Kam
Okay, so. This wasn’t all that bad a read; in fact, it was pretty entertaining. It’s just that the execution is a bit off in certain places in ways that I didn’t particularly enjoy.
First: the things I enjoyed. I liked how this book mimicked the epistolary style of Stoker’s original, with the narrative taking on the form of a series of letters (or one VERY long letter) to Rizal’s Austrian friend Ferdinand Blumentritt. I also enjoyed the nods to the events and characters of Stoker’s novel: it’s a good way of reminding the reader which specific version of Dracula the author is writing about, though it’s not JUST Stoker’s narrative that’s in play here. Readers who’ve seen the 1992 movie Bram Stoker’s Dracula, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, may catch references to the film throughout the novel; this is unsurprising, given the author’s work as a filmmaker.
References to Jose Rizal’s own life and history are also rife throughout this novel - which makes sense, given that he is the main character, but amidst those references is included an interesting speculation regarding his sexuality. It’s a joke that Rizal was extremely charismatic (call him “Rizz-al” hehe - okay I’ll show myself out now), given his dalliances with women both in the Philippines and in Europe, but there has been some speculation that he may have been bisexual, or even homosexual. That comes into play in this novel in a rather interesting way, and while I won’t say that the theory is true (determining a historical figure’s sexuality is a process that is difficult and fraught), the way the novel plays around with the possibility frames Rizal in an interesting light and opened some intriguing possibilities in the plot.
Now that I’ve mentioned Rizal, I rather liked the way he was characterized in this novel. There’s an arrogance and carelessness that makes sense, given what is known of him, but there was also a kindness that balanced out the pride and the vanity. What I liked most, though, were his anger and his frustration: anger towards the Church, and his frustration towards the government. Both sentiments are writ large across his two novels, but I thought it was pretty great getting to see Rizal rage against the corruption he saw and experienced.
And what of his nemesis? Using Dracula as the main antagonist of this novel was an interesting choice, and I rather liked the way he was written, but he acts kind of like a black hole in this novel, warping everything else around him to make his presence work. I can’t get into it too much because of spoilers, but past a certain point of the novel things got rather ridiculous and I found myself unable to suspend disbelief. I think that if the vampire had been an original character, with their own lore and history, they would have been more accommodating to the narrative. Dracula simply has such a firmly-established mythos that everything else needs to be bent out of shape to make room for it, instead of fitting comfortably.
There were also parts of the novel that I think could have been trimmed out and the narrative would not have been affected much; a more rigorous editor might have been able to polish some of those scenes or had them trimmed out. But what REALLY got me was a scene that I wish didn’t exist at all. I won’t detail it for spoiler reasons, but suffice to say that specific scene felt more masturbatory than functional for the narrative, and the story could have done without it.
Overall, this was a fun ride for the most part. The premise is of course the main hook, and for the most part, the story delivers. The portrayal of Rizal is interesting and very human, and the characterization of Dracula was also quite well done. However, the sheer weight of Dracula’s mythos forces the narrative to contort in rather strange ways, especially towards the end, when those contortions become rather ridiculous and can destroy any suspension of disbelief. This book could also probably have used a more judicious editor, because some of the fat could still stand to be trimmed, and one entire scene ought to either be removed or reworded entirely.
Originally posted at kamreadsandrecs.tumblr.com.
Okay, so. This wasn’t all that bad a read; in fact, it was pretty entertaining. It’s just that the execution is a bit off in certain places in ways that I didn’t particularly enjoy.
First: the things I enjoyed. I liked how this book mimicked the epistolary style of Stoker’s original, with the narrative taking on the form of a series of letters (or one VERY long letter) to Rizal’s Austrian friend Ferdinand Blumentritt. I also enjoyed the nods to the events and characters of Stoker’s novel: it’s a good way of reminding the reader which specific version of Dracula the author is writing about, though it’s not JUST Stoker’s narrative that’s in play here. Readers who’ve seen the 1992 movie Bram Stoker’s Dracula, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, may catch references to the film throughout the novel; this is unsurprising, given the author’s work as a filmmaker.
References to Jose Rizal’s own life and history are also rife throughout this novel - which makes sense, given that he is the main character, but amidst those references is included an interesting speculation regarding his sexuality. It’s a joke that Rizal was extremely charismatic (call him “Rizz-al” hehe - okay I’ll show myself out now), given his dalliances with women both in the Philippines and in Europe, but there has been some speculation that he may have been bisexual, or even homosexual. That comes into play in this novel in a rather interesting way, and while I won’t say that the theory is true (determining a historical figure’s sexuality is a process that is difficult and fraught), the way the novel plays around with the possibility frames Rizal in an interesting light and opened some intriguing possibilities in the plot.
Now that I’ve mentioned Rizal, I rather liked the way he was characterized in this novel. There’s an arrogance and carelessness that makes sense, given what is known of him, but there was also a kindness that balanced out the pride and the vanity. What I liked most, though, were his anger and his frustration: anger towards the Church, and his frustration towards the government. Both sentiments are writ large across his two novels, but I thought it was pretty great getting to see Rizal rage against the corruption he saw and experienced.
And what of his nemesis? Using Dracula as the main antagonist of this novel was an interesting choice, and I rather liked the way he was written, but he acts kind of like a black hole in this novel, warping everything else around him to make his presence work. I can’t get into it too much because of spoilers, but past a certain point of the novel things got rather ridiculous and I found myself unable to suspend disbelief. I think that if the vampire had been an original character, with their own lore and history, they would have been more accommodating to the narrative. Dracula simply has such a firmly-established mythos that everything else needs to be bent out of shape to make room for it, instead of fitting comfortably.
There were also parts of the novel that I think could have been trimmed out and the narrative would not have been affected much; a more rigorous editor might have been able to polish some of those scenes or had them trimmed out. But what REALLY got me was a scene that I wish didn’t exist at all. I won’t detail it for spoiler reasons, but suffice to say that specific scene felt more masturbatory than functional for the narrative, and the story could have done without it.
Overall, this was a fun ride for the most part. The premise is of course the main hook, and for the most part, the story delivers. The portrayal of Rizal is interesting and very human, and the characterization of Dracula was also quite well done. However, the sheer weight of Dracula’s mythos forces the narrative to contort in rather strange ways, especially towards the end, when those contortions become rather ridiculous and can destroy any suspension of disbelief. This book could also probably have used a more judicious editor, because some of the fat could still stand to be trimmed, and one entire scene ought to either be removed or reworded entirely.
Originally posted at kamreadsandrecs.tumblr.com.