Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Dracula by Bram Stoker

19 reviews

celery's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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? No

3.0

Could've been shorter

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

natderosa's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.25

I read this as part of Dracula Daily, where you read each letter/diary entry on its corresponding day. This made reading the novel easier because it was in small bursts, and if you're new to reading classics I'd recommend it! The novel is beautifully written and easy to follow. The multiple character POVs add depth to the story you don't usually experience, but it's a slow burn, which takes away some of the experience, so does the format of letters & diary entries. You're reading everything after the fact, losing some of the drama of the story. I like the agency Mina has as a character, which I feel can go unrepresented in a male-centric novel. Definitely give this one a read at the start of Autumn!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Religious bigotry

Minor: Child death and Racism

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

decafdirtychai's review against another edition

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: Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , 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...

atuin's review against another edition

adventurous 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? No

3.0

I can see why Dracula is so iconic with this beginning. Stoker does a great job of setting tone with his moody descriptions and the characters inner fears. Dracula himself is a great villain, and I was pleasantly surprised how engaging I found the heroes, especially van Helsing and Mina, though I’ll admit I thought Quincy, the cowboy, was superfluous. There is some period typical attitudes that drag it down for me though, namely the pro colonial, sexist and anti Romani bigotry that, although common at the time, still diminishes this book. Even so, it was still a fun read for me. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation

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!

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Content Warnings

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

cleotheo's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Religious bigotry

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

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

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

appurusakura's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

2.0

2.75☆

A  interesting story but not at all what I expected to be entirely honest.

The concept of experiencing everything through journal and diary entries and letters was quite interesting but the story itself was pretty underwhelming for me personally. It was interesting but nothing special. It's not a bad book per se but also not a good one. In my opinion at least.

The period typical racial slurs, racism, ableist slurs concerning mental health, misogyny, sexism, classism and overly religious tones were expected but made me uncomfortable which is mainly the reason for the low rating since the book itself was interesting enough (still quite underwhelming in my opinion though).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Classism

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. 

Edit: 2024-11-07: Happened again, forgot to unsubcribe from Dracula Daily before the novel reset in May. Decided to reread it. Still a fascinating way to read the novel. 

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Content Warnings

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