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vigil's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
there wasn't any portion of this book that disliked reading, though i have mild hang up about the ending. the pacing of this book is consistent, though depending on the angle you view it from, could be seen as slow, medium, or fast, depending on what you count as plot progression. The language is very accessible considering it's a classic, but not simplistic or dull. i think the dialogue, especially between carmilla and laura, is the standout.
the plot began to trail off upon the introduction of the general, though the answers to the mysteries throughout the book were fully delivered (a bit too fully, you could say) in a very sussinct manner that, once finished, quickly pushed you towards the climax.
the ending was, in my opinion somewhat anti-climatic, but i understand that was the style of the time. i do think that in making carmilla more of a vague outline of a monster, rather than something present, both added and detracted from the climax, which really need more of her actually in it.
i really found carmen maria machado's introduction to be informative as well as her footnotes, though they often leaned towards comedy.she's totally right on one front however. there's no way that wasn't an orgasm.
i had a fun time with this book though i think if it were longer, it would've made the book much better. especially the climax.
the plot began to trail off upon the introduction of the general, though the answers to the mysteries throughout the book were fully delivered (a bit too fully, you could say) in a very sussinct manner that, once finished, quickly pushed you towards the climax.
the ending was, in my opinion somewhat anti-climatic, but i understand that was the style of the time. i do think that in making carmilla more of a vague outline of a monster, rather than something present, both added and detracted from the climax, which really need more of her actually in it.
i really found carmen maria machado's introduction to be informative as well as her footnotes, though they often leaned towards comedy.
i had a fun time with this book though i think if it were longer, it would've made the book much better. especially the climax.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Racism and Xenophobia
maeverose's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.0
Edit: upon re read, I’ve lowered my rating to a 3 (was a 4). I think I was mostly excited about the vibes the first time I read it. Still liked it though.
I guess I’m eating my words about not liking the writing style of classics, huh?
I loved the writing style of this book. It was atmospheric and gothic, I loved the setting of the castle and the grassy hills and the ruins of the old town. I pictured fog over everything anytime they were outside. Now I wanna have a picnic at old castle ruins in the fog with a pretty vampire. (Sadly that doesn’t happen in this book but it could’ve). This might be my favorite classic I’ve read so far… it’s at least tied with Dracula, but I think it tops it. It actually got pretty creepy at times.
Was also a little surprised how explicitly sapphic it was, given when it was written. I was expecting it to just be homoerotic in the way that classics sometimes are, or overtly homophobic. I think it’s safe to assume that the combination of sapphic elements and vampirism was very intentional.. automatically villainizing lesbianism by portraying it as a ‘virus’ that you can ‘catch’, something that’s evil and scary… But reading it it isn’t actually explicitly homophobic. It’s all subtext. It could easily be read through a more modern lens, removing that subtext.
I guess I’m eating my words about not liking the writing style of classics, huh?
I loved the writing style of this book. It was atmospheric and gothic, I loved the setting of the castle and the grassy hills and the ruins of the old town. I pictured fog over everything anytime they were outside. Now I wanna have a picnic at old castle ruins in the fog with a pretty vampire. (Sadly that doesn’t happen in this book but it could’ve). This might be my favorite classic I’ve read so far… it’s at least tied with Dracula, but I think it tops it. It actually got pretty creepy at times.
Was also a little surprised how explicitly sapphic it was, given when it was written. I was expecting it to just be homoerotic in the way that classics sometimes are, or overtly homophobic. I think it’s safe to assume that the combination of sapphic elements and vampirism was very intentional.. automatically villainizing lesbianism by portraying it as a ‘virus’ that you can ‘catch’, something that’s evil and scary… But reading it it isn’t actually explicitly homophobic. It’s all subtext. It could easily be read through a more modern lens, removing that subtext.
My only complaints:
•The racism. It’s only in one or two scenes, but it’s pretty bad in one scene especially.
•How naive Laura was, especially at the very end. She was supposed to be 19, right? How did she not connect the dots after the general’s story??? 😆
•It ended a bit abruptly
•And lastly, I just wish we got more pretty atmospheric descriptions of the ruins. I was waiting the whole book for them to go there and when they did we didn’t get much :/ I would’ve liked more atmospheric descriptions in general, but at least we got some.
Overall, I’m really happy I liked this! I was starting to worry that classics just weren’t for me. Hopefully there are still more out there that I’ll love.
“Thus fortified I might take my rest in peace. But dreams come through stone walls, light up dark rooms, or darken light ones, and their persons make their exits and their entrances as they please, and laugh at locksmiths.”
“Thus fortified I might take my rest in peace. But dreams come through stone walls, light up dark rooms, or darken light ones, and their persons make their exits and their entrances as they please, and laugh at locksmiths.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Ableism, Sexual content, Suicide, and Death of parent
Religious themes, beheading, cremation, sleep paralysis (not really but the descriptions are similar)shrutislibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
bugcollector's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The book read like someone trying to imitate a classic today, and I kept having to remind myself that it was actually written in 1800s
Perhaps the illustrations are to blame-they were lazy and disconnected from the story.
I felt like I was reading those modern-day romance books, with horrible, faceless characters design cover, that keep popping into your head at unwanted times . (except you couldn't escape the illustrations in this edition of Carmilla, They kept coming back with different backgrounds throughout the book)
It's kind of a shame, because scrolling thorough Wikipedia afterwards, you find that Carmilla has inspired many paintings and drawings which would have done a much better job delevering the gothic, eerie feeling it tried to convey. (instand of the children-coloring-book drawing attempt we got here)
What I did enjoy was the editors introduction, which brought a nice touch and a fresh perspective on the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
lil13's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Child death and Terminal illness
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Lesbophobia
jojo_'s review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Incest, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Medical content, Lesbophobia, and Classism
paladinosaur's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
If you’re in the mood for some very gay, gothic vampire literature I can’t recommend Carmilla enough. Its a good length little novella, only took me a little over an hour. It’s also available for free on Project Gutenberg so…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Gore, Sexual content, Medical content, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury
ingloriousgigi's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was so unbelievably gay. I know Fanu was probably wrote it this way as anti-homosexuality morality play but honestly if it wasn't for the last 30 minutes of the book, it very well came off as a romance. But atlas, the ending is tragic but comparing this to Bramstroker's Dracula, I have to say it's better.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Blood
deadeye's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Racism
_piercingwords_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
As a bi vampire lover, I liked this book and found it interesting to see the resemblance and differences to more modern adaptations of the vampire myths.
I also liked how Carmilla's and Laura's queerness was not directly demonised and found it very progressive for its age in comparison to other classics.
It was, as one of the first influential vampire stories, predictable but nevertheless an enjoyable read.
Did I get that right though? That Carmilla was actually remotely related to Laura? The thing I actually did not expect and threw me off a bit oof
I also liked how Carmilla's and Laura's queerness was not directly demonised and found it very progressive for its age in comparison to other classics.
It was, as one of the first influential vampire stories, predictable but nevertheless an enjoyable read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Death, Incest, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Abandonment