Customer Reviews

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(47)
3 star:		(27)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Top Notch read. I quite enjoyed it and it the kindle version was great for convenience and reference for use in lecture

Once again, the Everyman hardback edition doesn't disappoint. The high quality book matches the stories inside (the edition also includes some of Stevenson's other short stories). Everybody knows the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but I'll bet if you ask around you won't find many people who have read it! Do yourself a favor and buy this book, curl up one evening and discover imagery and prose that are rarely matched today.

Atty. Mr. Utterson is worried, as the keeper of Dr Henry Jekyll's will. The will gives everything to Edward Hyde incase of Henry's death or disappearance. Mr. Utterson met the hideous Hyde once and does not trust him. Well it looks like Henry's will will have to be executed as the housekeeper; Mr. Pool thinks Hyde hid Henry's body.

Once again, I saw Spencer Tracy before I read the book, so I was anticipating a different type of story. I read "Treasure Island" so I am familiar with Stevenson's writing style but I did not realize that this story was more of a mystery that draws the conclusion and revelation in the end. The explanation of man and his duel personality is excellent and I suspect he draws on personal experience.

I read the kindle version. It was sparse and strait forward; there was not a lot of fluff and speculation from other personalities. I made sure that the text-to speech was activated before purchasing. This helped but I had to keep reminding myself that the names were mispronounced.

In any event without the kindle I probably would have bought the book but not gotten around to reading it for a few years.

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde Double Feature (1932/1941)

This book really provides an interesting insight on the duality of man. This novel really is short and sweet, I read it very quickly, but enjoyed every single word. I of course, knew nothing of the book going into it, other than the flawd vision that television had told me of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. For 1.15 I couldn't have picked a better book to buy.

I really do not enjoy reading reviews where the reviewer discusses plot details of the book. If you are thinking of reading this book, I highly suggesting doing so, you won't regret it. Unless you have a sudden change of character.

=====>

I have seen many movie versions of this classic. So, I made the assumption that I knew the true story. Then I read this book. Was my assumption ever wrong!!!

This particular book of less than 150 pages has five parts:

(1) Opening Pages. They include a brief biography of Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 to 1894). (Takes up 4% of the book.)
(2) Introductory Essay. This was written by the late, famous Russian author Vladimir Nabokov. (Takes up 20%.)
(3) The Actual Story. Its original title is "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1886). (Takes up 65%.)
(4) Afterword to the Story. It is written by a modern writer. (Takes up 8%.)
(5) Selected Bibliography. Outlines great works by and about R.L. Stevenson. (Takes up 3%.)

The introductory essay was an actual lecture Nabokov gave when he was associate professor at Cornell University from 1948 to 1959. It gives a thorough, detailed analysis of this "seldom read" classic.

The afterword consists of a shorter analysis of this classic by the modern writer Dan Chaon. I felt that this afterword provided valuable insight regarding the story of Jekyll and Hyde.

Chaon sums up the entire story: "The structure of ['Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'] follows a path as indirect and elusive as its multiple narrative voices. With its obliquely recorded incidents, its eyewitness accounts and sealed confessions, it resembles...a [police detective's] casebook--a collection of gathered clues, fragments, through which the clever detective may be able to...project a complete narrative. Perhaps one of the most compelling aspects of this novel [of ten chapters] is that, in fact, there's so much left here for [the reader] to fill in, so many scenes that [the reader] can only imagine. Such a structure creates fertile ground for allegory [a story with symbolic meaning] hunters, and there are indeed many convincing interpretations of this novel...The puzzle-like structure of the novel [which only has eight major male characters] creates a kind of Rorechach test, open to various interpretations." (A Rorechach test is where a person interprets inkblot designs.)

The inspiration of this short novel is said to have come from a dream (or, perhaps more accurately, a nightmare) Stevenson had. His actual writing is amazing and skillful in all chapters. The writing especially of the last two chapters, chapters nine and ten, stood out for me. Here, for example, is his actual description of what happened when somebody observed someone using Dr. Jekyll's concoction: "He put the glass to his lips and drank at one gulp. A cry followed; he reeled, staggered, clutched at the table and held on, staring with injected eyes, gasping with open mouth; as I looked there came, I thought, a change--he seemed to swell--his face became suddenly black and the features seemed to melt and alter--and the next moment, I had sprung to my feet and leaped back against the wall, my arm raised to shield me...[and] my mind submerged in terror."

