Dracula

Rating:
Summary: It's Dracula! How Can You Not Give It 5 Stars?
Review: This was the first Bram Stoker work I had read. I read it a few years ago and try to read it every year around Halloween. I had not really been exposed to works written in the form of letters and journals. I liked the style!

Of course the Francis Ford Copolla movie version closely follows the book, but not completely. For those who are too lazy to read the book, you'll like the movie.

Rating:
Summary: The King Of All Vampire Stories!
Review: From early childhood I have been both fascinated and terrified by vampire stories. I have an uncle to thank for this fear and for many a nightmare too. I would sit on his lap, whenever he visited, and beg him to tell me of Count Dracula's latest crimes, perpetrating evil against the people of the world. I even went so far, with my vampire obsession, as to ask my parents for a crucifix, to protect me against vampires. Since we're Jewish this presented a major problem, until my mother told me the Star of David would repel Dracula as well as a cross. I probably watched every film made about vampires and read several books on the topic, including romance novels where the vampire is the hero. So it is astounding that I never picked up Bram Stoker's "Dracula" until last week. Yes, I knew the novel existed...but I kept putting off reading it. WOW!! What a great book!! It's the mother of all vampire stories with Count Dracula as king! It is the quintessential gothic story of suspense and horror, and beautifully written. I am awed and so glad that I finally read the book.

This is not the 1st novel about vampires. Three 19th-century works of fiction preceded Stoker's novel. "Dracula," however, is a kind of allegory which presents a vision of evil personified in the Count, and goodness portrayed by those who thwart him. The story is set in Victorian England, where the centuries-old, bloodthirsty monster, who preys upon beautiful, innocent victims, represents the dark underbelly of the moralistic Victorian society. The characters are very well developed and are severely tested in their zeal to rid the world of the vampire. The novel is narrated by their different voices. Through journals, diaries, letters, newspaper clippings, the reader is introduced, firsthand, to these principal characters, all antagonists of the vampire, Dracula. Telling the tale from different perspectives is an effective tool for understanding the people who play such important roles and allowing for more nuanced characters and plot development.

Stoker's vampire is based on the 15th century Wallacian warrior, Prince Vlad Dracule. The author visited Romania and Hungary to read original historic manuscripts and to research local lore in order to write this book.

A young solicitor, Jonathan Harker, leaves his beloved fiancee, Mina, to travel to a remote area in the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania. He makes the trip at the behest of a new client, Count Dracula, who purchased an estate in England and wants Harker's small law firm to represent him in matters of real estate, shipping and finance. Harker experiences unimaginable horrors at Dracula's castle and is fortunate to escape with his life.

Meanwhile, Dracula travels to London, setting up multiple households with coffins in each, where he may sleep during the day and escape the sunlight, so lethal to vampires. Lucy Westenra, a close friend to Jonathan's fiancee, Mina, falls victim to Dracula's bloodlust. Her illness and subsequent death bring into the picture her own fiance, two other men who admired her and Professor Van Helsing, an expert in vampires. The presence of evil looms, pervasive and sinister, over the entire tale, creating an oppressive ambiance.

Author Stoker's writing is superb; his descriptions of landscapes and people are extraordinary, even haunting at times. The plot is gripping, which is extraordinary as most everyone knows how things will turn-out in the end. I am extremely impressed by the novel and highly recommended it.
JANA