Rating 3.5 out of 5
In the spirit of Halloween, I decide to read a classic that has seen many depictions in movies over the years. I wondered, how was the source Dracula described? how true have they been to the source material? and, how far have they reimagined and strayed since its publication?
What’s It About?
Jonathon Harker is an unassuming agent of real estate who is out on an errand for his employer Mr. Harrison. Harker is to provide property information of a manor in London to a reclusive Count Dracula at his castle in Transylvania. When he arrives he encounters sights from his worst nightmare. Months later a strange ship makes its way into the London Harbor and a dark entity seems to have made its way into the town.
My Thoughts
There were moments where the common terms of the time went over my head and I had to look up words like caleche and laconically(which I realized seemed to be one of Stoker’s favorite descriptors). The story began fairly slowly but once the ship appeared I began to get absorbed with the tale! The way that Stoker chose to relay the story via diary and journal entries of each of the characters was a unique way to read a story and a first for me. Each had their own unique viewpoint and opinion of the events that occurred outside of their written thoughts.
Overall Impression
While this story had no surprises to me since it is so well known, I still enjoyed reading it to enjoy the original text. I recommend it just to understand the talent that caused so many others to adapt it into countless other movies, shows, and books.
I couldn’t call my job of enjoying the story complete without watching at least one of the movies based off of the book. I watched the 1992 film Bram Stoker’s Dracula and compared their interpretation of the book. One of the biggest divergence from the original tale is how much they made Dracula seem like an object of desire versus the diabolically and grotesque fiend that was written in the book. The movie was overly sexualized in my opinion.
Since its publication, Dracula has been imagined in many unique and new ways while some things stayed true. This classic remains timeless.
Book Specs
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- Publisher : Penguin Classics; Reissue edition
- Publication Date : April 29, 2003 (Original date May 26, 1897)
- Page Length : 560
Fiction | Horror| Classic| London| Vampires| Supernatural
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