When I read it: 28th September 2014 - 16th July 2015
Rating: 4/5
This was another Gothic novel I first read in High School. Round one of reading this (now infamous?) novel was a dull and heavy duty for me. The book was thick with literature notions and Victorian lingo high school me could not, for the life of me, really, and I mean really get into it. It was a task I didn't want to deal with. So what did I do? I cheated I looked at Sparknotes and read small chunks of each chapter to get by.
Round two: I started last summer, the warm dewy weather outside and my running streak of reading one book after another enthused my desire to re-read this masterpiece. Let me say this, it was a long tedious journey, it felt never-ending and you never want that while you're reading. But whether it was the fact that I was in a reading slump or the fact that I'm still adjusting to reading classics at a normal pace it was still worthwhile.
I began by adoring Jonathan and his cute "picturesque" phase and his caring notions towards his wife and honestly he's a great character, this is a must in a book especially with one with multi-protagonists, the introduction of the first character needs to be a hit. I ended with being a Seward's girl (woah am I making this into a thing?)
Cutting to the chase, the story is obviously phenomenal. Despite being a classic, the feminist themes were prominent and I must say, some men of today can learn a lesson or two from this novel. They treat Mina like another man like she's part of their Gentlemen's club and the best thing is, she's a modern woman, she has new (and back then crazy) ideas for the women of that age, and they accept it with open arms! It's amazing.
I also enjoyed that sense of unity. It may be the switching of narratives or how each character would take a bullet for one and another and it's such an intense piece of workmanship that you feel you're part of the anti-Dracula squad.
Honestly, I thoroughly enjoyed Dracula the second time round. I had so much to annotate, the past me would be proud! It may take a long process to get through it but it's certainly worth the wait.
Round two: I started last summer, the warm dewy weather outside and my running streak of reading one book after another enthused my desire to re-read this masterpiece. Let me say this, it was a long tedious journey, it felt never-ending and you never want that while you're reading. But whether it was the fact that I was in a reading slump or the fact that I'm still adjusting to reading classics at a normal pace it was still worthwhile.
I began by adoring Jonathan and his cute "picturesque" phase and his caring notions towards his wife and honestly he's a great character, this is a must in a book especially with one with multi-protagonists, the introduction of the first character needs to be a hit. I ended with being a Seward's girl (woah am I making this into a thing?)
Cutting to the chase, the story is obviously phenomenal. Despite being a classic, the feminist themes were prominent and I must say, some men of today can learn a lesson or two from this novel. They treat Mina like another man like she's part of their Gentlemen's club and the best thing is, she's a modern woman, she has new (and back then crazy) ideas for the women of that age, and they accept it with open arms! It's amazing.
I also enjoyed that sense of unity. It may be the switching of narratives or how each character would take a bullet for one and another and it's such an intense piece of workmanship that you feel you're part of the anti-Dracula squad.
Honestly, I thoroughly enjoyed Dracula the second time round. I had so much to annotate, the past me would be proud! It may take a long process to get through it but it's certainly worth the wait.
