Book Review: HYDE by Daniel Levine

HYDE  by Daniel Levine  (Mariner books, April 2015)  Trade paperback, 416 pages.  ISBN # 0544484029 / 9780544484023.

Summary on the Goodreads website . . . . .

A New York Times Editors’ Choice and one of the Washington Post’s 5 Best Thrillers of the Year

“[A] knockout debut novel . . . As dark and twisted and alluring as the night-cloaked streets of nineteenth-century London, and this book is as much a fascinating psychological query as it is a gripping narrative.” —Benjamin Percy, author of Red Moon

Summoned to life by strange potions, Hyde knows not when or how long he will have control of “the body.” When dormant, he watches Dr. Jekyll from a remove, conscious of this other, high-class life but without influence. As the experiment continues, their mutual existence is threatened, not only by the uncertainties of untested science, but also by a mysterious stalker. Hyde is being taunted—possibly framed. Girls have gone missing; someone has been killed. Who stands watching in the shadows? In the blur of this shared consciousness, can Hyde ever be confident these crimes were not committed by his hand?

“A pleasure . . . Rich in gloomy, moody atmosphere (Levine’s London has a brutal steampunk quality), and its narrator’s plight is genuinely poignant.” —New York Times Book Review  

My review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

     Author Daniel Levine has accomplished quite a bit with HYDE, his first novel. He's taken a classic work, expanded upon it's themes and re-told the tale from a different perspective. 

     The result is something with more depth, clarity and entertainment value as compared to the original, that being THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE by Robert Louis Stevenson. That's just my extremely subjective opinion - - Stevenson's legion of fans don't need to become alarmed.

     Wisely, the new novel includes the original work in the back of the book, which I read first before tackling Levine's HYDE. I'm glad I did because I obtained a fuller appreciation of what Levine accomplished with respect to Stevenson's original short novel. Levine sticks to the structure of the original and enhances the story with explanations of missing details and the addition of engaging subplots and insights. 

     While reading the original, I felt great sympathy for the plight of Dr Jekyll, whose mental state becomes unglued as he ruminates on the implications of what his experiment has unleashed. As I read HYDE, I became more empathetic with Hyde and felt some revulsion at the darker nature of Dr. Jekyll. Levine reveals the heart and conscience inside the monstrous Hyde, who in parts of the novel seems to be compelled to act upon the hidden desires and subliminal wishes of Dr. Jekyll. 

     HYDE is a first person narration by Edward Hyde, re-telling The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde from his point of view. Levine greatly expands upon the original novel and uses that as a template to explore Jekyll's past including — a troubled relationship with a cruel, debased and domineering father; an unfulfilled romance; and his prior experimental failure with treating multiple personality disorders. 

     HYDE is also a great depiction of Victorian times in London, with lush detail and rich imagery. Levine manages to write in a style similar to Stevenson's without mimicry, and manages to make this version of the story more engaging and readable in these current times.