i really enjoyed this! the concept and plot were amazing, the characters were so interesting, and the writing was accessible. i wish the the characters were more flushed out and the plot was explored in more length. overall, it was a fun sapphic vampire story which was the precursor to Dracula!

there wasn't any portion of this book that disliked reading, though i have mild hang up about the ending. the pacing of this book is consistent, though depending on the angle you view it from, could be seen as slow, medium, or fast, depending on what you count as plot progression. The language is very accessible considering it's a classic, but not simplistic or dull. i think the dialogue, especially between carmilla and laura, is the standout. 

the plot began to trail off upon the introduction of the general, though the answers to the mysteries throughout the book were fully delivered (a bit too fully, you could say) in a very sussinct manner that, once finished, quickly pushed you towards the climax.

the ending was, in my opinion somewhat anti-climatic, but i understand that was the style of the time. i do think that in making carmilla more of a vague outline of a monster, rather than something present, both added and detracted from the climax, which really need more of her actually in it. 

i really found carmen maria machado's introduction to be informative as well as her footnotes, though they often leaned towards comedy.

she's totally right on one front however. there's no way that wasn't an orgasm.

 

i had a fun time with this book though i think if it were longer, it would've made the book much better. especially the climax.

How come I had never heard of this book before?
I have this book for so long in my shelves and never looked at it twice... how? I know why... is this horrible cover, this cover is ugly. Anyway, I really loved this book. Who would thought that the predecessor of Dracula was a lady vampire...

This is a very short book with a great story in it. Very raw, very cruel, very tough. The way Carmilla manipulates people around her is very creepy and, at the same time, appealing. There is this constant sexual innuendo between the two (aparent) little girls that for todays standarts would be completly canceled. And there's also this thing with Carmilla choosing little girls... Maybe because they are virgins? Probably is from here that the myth around virgins and pure blood emerged... who knows? Maybe was just the author trying (and succeeding) to scandalize society back then.

The point it that this is a awesome book that every horror/vampire lovers should know about. 

I guess I’m eating my words about not liking the writing style of classics, huh?

I loved the writing style of this book. It was atmospheric and gothic, I loved the setting of the castle and the grassy hills and the ruins of the old town. I just pictured fog over everything anytime they were outside. Now I just wanna have a picnic at old castle ruins in the fog with a pretty vampire. (Sadly that doesn’t happen in this book but it could’ve). This might be my favorite classic I’ve read so far… it’s at least tied with Dracula, but I think it tops it. It actually got pretty creepy at times.

Was also a little surprised how explicitly sapphic it was, given when it was written. I was expecting it to just be homoerotic in the way that classics sometimes are, or overtly homophobic. I think it’s safe to assume that the combination of sapphic elements and vampirism was very intentional..  automatically villainizing lesbianism by portraying it as a ‘virus’ that you can ‘catch’, something that’s evil and scary… But reading it it isn’t actually explicitly homophobic. It’s all subtext. It could easily be read through a more modern lens, removing that subtext.

My only complaints:

•The racism. It’s only in one or two scenes, but it’s pretty bad in one scene especially.

•How naive Laura was, especially at the very end. She was supposed to be 19, right? How did she not connect the dots after the general’s story??? 😆

•It ended a bit abruptly, I felt.

•And lastly, I just wish we got more pretty atmospheric descriptions of the ruins. I was waiting the whole book for them to go there and when they did we didn’t get much :/ I would’ve liked more atmospheric descriptions in general, but at least we got some.

Overall, I’m really happy I liked this! I was starting to worry that classics just weren’t for me. Hopefully there are still more out there that I’ll love.

I still struggle with reading classics. I don't know if it is the writing style but I always seem to feel like I have zoned out and missed stuff, even when I haven't. This is less than 200 pages and I still got confused.

I actually didn't mind the story or characters, but I think it would have benefitted from being longer. With it being less than 200 pages it feels like it cuts itself off and jumps around when reading. 
I would be highly interested to see if there are any retelling or reimagining of this story. I think it has a plot that could really be interesting if it was fleshed out more.

I had found out that this book inspired the classic "Dracula", and days later I found a beautiful hardback edition in a local indie bookshop, so I knew it was fate! I read "Dracula" last October as part of my spooky season reading, so I saved "Carmilla" for this year. I thought "Dracula" was fine, but it was really long and very dense to get through. 
"Carmilla" follows a teenage girl named Laura. She lives alone and isolated in a castle with her father. Their quiet life is disrupted when a young girl named Carmilla enters their lives and Laura's father decides to take her in. Strange things begin to happen, and everyone begins to question who Carmilla truly is. 
I enjoyed this story ten times more than "Dracula". The writing is gothic and beautiful, but it is not super dense to get through. The story itself does not drag on and I think it is the perfect novella length. I loved Laura and Carmilla as characters and their beautiful friendship and budding romance was so wholesome to read about. 
If you are looking for an approachable classic to get you into the vampire and Halloween spirit, I highly recommend this novella.

 “You are mine, you shall be mine, you and I are one for ever.” 

As a lover of vampires, I loved the premise of this, but after reaching the introduction from Machado that included recently discovered snippets from Veronika's letters, I can't help but feel disappointed by the way that Le Fanu distorted this story and excluded--and dare I say, ruined--so much of Laura and Carmilla's relationship. I will say, I do enjoy that this edition was edited in hopes of shaming Le Fanu (and it worked, considering I have absolutely zero respect for him after reading this lol) and because Machado wished to remain true to his original work out of a pettiness that I appreciate endlessly. I'm in the same realm as her though: I hope that one day, Veronika's uncensored letters to Marcia inspire a work of fiction that doesn't aim to twist them so. 

I gave this particular edition of Carmilla four stars purely because of Carmen Maria Machado's introduction and the way it encouraged me to interact and read this novella. Also, because it felt like the perfect October read and is one of the more engaging and interesting classics that I've read in my life.