Oxford Bookworms Library: Level 2 (700 headwords) Dracula

3.5 stars

This is the original classic story of the famous vampire, Count Dracula.

I don't always like 19th century fiction, so I was pleasantly surprised that I did like this one, though it was longer than I thought. It is told primarily in the format of diary entries and letters. I did prefer the beginning of the story to the rest of it, as I found this part of the story, set in Dracula's castle in Transylvania, really intrigued me and it was the only part of the story that I found a little bit creepy. It was still, overall, pretty good, though. The ending was a bit anti-climactic, but I liked the short "eiplogue" provided.

Although I did not enjoy this as much of some of the other vampire tales I have read. I am glad that I finally finished this classic. I took me over a decade to finally finish the book that has inspired so many artists not just authors.

I found the Victorian diction and grammar, a major stumbling block for me for the first few chapter, but once I got over it I did enjoy it quite a bit. I also appreciate the fact that Stoker stays faithful to the historical fact attributed to Vlad Tepes or Vlad the Impaler.

This was a book far ahead of it's time and I can see how it has inspired so many other authors, film makers and artists, since it's original publication

You know that scratchy eyed, dough headed, morning thickness that comes with a low-grade hangover? The hangover that doesn't end up with puking, but makes it difficult to crawl out of bed to grab that bottle of Advil that'll help you start your day? That's how I feel after rereading Dracula.

I read this book one other time -- 31 years ago when I was eight -- and I loved it. It made me mad for all things supernatural or occult. I thrilled over everything from spontaneous human combustion and devil's punch bowls to ghost sightings and werewolves. I tracked down every old movie containing anything scary: Frankenstein Monsters, Creatures from the Black Lagoon, Atomic Ants, Zombies, Mummies, anything with Bela Legosi or Boris Karloff or Christopher Lee or Claude Rains, anything that could give me the creeps.

I esteemed Dracula above all others as the greatest of horror novels, but I never revisited Dracula. There were too many other books to read (particularly Vampire books), and if I needed to satisfy my craving for the Count it was always much easier to throw in a film adaptation of Stoker's Vampyre than to commit to reading. So my old copy of Dracula just moved from house to house and shelf to shelf, and though I always intended to read it again, I never got around to it until now. What the hell was I thinking? I wasn't, apparently.

Three decades of untainted youthful love built Dracula into a work of art that it never was and couldn't be. I was prepared for that, though. I picked it up with a willingness to cut Stoker massive amounts of slack for my own distorted memories and to just enjoy the fun of something that gave birth to one of my earliest obsessions. I am a fool.

I didn't get any enjoyment out of rereading Dracula. It has been diminished for me. Probably forever. Stoker was a sexist pig, and it can't simply be chalked up to his place in time. Henry James was writing back then; Oscar Wilde was writing back then, and while the two of them may not be what we would consider feminist, they are certainly not steeped in the painfully chauvinistic Victorianism of Stoker; couple that with Stoker's odd mix of pseudo-science and religiosity, and Dracula is difficult to endure. But that's not the worst of it.

You know those annoying sit-coms where the situation, week after week, is based on a misunderstanding? You know those weepy television dramas where the conflict is based on a lack of communication? I know you do. We all know them, and while we may remember giggling at Jack Tripper's antics or snuffling over the Salinger family's tragic woes, when we sit down to watch them now they just don't do it for us. We want to shake the characters and scream at them to just talk to one another. We want to smack the protagonist who says, "Trust me," instead of using ten words to explain what needs to be done. And this is what [book:Dracula] is from beginning to end. It is a string of misunderstandings, miscommunications and a crazy old Dutchman telling everyone to trust him rather than explaining what's going on.

I want to burn this book. But it's old and worn, and I imagine my kids will get some joy from it in the years to come. I wish I'd never read this again. I would rather have loved this blindly until the day I died rather than know that it sucks and has always sucked. I need some Bela Legosi to sandpaper my memories of this novel. Going to rent it now.

When I first got the book I was kinda disappointed because it was written through diary entries. This must have been quite the challenge to write but from page one I was captivated. As I was reading this book I thought it was good but once i finished it I took a second and really thought about it and WOW . It is AWESOME. I absolutely love this book.

Beautifully written with lots of descriptions. I read this book every year.

Written in 1897, Dracula by Bram Stoker is an amazing gothic and horror classic about the vampire: Count Dracula. I was hesitant to read it at first because of the odd way the story is conveyed, through journal entries, letters, newspaper articles, and memorandums, but I found that that was the most effective method to tell such a story and it was not as bad as it seemed. With this method, the characters describe things as they see them, and overlook small important points, that a proper story narrator would not have missed. This makes the readers more excited about the discoveries that the characters will make.

The opening of the novel is excellent, the most exciting part, with Jonathan Harker, an English solicitor, traveling to Castle Dracula in Transylvania. On the way, he meets numerous supposititious people and does not understand why they are like that. He meets with Count Dracula to discuss the transaction of the mansion that the Count has just purchased in London. There, Jonathan discovers Dracula's ghastly secret and is imprisoned.

What powers and abilities does Dracula possess? What are the intentions of Dracula? Is there any hope for Jonathan?

With so many journal entries that allowed the characters to discover numerous secrets that they had overlooked, it makes you want to keep a journal of your own. I highly recommend Dracula; this classic always keeps you wondering what will happen next.

