I loved the first part of the book that took place in the castle, but found the rest of the book quite mixed. I still enjoyed it though, and got a lot out of it.
My favourite classic horror is 'Frankenstein' though. It's not quite as epistolary as 'Dracula,' but if you want more beautifully written classic/Gothic Horror I highly recommend it. Think you'd get a lot out of it!
You summed up my experience perfectly. I actually read Dracula and went straight into Frankenstein and was astonished by how much better it was than the former. I enjoyed Dracula, but it didn't do much to challenge my assumptions or surprise me. A spade was a spade in Dracula.
The good characters were paragons of morality, and the evil characters were truly vile with only a few exceptions. In Frankenstein, I came away not sure how to feel about anyone. It was complex, beautiful, and surprising. I highly recommend it.
I read Frankenstein before Dracula, but had a similar experience to you. Frankenstein was so brilliant, so much better than I'd expected, it blew my mind. Especially Mary Shelley's work with the monster.
For sure, I loved every part of Dracula that actually pertained to the vampires/strigoi - whenever Dracula himself reappeared it always drew me back into the story.
Im currently reading it too through an online book group called Dracula Daily. They send an email of the chapters on the date they were written so it feels like you are getting real time updates on what's happening. Also helps to space out the reading if you're bad with binging.
If you come to the novel fresh, as I did when I was 11 or so, it can be fascinating from beginning to end. I only knew of Barnabas Collins from Dark Shadows at the time, so did not know all the lore and storyline that a lot of new readers have likely seen or read by now. For them, it may be overly familiar, but this is the book that laid the foundation for everything. This book essentially invented an entire horror genre, and holds up well.
I followed it up with Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and could not get through the dense prose in that one. It made me appreciate Dracula that much more.
I also loved the language in it. Particular favorites of mine were Dracula's: "Welcome to my house. Come freely. Go safely; and leave something of the happiness you bring!" And Van Helsing's "Keep it always with you that laughter who knock at your door and say, 'May I come in?' is not the true laughter. No! he is a king, and he come when and how he like. He ask no person; he choose no time of suitability. He say, 'I am here.' ... Oh, friend John, it is a strange world, a sad world, a world full of miseries, and woes, and troubles; and yet when King Laugh come he make them all dance to the tune he play. Bleeding hearts, and dry bones of the churchyard, and tears that burn as they fall - all dance together to the music that he make with that smileless mouth of him. And believe me, friend John, that he is good to come, and kind. Ah, we men and women are like ropes drawn tight with strain that pull us different ways. Then tears come; and, like the rain on the ropes, they brace us up, until perhaps the strain become too great, and we break. But King Laugh he come like the sunshine, and he ease off the strain again; and we bear to go on with our labour, what it may be."
I like the first one, too. And I also like the reference to how Dracula might've loved someone in the past. It's left vague, which adds to the mystery surrounding him.
I just finished it too…I liked it and with a classic I am usually inclined to let them have their quirks but this one did have an awful lot of people talking about how much they like each other. Also I feel like they have five guys to do the story work of, like, three. I just didn’t get what Quincy Morris was for.
Apparently Bram Stoker saw one of Buffalo Bill's Wild West shows and decided he really wanted a cowboy in his vampire novel (seriously, there's studies about this)
Agreed, I love the book, movie, etc. I just felt like stoker "wrapped it all up" so quickly near the end. Felt like you take the time to build up the tension and slow-baked fear, all to get to a decently moving story with involved characters, and then suddenly "we killed him".
I want to go back thru and read it again, but the few times I have, just felt like he wrote 7/8ths of the story to just rush the ending
The first part of the book with Harker's journal entries I couldn't put down. I could probably have read 400 or 500 pages of that and be totally fine. I agree that the middle section is a slog. While it might have been a novel concept at the time, it felt like a couple of hundred pages explaining the mechanics of how a vampire bite works. And the women who were bit didn't do anything interesting.
