Having seen as many vampire movies as your average American, I went to this book expecting to already know everything in it. Indeed, there was a lot of familiar material, but not nearly as much as I thought. There are many more rules governing vampires than we see in the movies. So, this novel provided much more information to my vampire knowledge.
Bram Stoker writes in a style that is both economical and verbose at the same time. With few words he can paint a visual unlike just about any author I've read. The writing throughout the novel is just wonderful - descriptive, but not overly so, carefully chosen words that convey meaning so well. This is an amazing balance. The pages seem to fly by, and there were several occasions when I had read what I wanted for the evening, only to reach a leading paragraph at the end of a chapter, which compelled me to keep reading.
I bought this book because I wanted some harmony between my girlfriend and myself. She digs the Twilight series of novels, and I dig classical literature. So, we started reading this book at the same time - and we were both gripped by it, and many nights we spent talking about what was read that day. That both of us were so enraptured speaks for the universal appeal of the story.
Overview of the story...
I'm not really sure what to put for this since I'm guessing that everyone knows the story of Dracula. However, I thought I too knew the story and still had many surprises while reading, so here's the overview.
Dracula lives in Transylvania, Romania, in a castle on a cliff. Jonathan Harker is to act as an agent for Dracula in a real estate transaction involving an old home in London. Harker goes to the castle and stays much longer than he wants. While there, he endures some horrors and his bravery is tested.
Meanwhile, back in London, we meet Mina and Lucy. Mina is engaged to Harker and is awaiting his return. Lucy succumbs to some kind of disease and is perilously on a spiral towards death. Lucy has three suitors - Quincy, John (not Jonathan) and Arthur. John happens to be an MD and is asked by Lucy's fiance to look after her. John is perplexed at Lucy's symptoms and writes to his old professor Dr. van Helsing. van Helsing comes to see Lucy, and the novel takes off from there.
van Helsing has some suspicions about Lucy, which are based on old superstitions. His suspicions, of course, are correct, and we soon have van Helsing, Arthur, Quincy, John, Jonathan and Mina all out to hunt and kill Dracula. They all keep incredible notes (except Quincy and Arthur), and through these notes the story is told - in letters, memos, etc. Once all of these characters are on board, the book really gains steam, and the action is breathless.
End of synopsis...
In summary. I loved this novel, it is a fast moving story, and the author writes so clearly and visually that you can literally see the vistos he describes. On top of that, Stoker can do all these things efficiently - like if a news reporter were merged with Thomas Pynchon (somewhere in between). The writing is not nearly as archaic as I was led to believe -instead, the writing is so easy and flowing, that you simply can't put the novel down. This novel is great entertainment.
Finally, some notes on the Norton Critical Edition...
I bought this particular book because I was promised a completely, as-accurate-as-possible version of the Bram Stoker novel. I think I did get that. Additionally, there are a couple hundred pages of literary stuff at the end (which I didn't read and most likely will never read), but there were also many footnotes.
Now, the footnotes were fine when they stuck to just defining archaic terms. However, the editors also chose to give more information on certain pages - and in some cases discussed things that would give away future parts. To me, that is a serious offense. So while I read this novel, I became accustomed to ignoring the footnotes when I knew they would offer more than just a definition (if you read this book, you'll know what I mean).
Furthermore, there were a few occasions where there was a beginning quotation mark, but not an ending one.
So, take the Norton Critical Edition with a grain of salt. The novel Dracula, however, is a treasure.
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Top reviews from other countries
diganta
Our confrontation with the myth of dracula is generally pretty early. We have been hearing stories about it ...
Reviewed in India on July 30, 2014