Finally, the cover of this particular book is interesting. It shows the shadow of a man in a top hat behind a window shade. This can be taken to represent Hyde who is a shadowy character.

In conclusion, this particular book has it all: an introduction by a late, well-known author, an intriguing mystery/horror story by a late, famous nineteenth century author, and an afterword by a gifted, modern writer. Be sure to read this book to learn the true story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde!!!

<=====>

This book is less of a gripping story and more of a thought-provoking read. Stevenson could have written a much longer story following Jekyll and Hyde, a story that was more interesting and with more action. But what he did, was left it short, but gave the reader plenty to think about. What happens if we get rid of all inhibitions? Is there a monster inside of each of us trying to get out for a while?

Stevenson created a short story that everyone should read. He creates a mystery and waits until the end to explain exactly what has been happening. Even if you know the main idea behind Jekyll and Hyde from TV or movies, read the book. The story is unique, dark, and mysterious.

I've never read a novel or novella where there is so little of actual story as there is Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde; where there is so little done with such an amazing idea. The story consists mainly of a few rumors and incidents and annecdotes that are all tied together by the "full statement of the case" at the end, and that's it. For one thing I think this sparseness contributes to the eeriness of the story. The book reads more like a police report that a horror story, leaving Mr. Hyde to lurk almost unseen in the shadows of its pages. For another thing I think that this book has been popular through the years and passed through so many incarnations and popped up in so many different forms precisely because Stevenson did so little with Mr. Hyde. It was like he left a blueprint for other writers to come along and fully explore the ramifications of this book's intriquing premise.

Robert Louis Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is arguably the single most famous metaphor that Western literature has bestowed upon the public conscience, and certainly the most ubiquitous metaphor for duality of personality. But what of the artistic quality of the novella itself? The outer plot -- involving the detection of Henry Jekyll's double identity by his friend and lawyer Gabriel Utterson -- is the least interesting facet of the story; Stevenson's concept, inspired by a nightmare, and the vivid language he uses to convey it, are what impress the most upon the reader.

The respected London scientist Henry Jekyll seems normal enough, but he is fascinated by what he considers to be two distinct sides to his (or, he believes, anybody's) personality, which can be described crudely as good and evil. He furthermore believes these sides are physically separable, just as water can be separated into its constituent elements, hydrogen and oxygen, by electrolysis; and so he invents a potion that essentially splits his personality so that only one side will manifest itself while the other becomes latent. In this way, Jekyll reasons, the "good" side may be an agent of good works without being burdened by the disgrace of an inherent evil, and the "evil" side is free to do his damage without the pangs of remorse he would inherit from the conscience of his good twin. In Freudian terms, Jekyll is the ego, Hyde is the id, but unfortunately -- and this is the point that drives the story -- Jekyll has no superego to tell him that the potion is an irresponsibly bad idea in the first place.

In society Jekyll retains his high esteem, but his mutation, the sinister, deformed Edward Hyde, whom he names as an heir as a further disguise of his own identity, is cursed to live in ostracism for his hideous appearance, cruel behavior, and disregard for the law. The fact that Hyde is physically smaller than Jekyll could be symbolic of his moral deficiency or merely reflect the notion that he is only a "part" of Jekyll; but the difference in size is convenient as a plot device because it prevents others from suspecting that Hyde and Jekyll are really the same person.

One should not approach "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" as if it were just a primitive example of generic horror. Stevenson excels as a prose writer, suffusing his story with the kind of descriptive nuances that successfully evoke Victorian London at its darkest and most ominous contrasted with the civilized society of gentlemen and otherwise benevolent scientists. I was aware that Stevenson was an essayist, but I was unprepared to find that "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is really an illustrative essay at its base, dressed in monstrous fashion.

This book is defenitly a classic. It probably could have been of longer. If it was at least the length of franenstein I am sure I would have given it 5 stars. The book does a great job of exploring man's dual nature. It is good for a quick read on a rainy day. Anyone who wants to say they've read the classics should read this book. Of course that is just my opnion, I could be wrong.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was a wonderful book. It expressed how the string of good and evil are attached, and how different people express themselves in different ways. I think that Dr. Jekyll released all his negitive energy through Hyde so that he would not be know as a evil person. this book made me realize that I dont need to keep negitive feelings bottled up inside because it only leads to bad things in the end and you do not get anything good out of it. Every person needs to read this book. It will give you a sense of adventure and let you explore into the life of scientist and science. I would definately recommend it to anyone interested in the supernatural.