Dracula by Bram Stocker

Oldie but goodie?  Maybe.  Sort of.  Not really.  I apparently read this back (or at least started this book) in either college or more likely high school as the book has my maiden name written on the inside cover in a pretty youthful scrawl.  But I don't remember much about it other than that it was indeed about vampires and it fit into the gothic genre which I was super into in my younger days.  I don't recall any opinion on liking or not liking it.  I suspect I read this when I was on my Wuthering Heights/Frankenstein/The Moonstone/Jane Eyre/etc. etc. kick back in the day.  Rereading it, I can see all of the vampire tropes which other writers have used with such success.  As I proceeded through the book, though, I realized why there was a bookmark stuck halfway through when I picked it up-I don't think I ever finished.  This time around I did wade my way through but it was not easy-even for me, who generally loves this kind of thing, I was ready for it to be done well before I got to the end.  I can't describe exactly what about it was putting me off-the story did move along pretty well but the writing style ("epistolary" for you English majors; in the form of letters for the rest) started to bug me at some point.  One thing I did enjoy was the heroine's role in this novel-older books like this don't tend to allow the women to take on a primary role and if she does, its usually in the context of a domestic drama such as you find in Pride and Prejudice and the like.  In this book there is the typical damsel in distress but its not our heroine-she stands strong and indeed is the key to pulling all of the pieces of the puzzle together.  She is not helpless nor at the mercy of her menfolk.  I mean, she is in part, but that's not the basis for her character.  I liked Mina and I liked the way Stoker depicted her.


After reading the book I listened to the podcast on "Great Books" focusing on Dracula and it was interesting to hear someone who just loves this book wax poetic about it.  The guest of honor for this episode wrote her undergraduate paper, her graduate school thesis and a novel around this book, she teaches it in her college courses, and she has had great success doing things like this podcast - all based on her obsession with Dracula.  Listening to her, I moved closer to liking it.  She was willing to admit that as a 21st century reader there are laughable absurdities and as a discerning reader there are glaring character flaws-but she took pains to paint Stoker as a brawny Irishman attempting to tell a scary yarn and in that, she believes, he succeeded with flying colors.  I came away from the podcast with a  greater appreciation for the book I had just read, and a renewed respect for the academics who spend their lives with the books that I can only enjoy as a layman.


Final analysis?  Even if it was not my favorite book, I take a certain pride in having read many of the classic books and I can now put this one squarely in the "done" category. 


Rating:  #5 Good Enough