Review: Dracula-Bram Stoker

[dhaller]

I really enjoyed Dracula. I especially liked how it was written in an epistolary style - I wasn't expecting that. It kinda makes you wonder what Stoker was thinking when he wrote it. Did he anticipate vampires becoming good guys?

[Keith80]

I found Stoker's "Dracula" to be a very intense book. It makes the recent romanticized stuff look like the rubbish that I consider it to be. There is one criticism of Stoker however. He really has no clue about the Yorkshire dialect. I was born and raised in Yorkshire for 30 years, and when I read the dialect parts in class - in true Yorkshire - the class agreed that was much better. Stoker does write a fine horror story though.

[Kiki-a-diva]

I read this book when I was in high school and then saw the movie soon after. It really enjoyed the book. But I have to agree with others that the movie was better. The book was long, but the twist was good for people who have never experienced the 6th sense. After that movie no plot seems like a big reveal. So I think we are a little jaded these days. It shouldn't ruin our ability to enjoy a good well written book.

[Fitzpatrick+love]

I loved Dracula! True it's a slower read, but that comes from the older writing style and even so the creepy atmosphere of the novel just can't be beat. The way it's written though journal entries makes it more interesting to read and the character of Dracula himself is at his creepiest in the original version.

A must read if you like classic literature!

[kimmyschemy06]

I watched the movie (starring Gary Oldman) in college then read the book a few years after that. It got me scared and sad. It's the best vampire story I've read so far followed by 'Interview with a Vampire' by Anne Rice. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer entertained me a lot.

[jstriker]

I read Dracula once a year. It's a permanent staple of my reading diet. The first time I read it was college, which I believe is about the right age to read this book, since, as some have pointed out, it does take a few chapters to warm up.
The style, told through letters and diary entries, lends an air of veracity to the plot events, and I particularly enjoyed the continually shifting narrators, especially during the points in the book where the reader could see the same scene, or hear told the same events through the voices of different characters. It made the story seem 3-dimensional and enhanced the realness. From the very beginning, Stoker sets a dreary and immersive Gothic atmosphere of dread and foreboding that relentlessly follows Harker and Co. through the remainder of the book.
I feel as though Stoker may have intended to make more out of the ending than what was published, or that his characters were stealing the plot away from him. I especially felt that he was hesitant to actually kill the vampire, and that was why the book's conclusion may have seemed lackluster or anti-climactic to some readers.
Overall, this is a book I enjoy for its atmosphere most of all, and because of all the vampire fiction out and about today, the original is still the best.

[the_book_nerd_1997]

So I've had this book for a while now and finally decided to read it. Here are my thoughts.

All in all, I was very surprised. For one, Dracula was personified in a much more cruel and heartless way than in the film or in Dracula, My Love by Syrie James; however, it was refreshing having an altogether awful character. It suited him perfectly in this story. There was no talk about his lost love, he and Mina did not fall in love with one another. He was a bloodthirsty vampire in the end. I'm amazed at how much I enjoyed this book and will probably end up reading it again. I will say that this is not an easy read. It is considerably long and requires multiple sittings, no matter how much you might enjoy it. It also better to read it over the period of a few days, because your brain won't be overwhelmed with the information, different language, and the switch of perspectives. There are multiple perspectives in this book, and if you read too quickly, it can be hard to follow.
If you're into classics, vampires, books, Dracula, then I highly recommend this book.

[Jjnessie 33]

took me no time at all to read it i love the book its an amazing classic and will never grow old

[Wasif Ahmed]

I guess i have seen its movie which as far as i recall, i did not like. I do not think i am going to read the book.

[DB44]

I first read Dracula as a teenager, perhaps even before and have read it once or twice since. I do not recall at all finding it a slow read. The superstitious peasants and the coach ride. The developing tension in the castle. The letters home written in advance. The encounter with the women. Certainly kept me interested.

[rovet]

I could not sleep during the few weeks it took me to read Dracula - I would wake up from creepy dreams every few hours and didn't get a whole night sleep for almost a month. Although other people have posted that the plot is slow, which is true, the freaky/scary tension is slowly built throughout book, building up the fear. I have to admit that I have an overactive imagination and get freaked out very easily. My husband read Dracula after me to see what the big deal was, and thought that it wasn't scary at all.

[Chanti Stargirl]

I was twelve when I read Dracula the first time and as a result I was obsessed with vampires for most of my teenage years. My favourite character was Van Helsing, I love how he manages the situations and his interactions with the other characters. On the other hand Renfield terrified me way more than the vampires.

[Libs_Books]

I think the book has a really interesting format but one of the problems with it is that it's been so successful that many of the tension-building things have become clichés of the genre. There's very little mystery left - we know who and what Dracula is, even before we meet him.

[strawberrysab]

I usually end up hating movies for which I've read the book. Hello Dracula, my beloved exception. I never managed to finish the book.

[KatSims92]

I read it in college as part of our British Literature course. While it did take a while to go through, I enjoyed it a lot and really love the characters of Mina and Lucy.