Halloween Week Reading Part Two
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson. I finally got around to reading this 1886 novella, and I was a little disappointed. The idea was brilliant, but Stevenson's choice to have everything filtered through Jekyll's lawyer, Utterson, gives the story a stogy, constricted, airless feel. The story gets back on track and finishes strong in the last part, but meanwhile, what a slog.
Rather than the text, I wish I had picked up the Classics Illustrated version pictured above, or taken in the 1930s Fredric March movie.
Next October, I think I'll read Valerie Martin's 1990 novel, Mary Reilly which tells the famous tale from the viewpoint of a female servant in Henry Jekyll's house.
3 comments:
Hm. I've heard so much about this one, always wanted to get around to reading it. I didn't know that about the viewpoint. It will certainly color my expectations.
I love those old Classics Illustrated and had a ton of them when I was a kid. I've been acquiring a few nice copies again as an adult, but they are getting harder to find and more expensive all the time. If you have a collection of them, hold on to them.
I think read Mary Reilly and THEN read the 'original'. I can't recall my feelings on it other than being glad to knock a classic off the list.
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