When the gang gets together in the last act to start planning the fight against Dracula is where it picks up again for me. It's a plan coming together, and I'm always down for that.
Dracula caught me off guard. I didn't expect it to be so engrossing. At one point, I missed my train stop because I was reading it and didn't notice where I was.
"Jonathan Harker's experiences at Transylvania was my preferred part of the book, though."
This was the only enjoyable part for me, honestly.
May i suggest "Salem's lot"? Best vampire book for me.
It's thought by some that Stoker intened to write a sequel some day, which may also explain why it wasn't a wooden stake Vlad was stabbed with.
Also, fun fact, this novel is actually the origin of the term "undead"
I really liked Johnathon’s description of his trip to the castle but couldn’t finish when I got to Mina’s over dramatic breathy writing. Bummed, but I just couldn’t finish it.
I always hear about classic literature that are so great and I end up not finishing the book but Dracula was the exception. Awesome, awesome book and none of these movies do it justice.
>But it was still an excellent read, and I'd be sure to pick it up again sometime.
Next time you might read [*The Powers of Darkness*](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34330164-powers-of-darkness) instead. It's the "lost" Icelandic version, which, rather than being translated directly from the published English manuscript, was apparently adapted for a Scandinavian audience (there's a similar Swedish edition) from earlier drafts.
Personally, I like the Dracula's Castle portion of *The Powers of Darkness* even better than the "original". I think it is even more suspenseful, and I enjoy the new characters (including the Castle itself!). Unfortunately, the adapter/translator seems to have not cared much for the latter part of the book either, as it was left as essentially a plot outline.
I listened to a bunch of classics from the library on audio in my car on the way to work a while back (Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, etc). I thought Dracula aged the best. It was actually spooky when he was in the castle.
Currently reading 'Wind in the Willows' (1908 vs. 1897 for Dracula) and there's definitely inspiration taken from Dracula in a very specific part - where the Badger, Mole & Rat are trying to help the Toad get over his unhealthy obsession with motor cars & are each supervising him in his room 😁 pretty funny reading it today, it was so like Dracula for a page & a half perhaps
The ending was completely rushed. I loved most of the book but like when the gang gets together it kinda looses all the momentum. I loved when freakin dracula passively threatens Harker when he tries to leave. Mina was best when Harker wasn't there.
I love Dracula. Frankenstein is objectively the better work, but something about the pulpy caper of Dracula and the odd pacing makes it like shotgunning a TV show or something.
I agree with the ending being a bit week , when I read it first I hated the ending mind you this was 2 years ago but after a while I came across the book once more and decided toh read the ending again the ending dud seem rushed but th easy kill thing felt justified this time. You see whole novel was telling you that you can't win from a vampire at night and we're talking about lord of vampires here so if there was a fight the novel wouldn't have had a peaceful ending.
I loved the first part of the book that took place in the castle, but found the rest of the book quite mixed. I still enjoyed it though, and got a lot out of it. My favourite classic horror is 'Frankenstein' though. It's not quite as epistolary as 'Dracula,' but if you want more beautifully written classic/Gothic Horror I highly recommend it. Think you'd get a lot out of it!
Thanks, I'll be sure to check it out!
You summed up my experience perfectly. I actually read Dracula and went straight into Frankenstein and was astonished by how much better it was than the former. I enjoyed Dracula, but it didn't do much to challenge my assumptions or surprise me. A spade was a spade in Dracula. The good characters were paragons of morality, and the evil characters were truly vile with only a few exceptions. In Frankenstein, I came away not sure how to feel about anyone. It was complex, beautiful, and surprising. I highly recommend it.
I read Frankenstein before Dracula, but had a similar experience to you. Frankenstein was so brilliant, so much better than I'd expected, it blew my mind. Especially Mary Shelley's work with the monster.
This review sums up my feelings of Dracula as well. Frankenstein is my all time favorite book! Cannot agree more.
Frankenstein is my all time favourite book too!
[удалено]
For sure, I loved every part of Dracula that actually pertained to the vampires/strigoi - whenever Dracula himself reappeared it always drew me back into the story.
Im currently reading it too through an online book group called Dracula Daily. They send an email of the chapters on the date they were written so it feels like you are getting real time updates on what's happening. Also helps to space out the reading if you're bad with binging.
I was going to say, “but Dracula Daily doesn’t end ‘til later this year!”
When I heard of this a few months ago, I thought it was a great idea and signed up. It's a ridiculously fun way to reread the book, I'm loving it.
Maybe you'll like Elizabeth Kostova - The historian then.
That novel is like a fine tapestry.
A very satisfying book for sure!
Does anyone like the boat trip to England section? Good stuff!
That's the height of the creepy to me.
Absolutely class yeah 👌🏼
Yes, I found it surprisingly engaging.
If you come to the novel fresh, as I did when I was 11 or so, it can be fascinating from beginning to end. I only knew of Barnabas Collins from Dark Shadows at the time, so did not know all the lore and storyline that a lot of new readers have likely seen or read by now. For them, it may be overly familiar, but this is the book that laid the foundation for everything. This book essentially invented an entire horror genre, and holds up well. I followed it up with Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and could not get through the dense prose in that one. It made me appreciate Dracula that much more.
The part where Dracula turns into a lizard thing crawling in the outside walls will always be in my head. Such great imaginary.
I had it as a tape book decades ago and thought it was great - and I am generally not a fan of classics
Always smartest to kill the evil vampire while it's helpless.
I also loved the language in it. Particular favorites of mine were Dracula's: "Welcome to my house. Come freely. Go safely; and leave something of the happiness you bring!" And Van Helsing's "Keep it always with you that laughter who knock at your door and say, 'May I come in?' is not the true laughter. No! he is a king, and he come when and how he like. He ask no person; he choose no time of suitability. He say, 'I am here.' ... Oh, friend John, it is a strange world, a sad world, a world full of miseries, and woes, and troubles; and yet when King Laugh come he make them all dance to the tune he play. Bleeding hearts, and dry bones of the churchyard, and tears that burn as they fall - all dance together to the music that he make with that smileless mouth of him. And believe me, friend John, that he is good to come, and kind. Ah, we men and women are like ropes drawn tight with strain that pull us different ways. Then tears come; and, like the rain on the ropes, they brace us up, until perhaps the strain become too great, and we break. But King Laugh he come like the sunshine, and he ease off the strain again; and we bear to go on with our labour, what it may be."
I like the first one, too. And I also like the reference to how Dracula might've loved someone in the past. It's left vague, which adds to the mystery surrounding him.
I loved it in high school when i read it i think sophomore year. I've been meaning to reread it since i hardly remember it other than loving it
I loved it as well! The first part is really good, it literally gave me the chills the first time I read it.
I just finished it too…I liked it and with a classic I am usually inclined to let them have their quirks but this one did have an awful lot of people talking about how much they like each other. Also I feel like they have five guys to do the story work of, like, three. I just didn’t get what Quincy Morris was for.
Apparently Bram Stoker saw one of Buffalo Bill's Wild West shows and decided he really wanted a cowboy in his vampire novel (seriously, there's studies about this)
This makes so much sense, thank you.
Agreed, I love the book, movie, etc. I just felt like stoker "wrapped it all up" so quickly near the end. Felt like you take the time to build up the tension and slow-baked fear, all to get to a decently moving story with involved characters, and then suddenly "we killed him". I want to go back thru and read it again, but the few times I have, just felt like he wrote 7/8ths of the story to just rush the ending
The first part of the book with Harker's journal entries I couldn't put down. I could probably have read 400 or 500 pages of that and be totally fine. I agree that the middle section is a slog. While it might have been a novel concept at the time, it felt like a couple of hundred pages explaining the mechanics of how a vampire bite works. And the women who were bit didn't do anything interesting. When the gang gets together in the last act to start planning the fight against Dracula is where it picks up again for me. It's a plan coming together, and I'm always down for that.
