Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Frankenstein (Collins Classics) by Mary Shelley

174 reviews

themorsecode's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I started reading this mid-last year then just put it down for ages, not entirely sure why as it's an engaging and interesting read; despite the over-florid Victorian prose.  Going in reasonably cold beyond the general cultural knowledge of the story, the book wasn't quite what I had anticipated (in a 'positive' way), although tricky to read without picturing the iconic Hollywood depictions of both Victor and the monster.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Murder, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Abandonment, Body horror, and Stalking

lesboracle's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Death, Suicide, Chronic illness, and Bullying

Minor: Death of parent, Child death, Incest, Murder, and Stalking

nahimgood's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

Moderate: Medical content and Death

Minor: Death of parent

euphemiajo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative tense medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Confinement, Murder, Terminal illness, Violence, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Stalking, Slavery, Gore, and Grief

kaetheluise_nckl's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Violence, Child death, Confinement, Murder, Body horror, Gore, and Panic attacks/disorders

daniellelugashi's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Child death

anjasshelf's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Murder, Incest, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Colonisation, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gun violence

comfsp's review

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I think I understand why some people think of this as an absolute masterpiece, and in the context of its role in history it's totally justified, but just taking the reading experience... It made me infinitely frustrated. Nobody changes their views, Frankenstein still has a cruelly prejudiced, tunel vision-like worldview and is insanely self-centered thruout the entire book. Reading this was a torture to me too, not juszt the characters, and it honestly pains me becaouse of the importance this iconic book has. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Violence and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Death of parent

peppypenguin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I find this story to be more horrific than Dracula. Everyone around you falling to terrible fates one by one because of your actions is terrifying. There is horror in the overzealous pride and obsession of humans circling around to haunt them and subject them to a miserable state where only death is the only rest they can receive. While fantastic it really is a universal story. The complex relationship between Frankenstein and his monster, and the pity you are made to feel for them both, is plenty to stimulate profound discussion.

I first read this novel in 2016. My re-read was this edition illustrated by Bernie Wrightson. These illustrations were so powerful in adding to the atmosphere, that I strongly recommend looking them up or obtaining a copy to enjoy for yourself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death of parent, Body horror, and Murder

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Animal death, and Classism

jomarie's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

2.5

This was a book that I’ve had for quite a while and was interested in reading as a lover of sci-fi stories. Having read it, I’m not sure I gained any more respect for it. 

Caveat: I don’t have a great track record of liking classics, so definitely take my opinion with a grain of salt! 

I only knew the bare bones of the story through pop culture references. I was expecting a gothic, atmospheric story of man’s hubris. The actual story didn’t quite hit that mark. Mostly, I was bored. The monster featured so little, most of the characters were flat, and framing it as a story being told to a man on a mission to the North Pole felt unnecessary. The most interesting part was what the monster did after running away from Victor, but that was told as a dry conversation rather than actually spending time in that space. It frankly made Felix out to be a more enticing character than anyone else in the book. 

Luckily, I read through the info in the front of my copy that explained some of the historical context that Mary Shelley wrote it under. If I hadn’t, I’d feel even more disconnected from the point of it all than I already am. If you’re only looking at it as an example of historic literature, it’s a fascinating study. However, that’s not what I was doing. 

Knowing the kind of reader I am, I should have done the audiobook to better comprehend and connect with the story, or just picked my favorite movie adaption and called it good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Body horror

Moderate: Child death, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Medical content

Minor: Racism and Animal death