Dracula by Bram Stoker

Dracula by Bram Stoker has been republished so many times that I could probably do an entire post just on the various covers that have been attached to it. I will include a few with this review.

Obviously, this is a classic that will never die (sorry, couldn't resist) and who am I to criticise? So instead I think I will break this review into three categories: difficulties I had with the book; reactions I had to the book; and interesting tidbits.

Difficulties: The biggest difficulty I had was with the language. It was lyrical and descriptive until either Van Helsing or a lower class Englishman was talking. At those times the content became difficult to follow. Van Helsing's musings were written to impart to the reader a Dutch accent. With the language already being a little tricky, I really had to ponder and re-read to get some of what Van Helsing was trying to say. It was infinitely worse when trying to decipher the meaning of the lower class. Their input was written phonetically and in the slang of the time. Occasionally I just skipped over trying to figure it out. Luckily Van Helsing got easier to figure out as the story progressed and there wasn't a lot of the other.

My Reactions: As I hit about the middle of the book and started to assess my feelings about it, two things hit me. First - I love the language! Maybe it's because there was no TV and few pictures readily available at the time but the classical writers have such a way with descriptive language. As they write, you can see the picture unfolding before you. It really is like they paint a picture with words. Sadly this seems to be a lost talent. Or maybe because we have so much visual stimulation and experiences to draw from now, readers just don't have the patience for truly 'visual' writing. The second thing I realized was how very little gore was actually included in the book. Perhaps it was considered a gory book at the time but, compared to some books of modern times, Dracula seems almost sanitized. I was feeling rather disappointed in my lack of fear reaction until I had to go out to my car in the dark to retrieve something. I walked out the front door and was immediately struck with a tightening of my chest and a paranoid fear. I guess the descriptive language worked after all. Then there was the night of nightmares after falling asleep with the book in my hands. I totally underestimated Bram Stoker's ability to manipulate my subconscious.

Interesting Tid Bits: Until I began reading the book, I didn't realize it was written as a series of journal entries and letters. There is no direct storytelling per se, just recollections the characters wrote in journals or to each other. Dracula himself is actually almost a supporting roll with the primary focus being on the reactions of those that interact with him in some way. Also interesting was the use of the terms 'UnDead' and 'if looks could kill'. Both of these were used, in the modern sense, for the first time in this novel.The 'modern rules' of vampire were also introduced in Dracula. Vampires do need to be invited in, in some way, before they can torment you at home.

I'm glad I finally got around to this book. It makes all these modern, feel good, vampire books feel like cheap imitations. There is so much depth and darkness in the original. First book in the Back to the Classics Challenge done!

A Taste:

He became almost speechless for a minute, and then went on, "Do you know what the place is? Have you seen that awful den of hellish infamy, with the very moonlight alive with grisly shapes, and every speck of dust that whirls in the wind a devouring monster in embryo? Have you felt the Vampire's lips upon your throat?"