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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
I miss quotation marks.
Transphobic, racist, frustrating.
Transphobic, racist, frustrating.
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
An interesting take on a classic story. I have never read any Jeanette Winterson but I actually really enjoyed her writing style! Switching between 3 stories: the life of Mary Shelley and her struggles as a woman in society, the life of Ry as he tries to understands his feelings and come to grips with the reality of humanities future and the overwhelming presence of AI and the story of Victor, not quite real, who is wandering around his creator, looking for a way to make peace with his life. In between the commentary about feminism through the ages and misogynistic modern society (illustrate through the Sexbot industry) is a wonderful love story about the concept of love itself. I really loved reading this book and the ideas it portrayed opened up an entirely new train of thought for the future that is frankly, quite terrifying. I also loved netting the author, she was very nice and is excellent at conveying the sense of her book through her presentation and acting!
Jeanette Winterson alternates between two fictional narratives: one of Mary Shelly, starting with the writing Frankenstein, and one of Doctor Ry (short for Mary) Shelly, a trans male who furnishes human limbs for Victor Stein, a pursuer of life after death through mechanical intelligence.
By comparing the act of imbuing a dead body with intelligence to modern concepts of artificial intelligence, Winterson pushes the boundaries of the self, sexuality, and the body.
By comparing the act of imbuing a dead body with intelligence to modern concepts of artificial intelligence, Winterson pushes the boundaries of the self, sexuality, and the body.
4 stars because this book really fascinated me and made me think a lot, because I found Ry and Victor two interesting and intense characters and I felt very invested in them and their relationship.
However, I'm not sure I completely get where the story went. I think I do, but the doubt leaves me hanging. Maybe that's the point. I don't know what was the point, but maybe it was leaving me here to think about what the point was.
However, I'm not sure I completely get where the story went. I think I do, but the doubt leaves me hanging. Maybe that's the point. I don't know what was the point, but maybe it was leaving me here to think about what the point was.
Devoured it in one day. Really good. Loved the narration style and switching between timelines. I'll be thinking about it for a while.
This just didn't do it for me. The contemporary doppelgangers of Shelley and her companions felt contrived and too much like a creative writing exercise to me. I didn't connect with any of the characters nor the storyline, which tries very hard to touch upon many current issues (Brexit, transgender identities, ...) yet does not manage to do so in a sufficiently deep and satisfying manner. I gave up after trying very hard to like this novel for about 100 pages.
A stunning first half that fizzes along both in ideas and story, I was completely absorbed. The prose is superbly judged. Then Winterson completely loses control of the narrative. The plot stalls and the ideas become a repetitive echo chamber. And then, as though grasping around for material, we are suddenly transported to various historical moments which are really there to make political comment. The ironic commentary on Brexit becomes tiresome, and the finale is spectacularly misjudged. At the half way mark I thought I was reading one of the books of the century, by three quarters I was skipping. This is not in the same class as Ian McEwan’s Machines Like Us. Not the first time the Booker has made a huge mistake.
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated