Dracula by Bram Stoker

Third or fourth reading; first read back in the '60s.


"...on the lips were gouts of fresh blood, which trickled from the corners of the mouth and ran over the chin and neck. Even the deep, burning eyes seemed set amongst swollen flesh, for the lids and pouches underneath were bloated. It seemed as if the whole awful creature were simply gorged with blood. He lay like a filthy leech, exhausted with his repletion."

He is, of course, Count Dracula, once the world's most well-known vampire, before vampires became sexy and started dating teenage girls.

If you have not read Stoker's classic novel but think you know the entire plot from watching some of the many movies which adapt various aspects, you are mistaken. No movie in my knowledge has actually included all the characters and events that Bram Stoker did.

Stoker tells the story entirely with letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. This might seem to be an awkward form of narration, but it is entirely effective in giving immediacy to the events and in building suspense, making the action seem as if it is happening in real time to real people. Though the book was written in the late 19th century, it is surprisingly contemporary in feel, without the many asides from narration often found in novels from that time.

I found myself glued to this novel even though I had already read it more than once. If you would like to experience a suspense/adventure novel with overtones of the conflict between good and evil, if you want to go to the source of our cultural lore about the habits of vampires and how to protect yourself from them, if you like to read a good book, read this.