Title: Carmilila
Author: Sheridan Le Fanu
Publisher: Wildside Press
Pages: 108
Format: Paperback
Source: Turkish edition sent by Turkish publisher for review
Description:
Nothing remained to assure us that the adventure had not been an illusion of a moment but the young lady, who just at that moment opened her eyes.
My thoughts:
I just on everything related to vampires ever since I read Bram Stoker's Dracula as a teen; I cannot stop myself. Of course, back in the old days; again, when I was a teenager, it wasn't easy to find new novels with such content. Afterward, with the explosion of Twilight, they were suddenly everywhere. When you think about it, this should've been a good thing for readers like me. However, it got way too ridiculous with vampires that don't drink human blood, vampires that miss their human lives and those that sparkle under the sun. It felt like the original vampires vanished. Carmilla, on the other hand, is an old school vampire story which reminded me why I was so into them in the first place.
I was already excited when the story started at a castle in Europe. There is a young girl who lives with her father and their servants... Suddenly, an unexpected, enchantingly beautiful, weird guest Carmilla appears... While you're thinking she's going to hit on the father, she goes after the daughter... Spooky buildings, gloomy streets, grey forests and mind games in addition to the thirst for blood... Therefore, an actual gothic vampire story!
In the Turkish description of the book, it says, "Sheridan Le Fanu's women reflect the vampire in us with their tenor toward the darkness and their closeness to death." You can see this very clearly when you look at the main characters Laura and her father; it might have something to do with being young, too, but Laura is more inclined to lean toward the unknown, the darkness. Her father, on the other hand, is a man of scientific beliefs. As opposed to most popular fiction now, Le Fanu focuses on psychologic thrills and the darkness inside the characters instead of the blood, ferocity and sex.
"Literature's first lesbian vampire" Carmilla will surprise you with its atmosphere, obscurities and encounters. If you have read Dracula, you will also clearly see how Stoker was inspired by Le Fanu's work.
