Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Dracula by Bram Stoker

15 reviews

decafdirtychai's review

dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

Dracula is an incredible time capsule of thoughts and opinions of the day. Some of those opinions include homophobia, sexism, anti-semitism, and new sciences of mesmerism and blood transfusions. Anyone interested in the Gothic, or horror, ought to read this source material. Dracula is an amazing villain, his evilness is overwhelming; the innocence and rage of the humans makes sense. The earth is fertile here for literary criticism, especially regarding gender roles and religion. 

I highly recommend Bloody FM's audio presentation, "Re: Dracula," which brings the story to life with voice actors, sound effects, content warnings, additional context provided, and a chronological timeline. I cried listening to things I had read before ("Oh, John, it was butcher work").

CONTENT WARNING that there is a graphic description of a terrifying and horrible assault about mid-way through the book. I don't often see this content warning given, and it came as a shock to me. 
There is also SO MUCH medical malpractice that was standard at the time. The asylum is especially harrowing, but it is manageable.

Don't let the slow pace of the beginning of this book hold you back. The suspense builds and bursts in a wonderful bubble, it's so worth it, I promise.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Antisemitism, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Violence, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Dracula forces a woman to drink his blood, in a way very clearly reminiscent of rape. She mourns that she is "unclean," and is terrified. While no one victim blames her, they notably do not tell her that it isn't her fault...

kaziaroo's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful slow-paced

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

3.0

My thoughts on the book: I can see why it was so impactful at the time and has inspired so many works in literature, but from a modern lens it was often quite... Dull. There is a lot of paperwork and planning and emotional monologuing, and Dracula himself appears very little (although that makes it more impactful when he does). There is a lot more religious emphasis than I was expecting; the characters are all doing God's work first and foremost, but there was a hint of white saviourism in the plot – it's only when Dracula dares to attack an Englishwoman that anyone cares enough to hunt him down and end his evil.
The book is a fascinating depiction of attitudes towards women and purity, and how these attitudes were changing – Mina is praised for her quick thinking and logic, but also her innocence and loveliness which must be protected at all costs. It was as if no one was quite sure what to make of her, but so long as the men did all the dangerous work no one minded. I couldn't tell if I actually liked Mina or if I was just swayed by how much the others praised her. She and Van Helsing were definitely the most memorable characters as the others often blurred together.
The ending came very suddenly, with lots of buildup and then the climax came and went within a couple of paragraphs. But if you consider when it was written, and how reading and storytelling styles have changed (and in fact how this story influenced them), the book's flaws become more forgivable.

My thoughts on the Dracula Daily format: The real-time format was a double-edged sword for me. On one hand, it made some parts more tense and exciting; when Jonathan was trapped in Castle Dracula and we didn't hear from him for a day or two, I would wonder if he was all right and why he wasn't writing. But slower, less action-packed sections which one would normally breeze through in on sitting (such as Mina's holiday diary in Whitby) were dragged out as we were drip fed the passages. Minor, mundane scenes were given undue weight because it was all we could read that day. On the whole, it was an interesting way to experience the book and feel the timeline of events in real time, but it's clear that it's not how the author intended it to be read and so it doesn't always work. From a practical standpoint, it would be good if the emails came with some kind of calendar or heads up of when the next section was coming and how long it would be, so that readers can plan ahead for the longer sections or not be disappointed when all they get is a telegram.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Murder

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

Minor: Suicide and Sexual assault

nomatophobia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.0

Going into this, I did not expect it to be so metaphorical. I truly appreciate how blood is representative of all things surrounding love and lust. It represents whatever the scene needs it to, leading into more intricate things like abuse, innocence, and infidelity. It is a heartbreaking study that many people can relate to in diverse ways.

That being said, THIS SHIT TOOK ME SIX MONTHS TO READ! IT'S BORING AS HELL. FUCK VAN HELSING. ALL HE DOES IS CAUSE PROBLEMS. THE BOOK WOULD BE 200 PAGES SHORTER WITHOUT HIM. SCREW THIS BOOK. I LOVED ALL IT REPRESENTS BUT I HATE IT IN ITSELF. Also, Lucy Westerna, will you marry me?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

avie_j's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual assault, Confinement, Gore, Violence, Death, and Body horror

Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Sexual assault

Minor: Child death, Child abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

jneverland's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Murder, Sexual assault, Violence, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Rape, Self harm, Blood, Eating disorder, Gore, Torture, Confinement, Medical content, and Suicidal thoughts

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

meganpbennett's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

4.0

I read Dracula many many years ago, and thought it was interesting. Didn't give it much thought except for a few school assignments, or considering a reread along with some other classics. Then, in 2022, people started sharing a link to a substack, where someone was emailing the novel to readers, in real time. I signed up. 

All of the characters keep a journal of some form, and it's all dated. In the standard printing of the novel, all of Johnathon's several months at Castle Dracula would have been first, then followed up by Mina and Lucy's correspondence. In this case, it's in real time, so you only see what happens on any given day. There are long gaps between Harker's entries, as he starts to realize what is really going on and how he is trapped in the castle. Lucy's death scene, a chapter or so in the book, is stretched over the almost a month Dracula fed on her until she became a vampire, making it all the more emotional when they have kill her. Or when the group heads to Castle Dracula, and it takes the same number of days for us as it did for them. Very interesting way of reading a novel, and one that several other people are putting together. 

Edit: 2023-11-07: After forgetting to unsubscribe from Dracula Daily before the novel reset, I decided to reread it. Still a fascinating way to read a novel, in chronological order. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Gore, Medical trauma, Rape, Stalking, Body horror, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Grief, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

thomasdj's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Murder, Violence, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Xenophobia, Torture, Blood, Sexism, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Gore, Death, and Misogyny

Minor: Suicide

roaze's review

dark mysterious 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? N/A

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Medical content, Gore, Grief, Animal death, Death, Murder, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Classism, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, and Xenophobia

anxiousnachos's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

5.0

Dracula remains my favourite classic. I will be taking no further questions. The epistolary format works so well and in my eyes makes this one of the most accessible classics to read. I had such a good time rereading this and then made my partner watch the film version with me (Keane Reeves/Gary Oldman version) and it was an absolute WILD ride. 

Content warnings: death, blood, sexual assault, murder, violence, mental illness, institutionalisation, confinement, medical content, body horror, animal death, racial slurs (G-slur), antisemitism, misogyny, sexism, ableism 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Ableism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Sexual assault, Violence, Antisemitism, Forced institutionalization, and Medical content