A review by isobelthewizard
The Vampire: A New History by Nick Groom
this book was really neat! and i feel like i learned a lot and made some new connections irt vampiric themes and the evolution of science philosophy and medicine !! a valuable research tool, to be sure. mr. groom (what a killer name for a vampire historian. god) has some really eloquent phrasing and has clearly done really meticulous research. he paints a really vibrant portrait.
one major critique (perhaps shaded by some serious personal bias): where are the gay people nicholas
i just don't understand how a book about vampire fiction can just ... lump "sexual anxiety" (a CORE theme to every vampire text i've ever read) into one big overarching idea, and then not ever really dig into it. i would have loved for fifty less pages on slavic epidemiology and catholic corpse theory if the clear and pressing theme of sexual panic could have been addressed in a more ..... direct ... manner
ahem dracula gay ahem
one major critique (perhaps shaded by some serious personal bias): where are the gay people nicholas
i just don't understand how a book about vampire fiction can just ... lump "sexual anxiety" (a CORE theme to every vampire text i've ever read) into one big overarching idea, and then not ever really dig into it. i would have loved for fifty less pages on slavic epidemiology and catholic corpse theory if the clear and pressing theme of sexual panic could have been addressed in a more ..... direct ... manner
ahem dracula gay ahem