucker for unrequited love y'all. Bram was doing his research and he claimed that his story had a solid foundation in true events. Ooh that's spooky.
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