ggcd1981's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Carmilla: A Vampyre Tale foi inspiração para Dracula de Bram Stoker. Assim que soube disso adicionei a novela a minha lista de leitura. Após a leitura da obra é possível ver a influência, um exemplo disso é o fato de Carmilla predar jovens mulheres, dando mais atenção a “corte” ou talvez seja melhor dizer “caça” de jovens de posição social mais elevada. A vampira ainda vive em castelos e se movimenta entre círculo sociais elevados e tem aversão a símbolos religiosos. Dos personagens da obra o único que realmente se destaca é a personagem titular, Carmilla, também conhecida como Mircalla e Millarca, ela é a antagonista homônima da história. Uma vampira de uma velha família aristocrática, ela aparece eternamente como uma bela jovem e ataca jovens vulneráveis por quem parece sexualmente atraída. Carmilla usa sua beleza e juventude para enganar as pessoas ao seu redor, assim muitas vezes as pessoas não conseguem ver sua verdadeira natureza até ser tarde demais. Outra personagem que merece uma menção é Laura, a protagonista e narradora do livro, que reconta já adulta suas experiências de adolescente quando foi alvo de Carmilla. Laura fica animada quando Carmilla - uma garota de sua idade - vem para ficar com sua família, mas ela logo se sente atraída e repelida por sua nova amiga. Após repetidos sonhos de visitas noturnas, Laura começa a adoecer, e uma visita do amigo de seu pai, General Spielsdorf, quem havia perdido uma sobrinha para a mesma predadora, revela que a fonte da doença são as mordidas de Carmilla que, segundo ele, é uma vampira de uma família aristocrática extinta. A atmosfera do livro é excelentemente gótica vitoriana e dá o clima que vemos influenciar obras como Dracula: castelos, cemitérios, camponeses assombrados por um mal que não compreendem completamente. A escrita fez um excelente trabalho construindo o cenário, criando o clima e desenvolvendo uma antagonista inesperada para uma obra publicada em 1872. Considerado o primeiro thriller de vampiros o enredo desta novela trata de inocência se tornando o alvo de um mal antigo. A virtuosa Laura cresceu em um castelo solitário e anseia por uma amiga próxima. Seu desejo parece concedido com a chegada de uma bela e misteriosa estranha chamada Carmilla. Uma amizade se desenvolve, mas o humor taciturno e as conotações sexuais da visitante comprometem a felicidade de Laura. Será possível a Laura escapar dos avanços de Carmilla com vida e espírito intactos? Essa obra tem, com certeza, um enredo intrigante e não é à toa que exerceu influência em obras subsequentes de vampiros. A lógica interna da narrativa funciona, pelo menos tem sentido de acordo com o meu conhecimento prévio da tradição de vampiros. Tradição esta que imagino esta história contribuiu para estabelecer. Carmilla: A Vampyre Tale me entreteve e me deu outra dose da atmosfera gótica que tanto gosto. Claro que devido a novela ser curta não teve um aprofundamento que permitiu me apegar aos personagens. Além disso ainda houve a narração de Megan Follows que não realmente diferenciou as vozes dos personagens tornando em algumas partes o dialogo confuso no audiobook. No entanto, ao fim, minha experiência foi em maior parte positiva, dou 4 estrelas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Confinement, Grief, Toxic friendship, Blood, and Terminal illness
alexisgarcia's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
4.5
i really enjoyed this! the concept and plot were amazing, the characters were so interesting, and the writing was accessible. i wish the the characters were more flushed out and the plot was explored in more length. overall, it was a fun sapphic vampire story which was the precursor to Dracula!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Toxic friendship, Terminal illness, Stalking, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, and Grief
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.
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.
Spoiler
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Murder, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Chronic illness, Child death, and Death
Minor: Racism and Xenophobia
maeverose's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.25
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 just pictured fog over everything anytime they were outside. Now I just 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 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 just pictured fog over everything anytime they were outside. Now I just 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, I felt.
•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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Death of parent, Sexual content, Suicide, and Ableism
Religious themes, beheading, cremation, sleep paralysis (not really but the descriptions are similar)itsheyfay's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Injury/injury detail
Moderate: Murder, Terminal illness, Classism, and Blood
nerdysread's review against another edition
dark
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
Ce fut un livre intéressant. Mais j’avoue que je m’attendais a plus… tout d’abord je me disais que les personnages seraient plus âgées mais aussi qu’il y aurait plus de… plus quoi. Plus de lesbianisme, plus de tension, plus de spice, plus de leaning… bref plus.
Je m’exprime très bien okay!
Je m’exprime très bien okay!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Terminal illness
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Racial slurs and Racism
cultbyproxy's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Going into this I expected an action-packed Gothic novella with lesbian undertones. What I got was a long, drawn out tale told in hindsight that was so predictable it was almost painful.
Maybe it’s Le Fanu’s writing or the fact that it was written in the 1800s but it truly wasn’t at all captivating as I thought it would be based on other Gothic novels I had read from that time period. Sure, there were ancient schlosses secluded in the scenic countryside, a coffin filled with blood, and stark lesbianism however the novel didn’t provide much else.
Despite my opinions, I am happy to have finally gotten around to reading this and would recommend Carmilla to anyone. It is still a marvel of its time and deserves its flowers in helping lay the foundation for tales such as Dracula and Twilight to exist.
Maybe it’s Le Fanu’s writing or the fact that it was written in the 1800s but it truly wasn’t at all captivating as I thought it would be based on other Gothic novels I had read from that time period. Sure, there were ancient schlosses secluded in the scenic countryside, a coffin filled with blood, and stark lesbianism however the novel didn’t provide much else.
Spoiler
It is, however, the commentary on suicide and it’s connection to vampirism that truly swayed my perceptions and left me feeling uneasy at the conclusion of this story.Despite my opinions, I am happy to have finally gotten around to reading this and would recommend Carmilla to anyone. It is still a marvel of its time and deserves its flowers in helping lay the foundation for tales such as Dracula and Twilight to exist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Blood, Child death, Racism, Suicide, and Terminal illness
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