Book Review: Dracula, by Bram Stoker
Author: Maibella Rhoiden
I'm not a horror person in any sense of the word. I avoid scary movies and books like the plague. *shudder* But a while back I read a review of Bram Stoker’s DRACULA that gave me the impression that the book would be quaint and almost comical in parts, so I decided to read it. Boy, was I wrong. And I am so glad too, because - shocker! - I really loved this book.
Let me say first off that I knew NOTHING about this book. I mean, yes I knew about Dracula and I had some idea of how to fend off a vampire if I ever came across one, but I didn’t know any of the details of the original story. I didn't know what was going to happen from one page to the next, and that made the book very exciting!
DRACULA was written in 1897 by Irish author Bram Stoker. It introduced the character of Dracula for the first time and is the inspiration for countless books and films. This book tells the tale of Count Dracula and his attempt to move from his castle in Transylvania to a mansion in England from which he plans to spread the curse of undeath. The main characters include Dracula’s British solicitor, Jonathan Harker, Harker’s finace Mina, and several of their friends and associates.
The story is told through diary entries and letters written by the main characters, augmented by newspaper reports. I'm a big fan of this writing style; I love the differing perspectives and the fact that a narrator can't get in the way of the story. It took a few pages for me to get into the book because the language is a bit flowery, especially when Doctor Van Helsing is speaking (I was rather excited that I knew who he was) but once I was used to the style I was hooked. Despite the (sometimes) flowery language, the suspense was palpable and I often caught myself speeding through the pages because I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. And if I was hooked, how much more so would Stoker's original readers have been?!
What surprised me the most was that there were actually some creepy parts. I expected to find it all quaint and simple, but the reality is far from it. The creepy parts weren’t enough to keep me up at night but there were plenty of times when I got chills and felt my skin crawling. I really didn’t expect that at all, considering how old this book is.
If you’re like me (a total chicken) and you feel like you have to miss out on all the spooky things because you'll be too frightened to sleep ever again, I encourage you to read DRACULA. It has just enough of a creep-factor to get your skin crawling but not enough to give you nightmares. I highly recommend it!
I read this book through Project Gutenberg.It's an excellent resource, so check it out if you haven't before.