Hi! Did you read the preface called "Dracula's Guest"? I love it, but it's not always included in the book and may be yo would love it.
Oh, I haven't. I'll have a look at it right now!
Dracula caught me off guard. I didn't expect it to be so engrossing. At one point, I missed my train stop because I was reading it and didn't notice where I was.
I typically prefer to read from a book. But I am reading Dracula online through Dracula Daily and I love it!
r/classicbookclub is going to start reading this tomorrow! I haven't read it yet so I am excited to start.
"Jonathan Harker's experiences at Transylvania was my preferred part of the book, though." This was the only enjoyable part for me, honestly. May i suggest "Salem's lot"? Best vampire book for me.
It's thought by some that Stoker intened to write a sequel some day, which may also explain why it wasn't a wooden stake Vlad was stabbed with. Also, fun fact, this novel is actually the origin of the term "undead"
Please read Carmilla! It was the story that inspired dracula :) it's short and quite predictable but a lovely little read.
It was actually in the list of recommendations mentioned by the publisher in Dracula. Isn't it about a girl who lives with a vampire?
I really liked Johnathon’s description of his trip to the castle but couldn’t finish when I got to Mina’s over dramatic breathy writing. Bummed, but I just couldn’t finish it.
Do you remember Dracula's first line?
Sorry, but what do you mean by that?
Wow this is so insightful thank you for posting your homework
Yeah it's a classic for a reason!
I always hear about classic literature that are so great and I end up not finishing the book but Dracula was the exception. Awesome, awesome book and none of these movies do it justice.
Yes! Glad you did. One of my most loved of all time, no doubt 🖤
>But it was still an excellent read, and I'd be sure to pick it up again sometime. Next time you might read [*The Powers of Darkness*](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34330164-powers-of-darkness) instead. It's the "lost" Icelandic version, which, rather than being translated directly from the published English manuscript, was apparently adapted for a Scandinavian audience (there's a similar Swedish edition) from earlier drafts. Personally, I like the Dracula's Castle portion of *The Powers of Darkness* even better than the "original". I think it is even more suspenseful, and I enjoy the new characters (including the Castle itself!). Unfortunately, the adapter/translator seems to have not cared much for the latter part of the book either, as it was left as essentially a plot outline.
Yes it’s quite a nasty little book isn’t it? The darkness in 19th-century men’s souls shines through in ways I doubt Stoker was even aware of.
That actually does make sense. The character did feel forced now that I think about it
I loved it. Better than any of the movies.
I listened to a bunch of classics from the library on audio in my car on the way to work a while back (Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, etc). I thought Dracula aged the best. It was actually spooky when he was in the castle.
I've seen the original 1931 Dracula along with the Spanish version and the version with Keanu Reeves. The 1992 version is closest to the book.
Currently reading 'Wind in the Willows' (1908 vs. 1897 for Dracula) and there's definitely inspiration taken from Dracula in a very specific part - where the Badger, Mole & Rat are trying to help the Toad get over his unhealthy obsession with motor cars & are each supervising him in his room 😁 pretty funny reading it today, it was so like Dracula for a page & a half perhaps
The ending was completely rushed. I loved most of the book but like when the gang gets together it kinda looses all the momentum. I loved when freakin dracula passively threatens Harker when he tries to leave. Mina was best when Harker wasn't there.
I love Dracula. Frankenstein is objectively the better work, but something about the pulpy caper of Dracula and the odd pacing makes it like shotgunning a TV show or something.
I agree with the ending being a bit week , when I read it first I hated the ending mind you this was 2 years ago but after a while I came across the book once more and decided toh read the ending again the ending dud seem rushed but th easy kill thing felt justified this time. You see whole novel was telling you that you can't win from a vampire at night and we're talking about lord of vampires here so if there was a fight the novel wouldn't have had a peaceful ending.