Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Dracula by Bram Stoker

12 reviews

earth_to_dani's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

s3ag0at's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: War

waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense 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

4.5

When I read one of "the classics," I pause and remind myself that I'm about to step into a different time with different people who held different and sometimes/often offensive beliefs. A "classic" may not be a good story with good characters, but instead may be a good window into the time and place it was written and set in. And "classics" are also saddled with the moniker of being "over-hyped." With this in mind, I can firmly say that I thoroughly enjoyed Dracula! I didn't feel like I was stepping into a totally unfamiliar world because Stoker is descriptive without making the reader feel bogged down with details or flowery descriptions. I think the characters, while quite overwrought, were fully fleshed out *rim shot* people, and I'm pleased to say that this includes the women! Dracula is very much worth the hype. I can see why it's maintained cultural relevance and why its tropes and themes remain popular after 127 years. I was waiting for the mythical "right" time to read this book, and I'm glad I got to enjoy it during spooky season!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, and Stalking

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Antisemitism

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.

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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

decepticons's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, and War

Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Stalking

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Classism

Vampirism used to excuse racism

“My dear Mina, why are men so noble when we women are so little worthy of them?” says enough about the book really

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 ^^

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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

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

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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

mattiedancer's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes

3.75

Writing: 4⭐️/5 

While Stoker is a fantastic writer (the book is a classic for a reason), so much attention was given to the smallest details that the book dragged in portions where it didn’t need to. I thoroughly believe this is a situation in which the prominent style has changed so much over the years that it’s hard to appreciate the detail without feeling it’s too much and unnecessary. That being said when the writing hit, it hit strong and fast, making it an overall well-written read. 

Characters: 4.5⭐️/5

I did enjoy the development of the characters. While the women, though interesting, were reduced in many ways to trope-like behaviours, the characters did feel alive and vibrant during the tale. In many moments, I appreciated the attention to detail for each character, as well as the uniqueness provided by their own voice, which always came through in the writing.

Plot: 4⭐️/5 

**SPOILERS HERE**

It’s the tale of Dracula – the original vampire. And yet, during the climax of the story, I felt disappointed in how little attention was given to his death. I felt the story dragged so much in sections that the plot suffered, the events pulled too far apart to keep enough tension present – or as much tension as I wanted. That being said, the story was still entertaining and intriguing, just long-winded and slow-paced.

Who Should Read This Book? 

• Fans of classic fiction and gothic literature
• Those looking to appreciate a slow read

Content Warnings? 

• Misogyny, sexism, classism, death of a parent, death, illness, toxic relationships, blood, gore, death of a child, murder

Post-Reading Rating:  3⭐️/5

I felt let down by the ending, personally, even if it did wrap things up relatively nicely.

Final Rating: 3.75⭐️/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

amandawie's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Blood

Moderate: Confinement, Death, and Emotional abuse

sunny_not's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

3.5

At times it was very very bleak and I really didn't wanted to continue it. However, as I read more of it I became more invested in the story and I cared about some of the characters which also made me enjoy the story more. Still I really didn't like the ending, it felt super rushed and I felt like even Bram Stoker himself was like "Let's finish this I'm bored".

It was like boom Dracula dies boom Quiencey also died, boom years have passed and Jonathan and Mina have a boy called Quincey now. The End.

After all that epic build up I would've wanted a lot more pay off. Also this was definitely of its time with all the racial stereotyping and gender roles. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism