Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

75 reviews

kristinetp's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

Would I read it again? No. HOWEVER.....

 The themes of this book really stick with me. Reading through Victor's and the creatures relationship knowing that it is reflective of the struggle of motherhood made it a much more interesting read. I think there is a lot to take away about struggling with regret and resentment as a parent figure, specifically as a mother figure. There is a lot to take away about being the offspring in that kind of dynamic. Mary Shelley was really ahead of her time for exploring these themes and especially in this way, being the catalyst for science fiction as a genre, which has become male dominated. 

Good vs Evil is another theme that felt prevalent to me as well. Are people inherently good or evil? Are people born wicked or do they have wicked thrust upon them? 

There were a lot of things I liked and a lot of things I didn't like. I think some things were really dragged out, but I can see how playing the long game like that really gives in to the fact that depression can be all consuming.

Overall, I'm glad to have revisited this book and to find that I still really resonate with the themes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Murder

johannarose's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

eulalie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

raccooonhands's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Stalking, and Death of parent

dilara2912w's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

excepto's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

It was a bit slow to start with and I feel there were a few too many layers of narrative around the story. The description of the life of the beast was definitely the best part.
I find the gothic premise of the constantly ill protagonist a bit tiring.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Incest, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

padawan17's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Incest, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Stalking

amberkaylynn's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Murder, and Abandonment

kelburke's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad 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: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Incest

Minor: Animal death

rieviolet's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I listened to the audiobook version and, even though I really liked the narrator's voice, I have to accept the fact that I do not get along with audiobooks, I struggle to focus and I end up missing a good chunk of the story. I say this because it negatively affected my fruition of the book and partially influenced my final rating.

However, I also wasn't that much blown away by the story itself. I struggled the most with the chapters narrated from Frankenstein's point of view, as the story progressed they became quite tiresome and I just did not care much for him as a character, I just wanted him to stop droning on and on.
I enjoyed a bit more the sections focused on the creature's perspective. The themes addressed are interesting but the characterization and the story development were rather unremarkable. The overall reading experience was a bit middle-of-the-road for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Grief, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Genocide, Racism, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail