Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

173 reviews

ashley_1206's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.5

guys i finally finished this book and i didn’t mind it. it was a story inside of a story. am i going to have to do a lot of research for my summer work? yes but i don’t mind. bonus points for short chapters!

it was really hard to get into during the beginning but the middle and the end flew by! it’s like a science fiction. i definitely wasn’t scared or got any chills so i don’t call it a ghost story. almost everything was predictable but yeah. the story was good but since it’s a classic it had a lot of words.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

leonormsousa's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-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

TRIGGER WARNINGS 

 

child death, death, death of parent, murder, xenophobia, abandonment, grief, medical content, self-harm, suicide, and violence 

 

REPRESENTATION 

maybe queer MC (?)

REVIEW 

Like with most classics, I was pretty afraid of getting into Frankenstein. I knew how much this book means to Cláudia (from @hendrixsbookcorner) and that meant that I was putting extra pressure on myself to enjoy this book that is no less than one of the first science-fiction novels, written by a feminist bisexual women at the age of 18, who also happens to be the daughter of a renowned women’s rights activist (I mean, what a queen! How could I not already love her?!). So yeah… some expectation management had to be done and some courage had to be acquired but it was so freaking worth it! 

Frankenstein is one of those books that you don’t love while you’re reading it but that completely takes you once you’ve had the time to process it. It’s pretty slow paced (and a bit confusing) in the beginning (I was fearing for the worse!) but once it picks up, it gets you quite glued to the page as you uncover the story of both Frankenstein and his creation. 

It goes around the question of “who is the monster?”, playing with our empathy as we unravel the “creation”’s story. It’s a book on Man’s ambition and desire to “play god”, with no regard for the consequences of its actions nor courage to take responsibility for them. It’s also a book about loneliness and superficiality and obsession. 

There’s not really much more that I can say (or at least nothing good enough compared to the book). It’s daunting and haunting and really the absolute perfect choice if you’re looking for a recommendation for this time of the year. Not only does the monster theme perfectly fits the Halloween vibes, you also have a bit of a Dark Academia vibe that matches the fall season. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

laurenkristine's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Violence, Grief, and Abandonment

rory_john14's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Moderate: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Colonisation

angelfireeast24's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Classism

Minor: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Grief

crufts's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Frankenstein is described as a horror story, but it actually has a heavy psychological element to it as well. What were the thoughts (and delusions) of Victor Frankenstein, and those of the Creature? What brilliant heights of triumph and devastating depths of despair did they experience?

Two hundred years and thousands of parodies later, the shock and horror value of Frankenstein may be gone. But the haunting tragedy of a creator and creation who betray each other, set against such fantastical backdrops as the icy wastes of the Arctic Circle, endures.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Medical content, and Grief

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

veganecurrywurst's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

5.0

I didn't think that I was going to enjoy this book, but after Frankensteins "Monster" began the story from his perspective, I just could not put the book down.

“There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand.”

“My spirits were elevated by the enchanting appearance of nature; the past was blotted from my memory, the present was tranquil, and the future gilded by bright rays of hope and anticipations of joy.”

“Remember, that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather a fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed. Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall be virtuous.”

“The cup of life was poisoned forever, and although the sun shone upon me, as upon the happy and gay of heart, I saw around me nothing but a dense and frightful darkness, penetrated by no light but the glimmer of two eyes that glared upon me.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Grief

Minor: Racism, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry

chubbypug21's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement, Medical content, and Grief

recycled_personalities's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny reflective medium-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

4.5

It was a pretty good novel and I do recommend that you read it. The plot was a lot more complicated than I anticipated but it was still a good read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

cryptidcas's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Animal death