I listened to Dracula by Bram Stoker on a podcast, read by Phoebe Judge. Podcast is called "Phoebe Reads a Mystery." I decided to give it a try, as it's an old classic that I had never read.
Well.. it's creepy! And sometimes interesting and sometimes boring. Sometimes it drags on, with lots of slow detail. I sometimes got the male characters mixed up in my mind.
The creepy parts are creepy. How does the human mind come up with this stuff? Vampires, and especially the way people must save them from themselves are a horrible thought. I suppose it comes from the fact that vampire bats really do exist. Then the imagination takes over from there. Wow.
There were a couple of main characters who are women. I did like that the circle of men around M. respect her intelligence and include her in decision making (after at first excluding her under the guise of protecting her). She gives them a clear reason why she should be included, and they see her wisdom. Of course the overall attitude toward women was that they are the weaker sex and need protection. So the fact that they recognized and valued M's intelligence was important.
A side story is a doctor who works with "lunatics" in a hospital for insane people, aka insane asylum. He is curious and likes to learn about how the minds of "lunatics" work, but overall they are not given much respect. The straight jacket is employed frequently. Ugh. I'm so glad we have progressed a little in this field. Not enough, but at least we no longer refer to them as "lunatics."
What else can I say? Now I can say that I have read Dracula. I do not intend to ever read it again. My curiosity was satisfied, and the creepiness is in my past.
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