We kicked of "World Building Narratives" with the oldest book in the group: Dracula. We tried something new and read the Norton Critical Edition, which they loved. One of them said, "I wish every book came like this." They loved the notes and the commentary. A few noted that it took them a little bit to become invested because they perceived a lack of action up front. But once they did, they liked it.
On the narrative structure of the novel, they felt voyeuristic. The novel is told in letters and journal entries, leading the readers to feel like they were creeping on someone. They felt weird. Along those lines, they thought Stoker did a great job of changing pace and tone with each author in the novel. Characters had different voices. Although, we all agreed that we missed one voice in particular: Dracula's own. He was only perceived through the eyes of others.
There were some profound moments in our discussion. On p. 32 of the NCE, Harker talks about "failure to grasp insight to bring into [his] own life" when he realizes he is a prisoner. He is reflecting on his current state and what led him here. He talks about "what needs to be done going forward." The readers related to the notion of trying to salvage things. They are all incarcerated for serious things, and they wish they could have years back. But they don't want themselves or others to be blinded to who they could be.
We talked more about Dracula as a character--is he inherently evil or is he just surviving? We don't know his origins? We don't know his internal state! Again, the readers related this to themselves--they don't want to be defined by the worst things they've done, or be seen as one-dimensional.
The novel had some scary moments, but it wasn't as "horrific" as they thought it might be. They enjoyed reading it because it informs virtually every piece of vampire fiction and culture as we know it. They like going to the origins of it all. And many of them even imagined it in black-and-white, just showing how influential the Bela Lugosi film is.
On the narrative structure of the novel, they felt voyeuristic. The novel is told in letters and journal entries, leading the readers to feel like they were creeping on someone. They felt weird. Along those lines, they thought Stoker did a great job of changing pace and tone with each author in the novel. Characters had different voices. Although, we all agreed that we missed one voice in particular: Dracula's own. He was only perceived through the eyes of others.
There were some profound moments in our discussion. On p. 32 of the NCE, Harker talks about "failure to grasp insight to bring into [his] own life" when he realizes he is a prisoner. He is reflecting on his current state and what led him here. He talks about "what needs to be done going forward." The readers related to the notion of trying to salvage things. They are all incarcerated for serious things, and they wish they could have years back. But they don't want themselves or others to be blinded to who they could be.
We talked more about Dracula as a character--is he inherently evil or is he just surviving? We don't know his origins? We don't know his internal state! Again, the readers related this to themselves--they don't want to be defined by the worst things they've done, or be seen as one-dimensional.
The novel had some scary moments, but it wasn't as "horrific" as they thought it might be. They enjoyed reading it because it informs virtually every piece of vampire fiction and culture as we know it. They like going to the origins of it all. And many of them even imagined it in black-and-white, just showing how influential the Bela Lugosi film is.