Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Dracula by Bram Stoker

81 reviews

phantompansy'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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Child death, Gun violence, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Antisemitism

doriandelioncourt's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and Injury/Injury detail

mellifer's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I was surprised how much I loved this book. It’s probably one of my all time favorite reads, which I definitely did not expect. 

I don’t love it so much for the horror, although there is plenty of that. Dracula is a really great monster and there are plenty of spine chilling moments. But I think the reason I love it so much is the good characters, and the relationships between those characters. Without giving too much away, these characters and their bonds to each other bring light and hope to what could otherwise have been a very dark and depressing read. 

I finished this via the podcast “Re: Dracula”, an unabridged, full cast audio version of the book, with some parts slightly rearranged to be in chronological order. I highly recommend this. The voice acting is perfect, the soundscaping is excellent, and overall it really breathes life into this book. I will most definitely be re-reading and re-listening.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death of parent

june_t_michael's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

Ich fand das Konzept "Dracula Daily" interessant und als ich mitbekommen habe, dass es dieses Jahr erneut läuft, dachte ich: Da mache ich jetzt doch mal mit. Das ist interessant.

Und ich finde, dass es ein unglaublich interessantes Experiment war. Ich habe "Dracula" in der Vergangenheit schon etliche Male gelesen, das letzte Mal allerdings ist über zehn Jahre her. Vieles habe ich vergessen. Vieles fiel mir vielleicht einfach noch nicht auf, weil ich nicht dafür sensibilisiert war oder mir nicht viel dabei dachte.

Woran ich mich überhaupt nicht mehr erinnern konnte:
- Dass im Grunde genommen die Katastrophe, die die Handlung signifikant vorantreibt, durch Sexismus verursacht wurde. 

Nachdem Mina die Drecksarbeit als Sekretärin für die ganze Crew macht, beschließen die Männer, sie von der ganzen Action auszuschließen und lassen sie die ganze Zeit allein. In der Folge kann Dracula sie ähnlich aufsuchen, wie er Lucy mehrfach aufgesucht hat und es kommt zur "Blutstaufe" Minas, infolge derer sie Dracula aufhalten müssen, ehe Mina zu einer Vampirin wird.

Dass das so thematisiert und auch kritisiert wurde, fand ich dann schon erstaunlich für ein viktorianisches Buch.
- Wie lange Lucys Verwandlung gedauert hat. 

Ich erinnerte mich noch an die Episode dessen, dass jewesen aus Naivität den Knoblauch bzw. die Knoblauchblüten aus Lucys Zimmer entfernt hat und sie darum erneut/weiterhin ausgesaugt werden konnte. Aber ich erinnerte mich nicht daran, wie viele Transfusionen sie bekommen hat oder daran, dass im Laufe der Handlung ihre Mutter stirbt und dies unmittelbar mit Draculas Eindringen zu tun hat.

- Wie lange im Allgemeinen die ganze Lucy-Handlung gedauert hat.
- Wie unfassbar viele Ismen das Buch enthält. Mal eben dahingeworfene rassistische Vorstellungen, das Propagieren von Eugenik durch Van Helsing. Wann immer Mina gelobt wird, passiert dies in Form von "not like other girls" - seltsamen Vergleichnissen von einem männlichen Gehirn in einem weiblichen Körper (Transfeindlichkeit, anyone?) Und Gadje-Rassismus. Wenn ich nun außerdem an einen Artikel in der Jüdischen Allgemeinen über den Roman denke und mich an die Stelle erinnere, an der Dracula mit einem Beutel voller Gold durch die Gegend springt... Autsch.

Ich will nicht sagen, dass ich überhaupt keinen Spaß hatte. Das Konzept eines Romans ausschließlich aus zusammengetragenen Medien (Zeitungsartikel, Tagebücher, Briefe, Telegramme) finde ich immer noch charmant und es wäre was, das ich selbst mal ausprobieren könnte.
Die diversen englischen Dialekte, wenn auch teilweise mühsam zu lesen, fand ich interessant eingebunden und es ist ein sehr ... globalsiiertes Buch? Eine wichtige Nebenfigur ist ein Amerikaner, Van Helsing kommt extra aus Amsterdam und Sewart ist sein Schüler. Jonathan macht eine Dienstreise nach Transsilvanien, was aus England heraus zumindest gefühlt eine halbe Weltreise ist. Aber ähnlich wie in anderen Romanen aus dieser Epoche hirschen die Figuren durch die halbe Welt und das ist gefühlt sogar normaler als es für uns wäre.

Und auch sonst ist es historisch interessant, ein so altes Buch über ein so zeitlos gewordenes Thema wie "Vampirismus" zu lesen.
Aber meine Güte, ist das schlecht gealtert ^^

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism

Minor: Rape and Antisemitism

spookfish's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

While reading along with the dates had some downsides (pacing, forgetting some of the story from earlier), I really think it helped to build up the atmosphere and anticipation for me. From May~November I've had little passages to read, and each day that I had in my calendar was an absolute joy.
Despite its sexism by today's standards, our main two, Mina and Jonathan, are decidedly queer characters. Mina in particular fascinates me.
Time to watch many video essays haha.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Antisemitism, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and War

emmagreenwood's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

jennswan's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Violence, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Confinement

kibbles15's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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 have to admit I have been putting off reading this book because horror is not my favorite genre.  I wasn't at all sure what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised in that I actually enjoyed the book.  It did take a little while to get used to the epistolary format of the story, but once done, the story moved along fairly well.  With the exception of a few "academic" rants, I was engaged in the story all the way to the end. I highly recommend this book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Confinement, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, and Death of parent

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!

---

Content Warnings

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

limatau's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

The beginning of this book was very suspenseful and intriguing! It kept me listening and hanging on every word. After part one the book tappers off and looses some of the suspense I really enjoyed. 

Definitely a good read!

The book was written at the end of the 1800’s, so there are some deficiencies as far as gender roles are concerned. Definitely not up to snuff by 2023’s standards. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Mental illness, Misogyny, and Forced institutionalization