the undead

when i first started reading dracula, i was pleasantly surprised. i thought it was all going to be about the vampire and his victims, and it is in sort, but the way stoker forms the story is, in my opinion, interesting and unique. the entire drama is told through letters, journal entries, newspaper clippings (though less than the former two), and sometimes telegrams. for the first half of the book, the characters do not really know who or what count dracula is or what he may be doing, although any reader familiar with stoker's famous creation does know. however, there is still a shroud of mystery surrounding the first part of the book. the second half is more what i expected. though still told through journal entries, it is about a group's quest to find and kill--or really kill--the undead count dracula. as a sensational novel, there really isn't much character development, but it is wildly entertaining. one think i did not enjoy, however, was the sheer amount of masculine angst and show of heroics. there is much talk of "manly bravery" and "he's all man, that one," while the female characters are "sweet", "delicate", and "fragile." we may be the two former, but the latter, i think not. still, i have to applaud stoker in that, in the end, the character of mina harker, one of the delicates, emerged as a very heroic and strong person.

all in all, i liked dracula. it was entertaining and, despite the well-known aspects of the story such as stakes through the heart, garlic, and crucifixes, it was still an interesting read.

for my next classic, i choose one a bit lighter in tone: peter pan.