Dracula

It had a really strong start, then Lucy and Mina are introduced, who are probably the most annoying female characters in the history of literature. However, it drags on and on. Unfortunately, the horror elements can't make up for the one-dimensional characters and problematic themes.

El final ? Un poco cutre lo siento

“I absolutely loved this thrilling journey through a brilliantly formatted story. Bram Stoker did an amazing job bringing such a harrowing character to life. It’s a bit of a shame—though understandable—why the literary characters in their full veracity never made it to the silver screen. Wonderful book, wonderful time.”

Just did not give me any intrest to read it

Written as a set of journal entries, the structure didn't actually do anything to enhance or dive the story - if anything, it got a tad confusing with perspective/point of views from so many different characters. There were also times when the pace was fast enough, but other times when the narrative was slow - potentially because of some parts written in older syntax that could be heavy to read. One might also be surprised that for the most famous vampire story, the whole middle third of the book didn't have much vampire to it and an anti-climactic ending didn't do it any favors, either.

a book comprised of letters and I absolutely

¿Quién sufrió más: Lucy (se convirtió en vampiro y le atravesaron el corazón con una estaca) o yo (me tuve que leer este libro)?

I never had much interest in reading Dracula until I read Frankenstein earlier this year. Much like my experience with that book, I was braced for campiness rather than genuine source material. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I ended up enjoying it.

Told from multiple POVs as well as multiple writing mediums, the story conveys the terrors caused by Count Dracula. A large portion of the book focuses on his victim Lucy and the efforts to keep her out of Dracula's clutches. The rest is dedicated to the study of the count and the pursuit to put an end to him altogether.

The different writing styles threw me off in the beginning. I couldn't latch on to the story until it came to scenes with Mina and Lucy. For me, that's when the story began. Before then I struggled to discern who each of the characters were. I could differentiate Lucy and Mina right away but the men took much longer.

I enjoyed the gothic atmosphere the most. I can't do modern horror, but I'm finding that I have an interest in some of these classics. It's also interesting to see the original characters who have since become commonplace in media and more often than not spoofed and made comical.

Es fantástico. Acción, suspenso, horror. Tiene unos toques anticuados pero hey, es un libro del siglo 19 de la época victoriana. Me gustó mucho la forma de narrar la historia entre cartas, diarios, reportes, etc. ¡Recomendado!

These characters are obsessed with describing each other while they sleep... polycule behavior

4.5⭐️

Rating:
4.5 ⭐
Rounded up to 5

Summary:
Jonathan Harker travels to a mysterious castle to meet with one Count Dracula. He discovers the reality that Dracula is a vampire who possesses supernatural powers. As Jonathan joins together with his love, Mina, and others–Professor Van Helsing, Dr. John Seward, and Arthur Holmwood–they take on the formidable Count Dracula and his minions.

Review:
Thrilling and fun. Dracula is such an iconic character and I understand why the book continues to be read and the character continues to be adapted and brought to the screen and in other works.
I actually really enjoyed the fact that the book is written as if it's a collection of gathered documents and journals, which tell the story and give insights into the relationships of these people.
Classic, beautifully written, can be a bit slow/sloggish sometimes, but good. One that I would gladly reread.

There was many slow parts of this book, that were quite boring. Also pages which I could barely understand. Although the action parts were very well written. It took me a while to finish this book as when I got bored I had to take breaks. But I feel happy that now I can say that I've read this classic and can give my own opinon on this story.

This book is 17+ hours long in audiobook format and kept me engaged the entire time. Seeing how different storylines converged, and the formatting of the book from diary entries, to letters and telegrams, brought the variety of perspectives of a common experience to life. I definitely recommend!

3.6
I enjoyed the book, but I feel like there was a missed opportunity to have really great female characters. Of course this book is of a different era, and women were treated and thought of very differently than today, but it still took away from my enjoyment of the story.
Actually I think in general the characters were lacking. I'd love to find a retelling that expands on the characters all around.

The first third of this novel with Harker in Transylvania was very engaging. Once the plot took a right turn and got bogged down with all the Lucy Westernra “who should I marry” drama I checked out big time. It rebounded a bit but I'd still lost interest. I felt like this book had too many characters. Like all the suitors, I don't even know why all of them were relevant. Just have one dude. You need Van Helsing, absolutely. You need Mina Harker, sure. But all those other random dudes, I feel like they muddled the plot. The zookeeper's cockney accent annoyed me.

I'm the worst book reviewer.

incroyable ! la fin est peut-être un peu lente/ennuyeuse mais la traduction est dingue !

