Wednesday, October 8, 2008

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson


the strange case of dr. jekyll and mr. hyde
robert louis stevenson
c. 1886
90 pages
comepleted 10/7/2008

*may contain spoilers*

I think my sister, long a fan of all things Edward Hyde, would not be at all surprised when I start this review by saying "I didn't like it." But I was! I had always held off because this type of book isn't normally my thing, but when I decided to read it I went about it really objectively. Yes, this is not my favorite genre, but it's written by the author of my favorite book (Treasure Island) and I LOVE the musical (despite the cheese and seeing the TV movie version starring the Hoff). So I really tried to go into it optimistically.

Sadly, my optimism did not last long. I just felt like nothing happened. There was no character development as we really weren't seeing anything through Jekyll or Hyde's eyes, there wasn't very much action, and the structure of the book made it seem like you had to hear the story twice. I do think part of the problem was it was written so the identity of Mr. Hyde was a twist, and I obviously already knew the twist. Maybe that twist would have added some sensationalism to the story. Well, I tried.

2/5

2 comments:

Kagemusha said...

Edward Hyde... I have to admit to reading this early on and not liking it... revisiting it later in my "old" age and then really loving it... what gives? How are you enjoying it besides the obvious points you make in your post?

Memory said...

You know, I read this book for the first time in high school... and I devoured it in about an hour. I loved it.

I tried to read it again a couple of years later and found it snoozeworthy. Huh.