Dracula by Bram Stoker

Dracula

Bram Stoker

1897

5/5 stars

This was a reread of this familiar, and for me much-loved, classic.  Stoker writes quite well, and the voices of the characters in this epistolary novel are recognizable and distinct.  

Those whose only experience is with movie versions will most likely be surprised by the strong Christian message of the book.  It is not just a battle of good versus evil, but of Godly good versus Satanic evil. 

One of the best parts of the book is that, within the confines of the era's mores, Stoker has made Mina an extraordinary woman.  She is as intelligent as the men and assists them often, is as courageous as any of them, is strong, both emotionally and physically, and while they still seek to protect her, they respect her for these characteristics. 

Naturally, Dracula is melodramatic, as is to be expected from sensation fiction, but it is also entertaining, gripping, and satisfying.  I highly recommend it.

Two by Vita Sackville-West

Seducers in Ecuador and The Heir 

Vita Sackville-West  

5/5 stars

These are two dissimilar novellas combined into one volume. In Seducers in Ecuador (1925), Arthur Lomax finds his life changed when he begins to wear colored spectacles during a visit to Egypt.  Sackville-West is such a skilled writer that I was riveted, despite having the ending revealed early on by the author.*  I simply had to know how Lomax would end up where he did.  

In The Heir (1922), Peregrine Chase inherits the family home, and visits it for the first time.  He slowly falls in love with the house, despite knowing he must sell it.  Again, Sackville-West is so talented, that at about the half-way point, I was desperate to know if he would keep the house, and had to turn to the last page to see.  

While quite different in plot, they are both deeply revealing character studies that are beautifully written and immensely satisfying.

Read as part of the Classics Club.  My explanation is here.