Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Dracula by Bram Stoker

32 reviews

midnightcomets's review against another edition

dark inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Reading this and listening to Re: Dracula has been a wonderful experience that I would recommend to people who find the writing of classics tedious. There were some points where the plot was a bit slower than I wanted it to be, and sometimes that could make me lose my spark a bit. However, I totally understand why it became such a phenomenon for the people of its era, and why it scared them so much. I will definitely reread this at some point!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Religious bigotry

tifftastic87's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Obviously a classic, but very hard to get through. The writing in journal style is intriguing and adds to the mystery. Its very much a product of it's time and that made it hard to get immersed. 

The characters however, have much more depth than I expected and it has made me question the later interpretation of some characters. If you are a horror fan and haven't read this one, I recommend putting it on your list just to understand some of the beginnings of our supernatural tales. 

I do want to add that for the times Mina seems to be a particularly strong female character. The way she is described by the men is annoying "fair but having the brain of a man" but I understand that for the time that was likely a huge praise. It is her and Van Helsing that put it all together, find all the pieces and track down Dracula. Without her the men would have been lost and that is proved in a major plot point when they try to lock her away for her safety. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Alcohol, and Colonisation

orchidlilly's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Dracula's horror has a kind of slow burn that makes it very hard to capture in movie form. This also makes it, for those of us who are used to more thriller-like horror, or for those who are already aware of vampires as a concept, a bit of a slow read. There are times when the book drags on, most notably the newspaper sections and legal proceedings. It is rife with that classic British brand of racism, which while expected, is no more pleasant than it would be now. It also has a good bit of that 19th century sexism which is annoying, if only because of how repetitive it becomes, and how much of a hindrance to the plot it is.
All in all, an interesting read, but a good bit of the charm and suspense is lost to the changing principals of time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Drug use, Misogyny, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Colonisation

spacerkip's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Grief

Minor: Death of parent

katetherine's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, and Classism

romani slurs often used

honeyvoiced's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Ableism, Mental illness, Racial slurs, and Sexism

sylvia_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I (like many) read this book as Dracula Daily and I can’t believe I spent half a year reading a piece of Dracula almost every day.
I loved the experience, I loved being able to talk to others about it and I did very much enjoy the book. 
Of course the whole Dracula Daily experience does cloud my judgement a little but I found the characters surprisingly relatable and funny and I would of course die for Mina and Jonathan. 
You can see how my judgement is clouded by how much I say things are complicated in the standard questions, because for many the answer would be No in the whole, but because of this very intense reading and overthinking, I feel so full of nuance about the characters that everything seems complicated - not helped by the fact that the novel is over 100 years old and therefore quite outdated in many aspects.
Anyway this was a great experience 10/10 would recommend and I will definitely reread the book one day in its original order.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, and Racism

aardwyrm's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

It's. The one with Dracula. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation

mmefish's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Terrifying in the best way possible, “Dracula” is an iconic piece of literature for a reason.
If only the lengthy dramatic exclamations by the characters were cut by half…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, and Grief

Minor: Animal death, Child death, and Xenophobia

bookgurl488's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, and Bullying

Minor: Grief, Colonisation, and Classism