Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Frankenstein: Penguin Classics by Mary Shelley

51 reviews

gxuosi's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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oh to become wretched at the hands of your own maker, in the absence of affection, and in the continued excommunication from anyone else

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Abandonment

Moderate: Child death, Murder

Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Colonisation, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic

sashajwolf's review against another edition

2.5

dark emotional slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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It's difficult for me to review this fairly, since Gothic horror is generally not to my taste. I read this for a challenge and would have dnf'd it otherwise. I recognise the role it played in the development of the horror and SF genres. However, I found the story unconvincing. It's a teenage work, and it shows. Characters make impulsive and implausible decisions, and the general atmosphere is overwrought. There are odd time jumps, and I had trouble suspending my disbelief at the creature's ability to educate himself. There are three narrators, but their voices are indistinguishable. Frankenstein's travels seem to be motivated by an authorial  desire to cram in as many picturesque landscapes as possible rather than any real contribution to the plot. The parallels between parenthood and creation are to me the most interesting aspect of the story, but are not adequately explored.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Classism

Minor: Mental illness, Alcohol

i_hate_grrr's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail

lawphenix's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Incest, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical content, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder

Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Xenophobia

asparagusfern's review against another edition

4.5

dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This book was a powerful and poignant fable about the dangers of creation. Surprisingly small at a mere 200 or so pages and with stripped-down, archetypal characters, I think Frankenstein succeeds not in spite of but because of this simplicity. The focus of the book is on the philosophical terror of creating life and then having no control over it, of realizing your mistakes too late and having no easy way to fix them. I was able to both hate and sympathize with Frankenstein and his monster.

In our modern world, with DNA editing, artificial intelligence and all sorts of biological and technological developments, I think the book’s message is as relevant today as it was in 1818. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Confinement, Grief, Stalking

Minor: Body horror, Colonisation

nvexe's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Confinement, Gun violence, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail

coolfoolmoon's review against another edition

5.0

mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Moral of the story? Don't have kids in your early 20s.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Incest, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation

lenorayoder's review against another edition

3.0

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Obviously this book is an achievement and ahead of its time and presents some really interesting ideas, but when it comes down to how much I liked it… 3 stars. It just seems a little too long, and like many Romantic books from this period there are a lot of philosophical monologues that make me feel like the author has taken a break from their fictional novel to present an essay. I don’t object to a book having a moral argument, but I’d rather be shown that argument instead of being told (at great length). 

My other main problem with the book is that so much of it is told from Victor’s perspective and spends time with him while he’s being boring and unlikeable (again, I think the book is a little too long). He never really owns up to his actions, but everyone he encounters still likes him, which is infuriating. It’s probably realistic, but it didn’t make for a very enjoyable read to spend so much time with a self-centered idiot. 

I liked the context that this edition’s introduction provided. It’s interesting to see this book through the lens of an author feeling rejected and abandoned by her parents. I’m interested to read Mary’s diaries, where I can get her ideas unfiltered through unlikeable protagonists. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Murder

Minor: Confinement

waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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The first time I read this book, I was a sophomore in high school, and this was one of the few assigned readings that I actually completed. This is my first reread of the novel—fifteen years later—and I can now say that it still ranks highly among my favorite classic novels! I enjoyed following the incredible/unbelievable journeys of the three narrators, and I can now much better appreciate the Romantic, Gothic, and Transcendentalist elements that Shelley uses to weave her narratives. I think I’ll always be blown away by what Shelley accomplished as a woman of her time and how much of herself she puts into her work. I don’t believe I have anything new under the sun to say about Frankenstein. All I can say is that it truly does live up to the bar against which it is set.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

gracescanlon's review against another edition

4.5

dark sad tense medium-paced

Strong character development: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment