Up until now, the only other books I have read in the Gothic horror genre have been Frankenstein and The Hound of the Baskervilles (both of which I thoroughly enjoyed, by the way). This book was nothing like either of them. The pacing and style was perfect for the story. By having the scenes and plots slowly revealed through the individual characters journals and letters, the reader seems to understand things only just before the characters themselves do. Later on though, this style adds again by showing us whole plots tying together, while the characters still only know bits and pieces. It was enough to make me want to yell at them as if I were watching it on a screen. (“Don't you realize that while you're busy investigating his mansion with your new vampire-hunting buddies, the Count is back at the house sucking blood from your wife?! Stupid man!”)
As to the content; all of the main characters (vampires aside, obviously) seem to be Christians, as was more commonly expected back then, and despite some of the more archaic customs and traditionalism, it was nice to read, and added to the appeal. The presence of the mythological beings obviously changed some of the religious beliefs as well (eg. Once someone becomes a vampire, their soul cannot enter heaven until the vampire is killed.). With these things in mind, as well as accounting for the more violent and bloody descriptions, I would not advise anyone too young to read this.
Surprisingly
enough, one of the things I liked most about this book was the
excellent portrayal of chivalry. The lead female character was a
clever, resourceful person who could easily have done a decent job of
taking care of herself, but she chose to accept the care and devotion
of her husband and the other gentleman friends in her life. In turn,
the men treated her as an equal when it came to discussions and
planning, respecting the fact that she had just as much to offer in
that way, but still treated her with the utmost care and concern;
valuing her health, safety, and comfort above their own.
The book as a
whole was well written (as is to be expected of a classic) and
enjoyable to read. I now understand the appeal of a job as a vampire
hunter, but as a friend quoting a friend once said “reality takes
away the coolest job opportunities”. However, were it possible, I
still don't think I'd want a job like that as a career. Maybe a few
trips here and there with my vampire-hunting friends...
Anyways, I hope
I've sparked your interest... and I sincerely wish that every girl
(or guy) who read/watched the Twilight series and liked it, would
read this book and see what real (figuratively speaking) vampires are
like.
No comments:
Post a Comment