My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I'm not joking when I say it's about time I FINALLY read this book.
It's hard to believe that someone who loves vampires as much as I do still hadn't read DRACULA until now. But it's true, this was my first time.
I've had a paperback copy of this book since I first read FRANKENSTEIN back in high school. Yet, I kept putting it off. Or forgot about it. Or assumed the movie was enough. But I was wrong.
As great as the movie was, you have to read the book to really learn why Bram Stoker's tale is so amazing that we're still talking about it now.
I don't think I need to go into too much detail about the plot since we all know how the simple tale of Count Dracula hosting a young solicitor's clerk, who is to help him with some business affairs in London, leads Jonathan Harker to a super creepy castle in Transylvania and starts a chain reaction filled with innocence lost, lots of blood, and an oddball team determined to end an ancient evil...
Well, that's just the tip of the iceberg. I mean, there's SO MUCH story here. So many weird and wonderful things. The tense atmosphere shadows the narrative all the way through. A bunch of very likeable characters. True friendships forged easily and honestly. And a lot of intelligence, too. Some which comes from the woman who finds herself caught in the middle of everything.
Mina Harker is a character I liked from the moment she appeared on the page. Her voice is gentle and lady-like, yet raw and honest. She's happy in her roles as friend to Lucy and wife to Jonathan, yet is full of ideas and has a logical mind that is hard to ignore. Even when the men try to keep her out of the trouble they're all facing--because they want to protect her--it soon becomes obvious that they need her.
I really liked ALL the characters: Jonathan because he's nice, hard-working, reasonable and truly loves Mina. Dr. John Seward because he's an interesting fellow who runs an asylum, yet doesn't seem to conduct cruel experiments. Professor Abraham Van Helsing because he's so clever, open-minded and gives the best monologues. Arthur Holmwood (aka Lord Goldalming) because his devotion to Lucy continues even after her death. Quincey Morris because he's an interesting American and a valued member of an unlikely team.
And what I liked best about all these men is how they stay friends even after being in direct competition. There's no toxic masculinity here, or the need for pissing contests. It's so cool how they're not afraid to show emotion and comfort each other without a second thought. And how strong their group is because of their determination to defeat a common foe.
I found the unity between these characters to be so refreshing. No one was fighting, or trying to make someone else look bad. These male characters were SO GOOD! So human.
The way the story is told totally worked for me. There are journal entries, letters and telegrams, from a bunch of different POVs. And everyone shows their diaries so freely, to help put all the clues together!
As for Dracula, I'm glad he was a malicious shape-shifting monster with only one thing on his mind. He was mysterious and awful, sneaky and a bitch to defeat. Not to mention that I thought the three Brides were creepy af.
I would love to read stories about what these freaky ladies got up to while the Count was away chasing other girls--cough--I mean, other business ventures.
Oh, and after everything that happened, I loved that ending note.
It might have taken me a while to get to this book, but as they say: better late than never. And I'm so glad I finally read it because I LOVED every minute of this long and detailed book.
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