Blood Read: The Vampire as Metaphor in Contemporary Culture

by Joan Gordon (Editor), Brian W. Aldiss (Contributor), Veronica Hollinger (Editor)

The vampire is one of the nineteenth century's most powerful surviving archetypes, owing largely to Bela Lugosi's portrayal of Dracula, the Bram Stoker creation. Yet the figure of the vampire has undergone many transformations in recent years, thanks to Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and other works, and many young people now identify with vampires in complex ways.

Blood Read explores these transformations and shows how they reflect and illuminate ongoing changes in postmodern culture. It focuses on the metaphorical roles played by vampires in contemporary fiction and film, revealing what they can tell us about sexuality and power, power and alienation, attitudes toward illness, and the definition of evil in a secular age.

Scholars and writers from the United States, Canada, England, and Japan examine how today's vampire has evolved from that of the last century, consider the vampire as a metaphor for consumption within the context of social concerns, and discuss the vampire figure in terms of contemporary literary theory. In addition, three writers of vampire fiction—Suzy McKee Charnas (author of the now-classic Vampire Tapestry), Brian Stableford (writer of the lively and erudite novels Empire of Fear and Young Blood), and Jewelle Gomez (creator of the dazzling Gilda stories)—discuss their own uses of the vampire, focusing on race and gender politics, eroticism, and the nature of evil.

The first book to examine a wide range of vampire narratives from the perspective of both writers and scholars, Blood Read offers a variety of styles that will keep readers thoroughly engaged, inviting them to participate in a dialogue between fiction and analysis that shows the vampire to be a cultural necessity of our age. For, contrary to legends in which Dracula has no reflection, we can see reflections of ourselves in the vampire as it stands before us cloaked not in black but in metaphor.

Genres: Nonfiction, Vampires, Essays, Horror, Literary Criticism, Research

264 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1997

Reviews

[Isabella · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, close read some essays and skimmed others that didn't pertain to my thesis research. gordon and hollinger's essays aren't particularly groundbreaking which is disappointing considering they're the editors. i loved gomez's essay and analysis of her work by other scholars in this collection. i found the other essays analyzing or mentioning anne rice's vampire chronicles to be flawed, almost as if many of these scholars are upset by rice's transfiguration of the vampire figure and her dominance in the literary marketplace during the 80s and 90s.

[S117 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part one is fangtastic! The rest of the book is also good, but looses some of its bite when following the so incredible part one. But still relevant even today!

[Anttoni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting viewpoints to ages old topic

[˗ ˏ ˋ Lili ˎ ˊ ˗]

Read chapter 15- Fantasies of Absence: The Postmodern Vampire by Veronica Hollinger
Brilliant!
(skimmed the rest)

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book for academics that want to explore how the vampire is being used today as an archetype. It explores literature, movies, and the history of the vampire myth and how the vampire is still shaping our culture today. The book also contains a reading list of books in the unofficial vampire canon, you just have to read all of the essays to get it. Which is not as bad as it sounds. The essays written here maintain a good balance between academic and being readable.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found most of these essays to be somewhat lackluster. I did enjoy "Dieting and Damnation: Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire."