Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.

If it wasn't for the R.I.P. II challenge, I wouldn't have picked up Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. (I could even clarify and say that if it wasn't for Nymeth's review, I wouldn't have read the book.) Let's just say that I'm very happy that I did. I not only liked this book, I loved it. It's only been a few weeks at best since I announced this challenge and said it "so-isn't-me" but I was willing to read one book to give it a go. (Debi was so right when she said that she had a feeling I'd finish peril the first.)

The story may be familiar to some. I certainly knew elements of it going into it. But that really didn't influence me too much. Okay, I might have been alternating between thinking of the Arthur version of it and the VeggieTales version of it called The Strange Case Dr. Jiggle and Mr. Sly. I might have eventually gotten around to thinking about the Wishbone episode. But it didn't have catchy music.

The story is simple. Dr. Jekyll's lawyer, Mr. Utterson, begins to worry about his client because he names Mr. Hyde in his will. Mr. Hyde, he has just learned, is a strange man that almost everyone has a bad vibe about. He is described as "pure evil" by some. Utterson worries that Hyde must be blackmailing Jekyll into making those provisions in his will. The more worried and anxious he becomes, the more involved he gets in trying to solve the mystery between the two men. He especially becomes worried when Mr. Hyde commits a murder. Will Dr. Jekyll be next? Is there a way to save his friend and put Mr. Hyde away for good?

Here's a bit of the Arthur song:

I started shaking!
My legs were quaking!
My stomach aching!
My brain was breaking!
Started turning green,
Feeling mean,
It was like in that story.
I was acting strange,
Quite deranged,
It was pure allegory.
(Chorus)
Cause I was:
Jekyll, Jekyll, Hyde
Jekyll Hyde, Hyde Jekyll
Jekyll, Jekyll, Hyde
Jekyll, Hyde!