Interview with a Vampire

I would usually consider myself a fan of the vampire genre, but I had a hard time getting hooked onto this book. I have not read it before and I haven't seen the movie, so I was able to take it as a new experience. I can't really put my finger on it, but there was just something that didn't completely grab my attention. (The whole little girl vampire with adult mind scenario was pretty unnerving and uncomfortable to read so perhaps that is one reason.) I did like the twist at the end of the interview though, with the boy asking to become a vampire. I sure wasn't expecting it, and apparently neither did Louis.

The book was able to break the mold of the classic vampire (Dracula, Nosferatu) by having characters with such different personality types as vampires. Lestrat was like the old take on the monster- bloodthirsty, violent, seductive and manipulative. And despite his bloodthirsty nature, he was alluring. It was fitting for Lestrat to be the first vampire introduced. But then we're introduced to Louis, who was this new, sympathetic take on a vampire. He had flaws, morals, felt love and compassion but would occasionally give in to the temptation of his "vampiric" side. His character is made up of tragedy and romance. Practically all modern takes on vampires have a character that evolved from the sensible Louis.

As I said earlier, I am a fan of the vampire genre. One of my favorite vampire book series is the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. One of the main vampire characters, Bill Compton, is very similar to Louis in that he is also one of the tragic, romantic vampires. They both have had their hearts broken in their past, lost family members, and had unwittingly turned another into a vampire in awful circumstances. Having read this series before Interview with a Vampire, I can see now where Charlaine Harris probably got her inspiration. They are short books too (and murder mysteries!), so I'd definitely recommend to give them a read if you enjoy vampire novels.

I Am Legend

Somehow, I was one of those people who missed the I Am Legend movie frenzy, so I was lucky enough to be able to read the book with fresh eyes. I'm not really sure how close the movie related to the book, but from what I heard I was under the impression that this was a zombie novel. Personally, I felt this was a lot more like a vampire story with a twist - germs causing the vampiric attributes rather then turning a person. Now, usually I love these kinds of twists on what's culturally known as supernatural lore. Vampires repelled by garlic, killed by the sun etc. I loved the way that the vampiric traits of people were spread by disease carrying insects, and how that disease initially came out of war. I though this was a clever explanation behind the apocalyptic setting. For me, the drawback to the book was the main character, Robert Neville.

For one, I felt that the main character wasn't believable for the majority of the book.  There's an outbreak of terrifying blood-thirsty vampires harassing him outside of his house, and each time he happens to take a gander at one of the undead ladies he can only think about taking them to bed. For me, I never really found the appeal of something that can rip your head off- I'd be more focused on survival. Second, for all the reading he did into vampires, why did it such a big revelation to him that they couldn't go out in the daylight? It seemed so bizarre that it was like some big epiphany to him, when it was pretty obvious those who were infected retreated to the darkness during the day. There was a very hopeless feeling to his character throughout the novel- that no matter what he did or tried, you just knew it wasn't going to work out for him.

The only part where I really sympathized with his character was when he first found the dog. I felt his emotions and reactions were real and desperate, and his struggle to gain the dog's trust was painful. I was more moved by his last moments with the dog then the story of his family. Perhaps this is because as a reader, we weren't given enough time to become attached to his wife and child?

I did find the ending to be interesting in the fact that the "survivors" were what caused Neville's death in the end. But altogether, I don't feel as moved or horrified by I Am Legend as I was with Frankenstein.

Frankenstein

I had never read Frankenstein before taking this class and I knew very little of the original story and its characters. For the longest time, I used to believe Frankenstein was simply about a crazy scientist and the monster he creates. After reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, I realized that was only the tip of the iceberg. Frankenstein was portrayed as a determined man seeking knowledge. He had a rich childhood surrounded by nature, friends, family and so much opportunity to succeed. Frankenstein had a great life, before he was consumed by his creation.

While some people would find themselves afraid of ghoulish, re-animated monsters, I was horrified by watching Frankenstein's descent into madness and secrecy. What's so scary about Victor Frankenstein's situation was that he tried so desperately to keep his creation a secret to his family, that it began to destroy all normalcy from his life and even began to drive him insane. Each time Victor thinks he has a shot at life, that he just might be able to move a little bit past his horrible secret, the monster appears and rips out all hope.

And while the monster was a cause for much of the misery to Victor Frankenstein's life, the monster wasn't entirely to blame. Resurrected by the ravings of a man seeking to be the ultimate creator, the monster begins life striving for the nourishment and attention that a young child would. As the monster explains, he was meant to be an angel in his master's eyes. He was his creation! I find this no different then seeking attention and care from a parent. To me, there could be nothing more hurtful then losing the love and attention of a parent, and I sympathized with the monster's rage towards Victor. I pitied the awful creature, and with him I also began to despise Frankenstein. Towards the end of the book, Victor's existence became a selfish one. He was either encompassed by a longing to forget the monster, or with the passion to destroy him.

I really enjoyed reading Frankenstein, and was happily surprised to find a horror story filled with the kind of drama that Frankenstein portrayed. I wish the kind of horror seen in Hollywood reflected the style of Frankenstein. Pop-up screamers, gore and violence can get a few screams, but the corruption of a man's mind is really terrifying.