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wextra's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
An underrated classic that modern audiences unfortunately will likely not give the time of day because of its pacing, Dracula is the pinnacle of tension building. While there are many slow and repetitive parts of the novel, they exist to build towards the key sequences of the novel and the pay off never ceases to exceed expectations. There are few novels in the English language that reward a reader's patience quite like Dracula and if you are willing to give it its due, you will come away with a great appreciation for the work.
The cast of characters is somewhat underdeveloped compared to modern standards but the novel is in service to its plot primarily and this criticism extends most to the handful of major characters who unfortunately do not get the chance to write from the first person. The method of storytelling that Stoker employs, the use of journal entries, letters and newspaper clippings, to drive the narrative, favors several characters over others, giving the reader more familiarity with Jonathan Harker, Doctor John Seward, Mina Harker and Professor Abraham Van Helsing than any of the rest of the cast. But I feel the criticism is overstated as it's clear that each of these characters have well-defined goals and values. Lucy Westerna, despite being a narrator at several points, is unfortunately left underdeveloped but her role is more plot device than character and her particular traits likely appealed more to the audience of Stoker’s day than to modern audiences.
But the setting and mood shore up the weak characters. Every scene is truly vivid and detailed and while characters may often be lost in melodramatic prayer for paragraphs at a time, it does bring with it the sense of dread that Stoker sought to evoke, although again, it's a writing tactic that likely appealed more in its time than to modern secular audiences removed from such constant conversation with the holy.
Unfortunately, there is the elephant of the room of eugenics, racism and xenophobia which will absolutely turn off many modern audiences. While not the crux of the novel, phrenology and it's relationship to criminology and psychology is mentioned numerous times throughout the novel and clearly was influential in the development of the story. Likewise, the novel portrays the Romani as cult-like devoted followers of the Count at several points and the appearance of the Count himself is orientalist in design, meant to evoke a fear of men of the near east. This is absolutely much to the novel worth reading anyway but these are ideas dropped from many adaptations even in the early 20th century for very clear reasons as they quickly dated themselves. Modern readers unaccustomed to the sheer racism of Victorian literature would do well to steel themselves against the portrayals to find the good qualities within if they remain curious about the novel.
And I think it's worth revisiting for the curious and definitely for anyone seeking to study the gothic horror genre, perhaps for their own writing. There is so much to learn and experience in Dracula if you have the patience for it. And I hope you will.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, and Murder
euhfubeuh's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
In my opinion, the format of Dracula as being told in letters and journal entries from different perspectives makes the story confusing post Harker’s entries in the beginning. Despite that, the entire exposition— for both Dracula’s and VanHellsing’s introduction— is well written and creates a good atmosphere for the story. From my understanding, the themes of Dracula set love and lust against each other in a debate over which is more dangerous. Idk I’m talking out of my butt; I don’t like the book that much, but I wish I did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Blood, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Animal death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racial slurs
mothstrand's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Forced institutionalization, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Ableism and Antisemitism
boink's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual assault
riverofhorton's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The world-building was incredible, and all but one of the main group were fully fleshed out characters. The only things that let it down were poo Quincey, the language of Van Helsing being a slog to get through, and the repetition of a lot of the bits of lore. Four times we're told that Dracula can't cross running water, three times that killing Dracula will stop the transformation of any vampires that are somewhere between human and vampire, three times we're told that communion wafers act as a talisman against the vampires, plus a few others that I could mention. I wonder how long this book would be without these instances of repetition. I particularly enjoyed reading the letters between Mina and Lucy, and their respective journal entries about the other: Mina is definitely gay for Lucy, and I can see no other explanation for the way she talks of and to Lucy. I would like to have seen some more expression of that love, but I get that wasn't really possible when this was published, sadly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
witchintherain's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Sexism, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, and War
franksreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs
caro_mac's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-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
4.25
Reading for the first time, I was shocked at how contemporary this book feels! In my opinion, it stands up to its reputation as a true classic.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Xenophobia, and Blood
Minor: Racial slurs
modern_cryptid's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I only read this for a class. It was so much better than I thought it would be. Good story, great suspense all throughout, but it's definitely a classic. Its long, it quite often drags, also some uncomfortable story elements due to the time period, it's social expectations and views of what it appropriate regarding language.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Misogyny and Medical content
Minor: Racial slurs and Xenophobia
_egg_1's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs