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Anyone here actually been able to finish DRACULA? Goto page 1, 2, 3 Next

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Guest

Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2000 4:33 am Post subject:

Well, I have a confession to make. Although I call myself a horror fan, I've never been able to read Stoker's DRACULA. I've tried a couple of times and just found it to be boring and poorly written. I would suspect that my difficulty might just be a case of a modern reader finding a classic to be difficult reading except for the fact that I've twice read Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN (a much older book, BTW). I find FRANKENSTEIN to be fascinating and a very easy read. So I'm curious how many of the folks here have read DRACULA. Have I given up too easily? While I'm at it, I'd also like to know which of these two novels people prefer. Just wondering. Submitted By: Layback76

Guest

Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2000 5:12 am Post subject:

I have yet to even attempt to read DRACULA or FRANKENSTIEN. I guess the reason behind this is due to the fact that I've always had the attitude that I would get around to reading it some day. Every year I put both books at the top of my To Read List but something always comes along and bumps them off. I'm pretty sure that 2001 will be the year but who knows... All right, let the public whipping begin. Submitted By: Mr Self Affliction

Guest

Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2000 9:00 am Post subject:

Well, I've read both of the books in question and, in my opinion, both novels are quite hard to read. "Dracula" tends to wander and drag in more than one instance, but I think I enjoyed it more just because it fulfilled my preconceived notions of what it would be a lot more than "Frankenstein" did. Stoker's book is also more of a straight-out horror novel. I'm not sure how I would classify "Frankenstein". It may have been frightening in it's day, but it just seems quaint now. And, after the Karloff monster being ingrained into America's psyche for seventy-odd years, a monster that reads "Paradise Lost" and makes grand, sweeping speeches in elegant language at any given opportunity is kind of hard to accept, at least to me. I actually read both books when I was about 8 or 9, so my opinion might change if I tried 'em again. By the way, anyone have "The Annotated Dracula"? It's a large, softbound book with a really cheesy cover (a puppet-like Dracula sleeping in a coffin), but with many sidebars and annotations that help illuminate what Stoker was driving at in many places. It also points out plot holes caused by several chapters being excised for length. There are also quite a few original illustrations and discussions on London society in Stoker's day. Quite a find if you come across it. I found mine at a used bookstore, I believe, and I have yet to see it since.... Submitted By: creeping death

Guest

Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2000 7:31 pm Post subject:

I have to join the ranks of "those who have not read*." I do have a neat 100th Anniversary Edition waiting, with an introduction by Leonard Wolf. I'm also one of those that, like Mr Self Affliction, always think I'll get around to it but never seem to. I'm just finished with a book now. Should I make DRACULA my next read? Nah, I'll get around to it. Submitted By: Fenny

Guest

Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2000 7:34 pm Post subject:

*You can punish me now. Submitted By: Fenny

Guest

Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2000 8:38 pm Post subject:

I understand what you guys mean about Dracula being difficult to read but if you call yourselves horror novel fans then you must read it! It is of course a classic and besides it is a very good book. If you really understand the impact it has made on the horroe genre in general than there is no disputing the fact that it is awesome. Well I could go on and on about Dracula but I will save you people the time. And anyone who hasn't read it I suggest you do so and stop putting it off! LOL Submitted By: Misty

Guest

Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2000 1:51 am Post subject:

Welcom Misty. Hope to see more posting from you. Yes, we should all stop what we're reading now and pick up DRACULA but that's just not going to happen from me. I don't see anyway of reading it before 2001 (well, mayber during the winter break), I've just got way to many books on tap at the moment. Submitted By: Mr Self Affliction

Guest

Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2000 4:14 am Post subject:

"Frankenstein". It may have been frightening in it's day, but it just seems quaint now. And, after the Karloff monster being ingrained into America's psyche for seventy-odd years, a monster that reads "Paradise Lost" and makes grand, sweeping speeches in elegant language at any given opportunity is kind of hard to accept, at least to me."--creeping death It was this very thing that I found so fascinating about FRANKENSTEIN. I also had the image of Karloff's plodding, unarticulate creature when I first began to read the book. Afterall, it IS a monster movie. But I found the novel to be very much a horror story but not in the same, conventional sense of the movie. It is in the emotional aspect of the book, of the creature's anguish at his rejection by his creator and his overwhelming need to exact his terrible revenge, where the real horror lies. I really found the speeches by the Creature very interesting and made me think about the book long after finishing it. OK, the movie's not the same as the book, but isn't that true most of the time, anyway? Submitted By: Layback76

Guest

Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2000 7:19 am Post subject:

I couldn't disagree with you more. As soon as I started Dracula, I never put it down. I actually have never read another vampire book because I don't think any could be as good. I thought it was amazingly well-written and parts of it were very scary. My only qualm was that I felt the ending was a little anti-climactic. Otherwise, I find it to be a great novel. But you know, to each their own. If you're not digging it, don't waste your time. There are too many other great books out there, waiting to be read. Submitted By: Katie

Guest

Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2000 4:50 pm Post subject:

"to each their own. If you're not digging it, don't waste your time. There are too many other great books out there, waiting to be read."--Katie I'll probably give it another try sometime. I don't have a copy right now but I'll probably go for one of those annotated copies someday. I've had this problem a few times before, starting a book and then giving up because it doesn't grab me right away, but eventually going back and finishing. The best example I can give was GHOST STORY by Peter Straub. I had to start that sucker 3 times before getting into it. Once I did, it became one of my favorites. So perseverance usually brings its own rewards. Submitted By: Layback76

Guest

Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2000 4:37 am Post subject:

You guys have prompted me into starting DRACULA. It was about time, really. I'm not many pages into it. But I love the sense of place and travel into a remote and forbidding new territory at the beginning of the book. What horrors may come? Submitted By: Fenny

Guest

Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2000 12:53 pm Post subject:

You have to read "Dracula". It has a twisted victorian sexuality that still resonates today. Severed heads stuffed with garlic, suggestions of child molestation, all done in the florid prose of the era. Bram Stoker was quite a persona as well. Fell in love with an actor who treated him like dirt. He is the "To my dearest Hommy-beg " of the dedication and later died of syphillis. His grandmother instilled an absolute terror of the plague in him at an early age. Of course Mary Shelly is interesting as well. Check out the screen adaptations of the summer in Switzerland where "Frankenstein" was born: "Gothic" "Haunted Summer" "Rowing in the Wind". Submitted By: Eric

Guest

Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2000 1:17 pm Post subject:

Oh, I finished Dracula alright, and got a migraine for my toubles. I guess it is because I had this great expectation that this ould be a superficially easy book to get into and it ended up being a multi layered comment on society, eroticism, and mores all in the guise of a neat and tidy little vampire story. I found myself preferring Frankenstein because I always wondered, where did the Monster go when he dived off the ship into the icy wastelands? I felt some sort of misplaced sympathy for the Creature. Maybe I didn't indentify with The Count enough, I just don't know... PHANGO Submitted By: phangoria

Guest

Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2000 1:52 pm Post subject:

I loved Dracula. I inhaled it and it's one of the five books I enjoy rereading. I've had the language style problems with Frankenstein. Somehow can't get my mind wrapped around the style. I understand but I just don't enjoy. Might give it another try. As I said over at horror.net, I think Dracula is the best horror novel ever. Jonathan Submitted By: Jonathan

Guest

Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2000 5:07 pm Post subject:

Welcome to the board Jonathan! Hope You Stick Around. Looks like Dracula has people in a split opinion. I still need to read it though. Submitted By: Mr Self Affliction

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