A review by katelynwillliams
Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

dark tense fast-paced

3.75

I loved this book and I really wished it finished strong and wasn’t racist so that I could give it a higher rating. 

I can’t believe how explicitly lesbian this book is for its time period and how, even though the lesbian is a villain, the book’s strength is its romance rather than the horror. 

I wish Laura was more developed as a character, especially towards the end of the book. Nothing particularly happens to transform Laura from an innocent, naive girl to accepting and understanding the truth about Carmilla. She doesn’t reject the account of the General but does not believe it. Her father does not try to talk to her about it. She doesn’t have an epiphany or connect the stories. She literally just decides “well there’s a lot of reports so ig she’s a vampire” which isn’t growth it’s just not being an idiot. She doesn’t even seem upset about it when she comes to that conclusion— which makes the story incredibly anticlimactic since she was so taken with her AND a victim of her. She also does not seem upset when they kill Carmilla or when she is told that Carmilla’s love was only a lust for blood. She is, however, still missing Carmilla by the time she writes her narrative and thinks of her as a friend/lover, rather than a villain, which is intriguing. I just wish the novella explored her feelings a bit more. 

The reveal of Carmilla’s identity and her capture/killing is also incredibly anticlimactic since the only “action” Carmilla takes is simply grasping the General’s wrist. For a dangerous villian who has been killing people, she does not seem scary or hard to catch. it’s disappointing to read, but at least it doesn’t demonize her sexuality and independence of men any more than it already does ??? i guess ?? 

Basically this story had so much potential and I will be rereading it— I just wish the 2nd half was just as good as the first. 
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