The main characters include:
Count Dracula
Jonathan Harker
Mina Murray: Jonathan's fiancé
Lucy Westenra: Mina's friend
Arthur Godalming
Dr. John Seward
Quincey Morris
Dr. Van Helsing

One of my all time fave books.It has to do with my interest in how this book would go on to influence thousands, not only in writing, but movies, culture, etc, 100-150 years after the book was first published. neat to read because you think you know the story,but it's written so creatively, even by modern standards that its a page turner.

I don't think I've read any book more often than Bram Stoker's DRACULA. It is one of my favourite books. Every time I read it, about once every two years, I find something new. It is a marvellous narrative that could be divided into four parts: the haunted house, the murder mystery, the seduction scene, and the big chase. It is set as a series of letters and documents which give the narrative an uneven flow but as a reader you barely notice. The characters are Victorian stereotypes but you'll forgive even this as you enter into the topsy-turvy gothic. There is as much going on inside the story as there is if you situate the novel in an historical context. We find throughout the pages modern anxieties about degeneracy, foreign invaders, gender roles, colonialism, disease and death. Within the novel we encounter purity and impurity, technology and religious ritual, the old and the new. There is much to be encountered here in addition to it being a fantastic read. Dracula is used as a first year university text for a course on evil and religion I teach. Most of the students are surprised and delighted by what they encounter.

Consider the relation between Dracula as an agent of impurity and our present day concerns about hygiene and the "purity" of organics? Or about gender. Can you believe that Mina memorized all of the train timetables for Europe so that she could be a useful "helper" for Jonathan? Van Helsing replies to Mina, you've got the heart of a woman but the brain of a man. With friends like that . . .

* * * * * * * *

"And yet, unless my senses deceive me,
the old centuries had, and have, powers
of their own which mere 'modernity'
cannot kill." - Jonathan Harker

This is one of the first, best known novel on the famous Dracula, based on the 1500s 'Vlad the Impaler'; the name says everything. This famous novel became one of the best well known classic story, classic movie and classic stage play. The novel also followed well known books such as: Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde, Poets from many famous writers (Edgar Allan Poe) and Play/Sonets from William Shakespeare.

This is amazing blood thirsty book!!

Don't shy away from this product because it doesn't show the cover page. It is part of the Dover Classics Edition and it is unabridged. This is the bibliographical note from the book "This Dover edition, first published in 2000, is an unabridged, unaltered republication of a standard edition of the work originally published in 1897 by Constable & Co, London."

I won't say that this is vampire at best but i will say that you will be able to read this book again and again because of the loveable characters and get this edition of the book because this is the original printing when it first came out.

In one word, ASTONISHING...

This is a timeless and superbly written tale. Count Dracula lives in his Transylvanian castle, notoriously called Castle Dracula, and entertains a British visitor, Jonathan Harker. Jonathan eventually realizes what Count Dracula is, and quickly flees in horror and fright. The story takes off from there and involves numerous other characters, all very memorable. Horrifying, terrifying, and thrilling, this should convince everyone that Gothic novels are literature at its finest.

This story is one of those stories that you can't just read once or twice because of its horror and drama. You would have to read the book at least 20 times but even then you would and could not get tired of this book. It has such good atmosphere in the book that just sets the mood for as i said before, horror and drama, the time period it takes place (19th century) and where it takes place (England/America) it would seem that this time period would be the perfect era to set this book in. The darkness of this book shows the true Dracula, the dead Dracula.

Stoker's "Dracula" is a fabulous piece of work. It kept me in suspense from the first page and I found it difficult to put it down. I like how everything is written as journal entries; very interesting.

In the movies, many of the characters of Bram Stoker's 1897 "Dracula," may appear, but the plots have little relationship to the actual novel. This edition sports an Introduction by Maurice Hindle, explaining the Victorian view of sexuality in the book, and a bibliography. The lines are well-spaced, which makes it very easy to read.

Basically, Count Dracula buys a house and moves to England, but is driven out through the efforts of Harker, Drs. Seward and von Helsing, Mina and others, though at some cost. No exploding chapels, etc., but still very dramatic.

The novel describes many aspects of European life for the different classes in the late 19th century. The novel is very atmospheric, of course, and illustrates some of the psychological ideas of the time. The main characters are quite well developed. Mina is something of a "New Woman," resourceful and independent, so the novel is forward-looking.

While not a perfect novel, in "Dracula" Stoker developed a first-class myth, which still speaks to us. Dracula is exciting book and well worth reading.

A fabulously macabre tale of a gruesomely mutated human being named Dracula. Jonathan Harker's discovery of his host's true identity, as well as the section where Lucy, a young English woman, is found afflicted will make you quiver in delightful horror. A great book to read on a solitary winter night. If you enjoy this book, let me also recommend Edgar Allan Poe's writings, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, as well as Robert L. Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

i was writing a book report on bram stokers dracula for an independant study unit in my grade 9 english class. i was overwhelemed by how long the book was, so i went to chapters and i got the novel and it was less than 100 pages! it had really good information and is just as good as the longer novel. all i have to say is that i recommend this novel for any report as well as for your enjoyment it is a classic because it is such a great book. i am a grade 9 student and i can say that this is a book for all ages young and old. But dont take my word on it, read the book for your self you wont be dissapointed!!!