Sock Poppet at Play

Yes, I finally finished listening to Dracula. Even without the all-too-often eating of flies, I can't say that this was a book I enjoyed. Even the stuffing of garlic into the headless body of poor Lucy wasn't quite so gruesome as the fly eating. If only Stoker had dispensed with those flies.

Surprisingly the flies made more of an appearance than Count Dracula. He was certainly talked about a lot. But he was actually in the book very little. And he certainly didn't come across as oh-so-charming to me. The most exciting thing about him was his ability to scale the side of a building. Now that's something worth doing.

The one good thing is that I have conquered a book that I thought I would be very afraid of. I would exalt in this knowledge, except for the audiobook I'm currently listening to. No flies, no cutting off of heads. no garlic stuffing. Alas, no scaling of buildings. Despite these lacks, there is a discernible chill in the story of a young virtuoso playing a violin that seems possessed by the spirit of its previous owner. (The story is much scarier than the cover.)