Did this by the Dracula Daily, which emails you the parts of the book that happen on those dates. I still have a handful to read and I'm not sure when I'll get around too it,but yeah, soon maybe.

So far, I forgot how silly Dracula is (plenty of meme now from the Dracula Daily bookclub) and also how spooky it can be. Dracula has a Fay type of behavior which translates well to horror.

3.5

Un clásico de la literatura universal que hasta ahora he tenido oportunidad de leer. Sin duda una novela obligada si quieres conocer el gótico victoriano en su máximo esplendor y si quieres saber por qué razón, a lo largo de más de un siglo, Drácula es el vampiro más famoso y que nadie puede tumbar de su pedestal.
Y es que si bien el género vampírico ha (de)generado corrientes variopintas, el origen del mismo creo que se refleja en esta obra seminal: la corrupción del alma humana al grado de no encontrar descanso ni en este ni en otro plano existencial, viviendo una maldición sin fin que solo puede ser restaurada a través de la destrucción corporal del individuo para permitir su libre tránsito al descanso de ultratumba.
La obra me pareció excelsa en su descripción detallista de los elementos de la sociedad de finales del siglo XIX y nos logra transportar a una realidad en momentos muy parecida y en otros totalmente ajena a lo que vivimos hoy en día. Quizá en momentos un poco cansado y repetitivo, pero por alguna razón me encontraba queriéndome saltar párrafos sabiendo que repetiría algo, pero con curiosidad sobre una posible nueva pista o descripción que completara el retrato tan realista de cada cuadro narrado.
La historia cuenta la conformación de un equipo de personajes de la época que buscan dar caza a Drácula, un vampiro que ha decidido expandir su territorio de terror de Transilvania a la Inglaterra de finales del siglo XIX. Este equipo está liderado por van Helsing, un doctor con extensos conocimientos vampíricos. El descubrimiento de las capacidades del vampiro y la manera en la que es posible combatirlo se va develando a lo largo de la historia, con elementos que hoy en día damos por hecho en la cultura popular, pero que sin duda en ese tiempo debió haber causado revuelo y terror.
Destacaría dos elementos que quizá puedan ser motivo de reflexión si te animas a leer este libro: el primero es que sin intentar serlo y con las debidas distancias (tratando de entender el momento en que se escribió) se me hizo muy feminista el libro, le da un lugar muy importante a la mujer en una época en la que apenas empezaba a hacerse conciencia de ello y podría decir que en muchos sentidos Mina, una de las protagonistas, es la heroína de la historia y sin ella, el grupo que tiene la misión de derrotar a Drácula no habría tenido oportunidad, tanto por la parte técnica que cubre ella (es la que sabe cómo ordenar mejor la historia para darle sentido y encuentra las piezas del rompecabezas que ninguno de los otros puede ver), como por la parte anímica, pues el autor no duda en insistir que es quien mantiene en alto el espíritu de todos cada que es necesario.
El segundo elemento es su carga espiritual e incluso teológica (no sé hasta qué punto de manera consciente) en los soliloquios relacionados con la salvación del espíritu, el perdón, la piedad y otras virtudes teologales. Si te gustan estos temas, seguramente tendrás tema para reflexionar y profundizar, si no, tampoco necesitas detenerte en esos pasajes y solo los sigues de largo.
La crítica que más se le puede hacer al libro es lo abrupto del final, se tejió de tal manera la historia que resulta anticlimático que la historia termine de tajo en un par de páginas. No por ello dejaría de recomendar que te acerques a este clásico y lo disfrutes.

dracula daily was lowkey an insane way to read this book. will have to read the proper thing one day but that day is NOT today. mina harker is my best friend

Fin ✨
Loved this book!

Luego de leer algunas reseñas pensaba que el libro me iba a disgustar pero no, una historia llena de detalles que hacen que sientas los que los personajes están sintiendo. Hasta el último momento captó mi atención el relato de uno de los personajes más interesantes de la historia. Algunas partes de hacían fastidiosas al presentar el machismo de la época, pero mi lectura pasó por algo esos problemas para disfrutar el clásico.

I buddy read this with Erin. I had high hopes for this book. Everybody is always talking about it and how much they love it, and I thought I would love it too because I love books with vampires, but I hated this book. This is probably my most disappointing read of the year. For a book called Dracula there is barely any Dracula. It was so slow and there was barely any action involved plus the ending felt rushed and way to easy. I'm glad I can finally say I have read Dracula but sad to say I hated it. 

It really is a timeless read and has so many modern concepts. The friendship and humor within the story were so unexpected and refreshing. The last quarter made the read lose stars for me since it just dragged on and became repetitive despite being the climax.