Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Dracula by Bram Stoker

23 reviews

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

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

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

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

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

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

aranciu's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Racial slurs, Antisemitism, Racism, and Xenophobia

sarahhoward'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, Blood, and Death

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

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

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

cozyscones's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-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

4.75

An amazing way to experience Dracula, thanks both to the chronologically paced emails, and to the thriving Dracula Daily fandom on Tumblr in 2022.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Racism, Sexual assault, Death, Ableism, Misogyny, and Xenophobia

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

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: Animal cruelty, Ableism, and Grief

Minor: Xenophobia, Animal death, and Child death