Review: Dracula by Bram Stoker and Becky Cloonan

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It should come as no surprise that I own multiple copies of Dracula. In fact, it’s practically expected of me, what with the whole ‘vampire enthusiast’ thing – not to mention the dozens and dozens of editions of Dracula that have been released over the years.

If you asked me to recommend one edition I that I do own to others, those who wanted a nice one in their collection beyond a basic paperback, this is definitely it.

As a hardback its size is substantial, but not difficult to hold in one’s hand (I’m looking at you, New Annotated Dracula). The text is laid out in a way that makes the reading easy, and the illustrations work incredibly well with them. Some illustrations take a slice out of a page, others invade from an edge, while some still cover the entire page and leave the text to sit on top of it. The colour palette is kept simple with the greys and washed out slate blues enhancing the deep blacks and vibrant reds that give it an overall brilliant gothic vibe.

Overall, the art is beautiful, with many images of the kind I would love to have displayed on a wall. Plus Cloonan remembers to give Dracula a mustache, which is something many artists and productions forget to do.

As for the story itself, Dracula is one of those books that I appreciate more every time I read it. I think it’s because each time I do, I focus in on one character and let the layers come away as the pages turn. This time around that character was Quincey Morris, who’s a bit of an enigma as he is not one of the main narrators in this story. The only other major character in the story to not do so is the titular Dracula, which is an interesting parallel considering the fates of both characters. He is a wonderful charming man, with a heroic nature and a habit of blurting out information that perhaps would have been interesting to have a little earlier, and it’s such a shame he’s often cast aside in adaptations.

(Honestly, there is so much in this book that keeps getting neglected in adaptations, or straight up excised. But that’s a rant for another day).

For those who have not read Dracula, I highly recommend you do. It can feel like it takes a while to get to a point, but take that time to appreciate the characters and the looming dread that they are unaware of. Because you’ll soon reach that point where plotlines converge, pieces fall into place, and you can see exactly what has been happening all along. Each character is unique and you deserve to get to know them as they were written originally: sweet Lucy, wishing she did not have to break two hearts by choosing another; brave Jonathan, fighting through PTSD to protect those he loves; and Renfield, the tragic madman who manages to find some heroism at a terrible cost.

Well-received upon release, but since then often displaced by adaptations that bear little resemblance to the source material, Dracula is a slow-paced gothic story that builds in horror and momentum until it reaches its grand climax. A tale full of impressive and dreadful imagery, Becky Cloonan’s stunning illustrations bring some of the most famous scenes to life in cool shades, midnight blacks, and – of course course – the bloodiest reds.

A must read for both Dracula devotees and those yet to read the original.