I’ve had the book for a while but finally got around to reading it, while waiting for Notes from Underground(Dostoevsky) to arrive. When I first got the book through Amazon I was surprised how short it was, I was only aware of the common expression of Jekyll/Hyde and I watched the characters in the movie the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen where they’re pretty much just the Hulk, a character the book probably inspired. The short length is definitely a good choice because the main point or the most important message is delivered in the last chapter(Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case), and everything before it is just to set that up. I feel the author Robert Louis Stevenson really poured his experiences in that last chapter, and it was heavy stuff that culminates in a terrific way to end a book down to the last sentence. It’s a classic for a reason and highly recommended.
I discovered that a friend had never heard of the story before, was entirely unfamiliar, and had no meaningful recollection of references to it in pop culture.
What a rare opportunity!
Had to find a printing that doesn’t half-spoil it in the blurb, but it was so worth it to get an authentic reaction from someone for whom it was actually a ‘twist’ ending.