The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

"Jekyll, Jekyll, Hyde, Jekyll, Hyde, Hyde, Jekyll...."  was playing in my head when I picked up my copy of Robert Louis Stevenson's, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  I was excited to finally be reading my first pick for the RIP challenge and to actually find out what all the fuss was about with this popular short story about man's own internal struggles with good and evil.  Boy was I in for quite a treat.

From back of book:

The story centers on Dr. Henry Jekyll, an eminent if somewhat eccentric physician, and the strange goings-on in his elegantly appointed home and the decrepit surgical dissecting room that lies across his courtyard.  One night, Jekyll's old friend, Gabriel John Utterson, sees a ghastly, violent incident involving a young girl.  He discovers the perpetrator to be one Edward Hyde - a shriveled, misshapen ogre, who seems, incredibly, to be an intimate of the respectable Dr. Jekyll.  Disturbed but fatefully curious, Utterson delves into the doings of the dangerous Mr. Hyde, whose very appearance sends a chill through his soul.  Utterson persists, only to make an onrushing series of harrowing discoveries that will change his understanding of the world forever. 

My thoughts:

Wow! Talk about an interesting read. From the beginning I was consumed with finding out who and what this repulsive man named Hyde was exactly - how could a man provoke such hostile and scary reactions from people with merely a glance.  Well, the answer is quite simple - pure evil can send out such horrific vibes that just being near evil, a person can become petrified in their boots.  And that is exactly what Hyde was: pure evil.  What we have is the story of one man's quest to figure out human nature through a tonic which completely transforms him into a different persona - all of his inherently bad/evil/wicked traits are transferred into a different self that can indulge in any type of wrong-doing he desires.  Of course, an idea like this comes riddled with problems and soon enough, Dr. Jekyll has bitten off way more than he can chew.  I don't want to really give away the types of problems that come up or the ways in which, Jekyll's friend, Utterson attempts to try and put a stop to these events or even just figure out what exactly has been going on with his suddenly hermit-like pal, Jekyll. All I can say, is please go and read this novella, because it is truly worth it! Stevenson has written a great short story that is ominous in tone and rather vivid in its description of the split personality of Jekyll/Hyde.  Overall, the perfect spooky read for RIP V. 

And now I'm off to finish The Hunger Games (for some reason I can't seem to get into it) or start Dracula (this ones seems fitting for both the RIP V Challenge and October).   Happy Reading!!