Reviews

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales of Terror, by Robert Louis Stevenson

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stories's review against another edition

challenging mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

I read this thanks to Jekyll and Hyde Weekly on Substack (although not in a timely manner).

I knew the generally story kernel, of course, but was somewhat surprised by how much I enjoyed it! (Even listening via automated text to speech which is not exactly an ideal format).

I never realised this book was a mystery novel! Plus, there’s some truly gorgeous prose (“a man as emotional as a bagpipe”), and incredibly relevant and well articulated themes wrestling with self-identity and the question of Good and Evil; Right and Wrong.

Very much a classic that deserves its long lived fame and to persist into the future. If you’ve got some spare time I most definitely recommend!

1stfallenangel's review

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mysterious medium-paced

Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

drowningfaithh's review against another edition

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4.0

I read Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and had to make our own rendition of a play for an English class. I enjoyed learning about it in class, so rereading this made me feel a lot of nostalgia; thus, further amplifying my enjoyment. Knowing the text beforehand and having a background on the foreshadowings, the symbolism, and the theme made my reading a better experience because you can really see how the idea of the dichotomy of man was presented and alluded to.

To be honest, I only bought this for Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde , but I'm glad to say I enjoyed a few of Stevenson's other stories. Markheim is a short story that dealt with the author's prominent themes of good vs. evil. For me, it was a great example of showing and not telling. It dropped information by showing little details or in the dialogue, and it began smack right in the middle of the action. A short but thought-provoking read. The Bottle Imp is one of the short stories that captivated me as well as it tackles the common "sold my soul to the devil" trope, which I am a complete sucker for. The other stories, I just breezed by them a bit as I was not interested.

Collectively, I would give Stevenson's works a 3.5 stars rounded up.

mollyfiddler's review against another edition

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3.0

3 stars because Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde was actually a really good story.

jasminerosekoop's review

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3.0

THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (as I haven't yet read the other stories)
Everyone has some sort of idea as to what this story is about. It's so engrained into the literature canon that it's hard not to know at least parts of this famous story. It was the writing style that caught me off on this one, though. Presented through another character's testimonies and a series of letters, it was unexpected. The fact that DR Jekyll WANTED this to all happen to him was something that really shocked me. The events that followed only became more beastly after I discovered this fact. I definitely understand how it has remained in the literature canon for this long, being such an original in a time where almost no fiction was set within the streets of London.