I’ve read this book several times, but this is my first listening experience with it. I’ve never been satisfied with any other portrayal of the Count, but the original Bram Stoker novel. What brings me back to it over and over is the old world experience, especially Harker’s journey to Transylvania. There were some oddities to the reading, and I think that I’m on board with them. Some of the actors used accents when quoting other characters and some did not. Mina always did her best to give the impression of a Texan, Dutch, and male voice, where Dr. Seward never did. But I’ve decided that we’re all that way when we tell stories. Some people just have the gift of impressions and some do not.

The voices are very similar to the ones in my head from having read it several times. Mina, having said to have the brain of a man but the heart of a woman, is thus portrayed….both exacting and courageous, but also movingly compassionate EVEN toward the count….all conveyed well by the actor.

Unrelated to the performance, I’ll say that I’ve always struggled with Van Helsing. He seems like that lonely fellow that upon making friends for the first time gets a little too attached, pledging life long love and such. He is also terribly long-winded. I sometimes zone out once I get the gist of what he is saying.

Also, the beauty of this novel is in the intimacy. Reading diaries and letters satisfies a certain desire for voyeurism! Give gives you such a sense of atmosphere both internally and externally.