Book info

• Title Dracula
• Author Bram Stoker
• Year 1897
• Genre Horror

When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula with the purchase of a London house, he makes a series of horrific discoveries about his client. Soon afterwards, various bizarre incidents unfold in England: an apparently unmanned ship is wrecked off the coast of Whitby; a young woman discovers strange puncture marks on her neck; and the inmate of a lunatic asylum raves about the 'Master' and his imminent arrival.

Thoughts

I have tried to read this many times but never really got past the first few chapters. This time I made a concerted effort and got to the end, and I found it was really good! It’s so nice to see one of the early vampire works, especially now that they are so prevalent in popular culture at the moment. It’s fascinating to see most of the book taken up with the characters dealing with the situation, without really knowing or believing what it is.

These days, fiction has us quickly google the problem and believe the outcome very quickly so we can get on with the drama. In Dracula, the drama IS the problem at its very core.

I liked the way the book was constructed of different diaries and newspaper clippings, notes and audio transcriptions. I did think the pacing went a bit wonky at the end, as there was the excitement of confronting the Count in one of his houses, and then a very long period of travelling around trying to find him again. But overall, really enjoyed it and glad I stuck with it this time.

Rating: 4 / 5