Reviews with content warning for Death - Frankissstein

The Mary Shelley segments were the best parts of the book. It felt like a lot of research went into Shelley's history and the prose felt of the period. The Bedlam parts I didn't quite get though.

However, the modern parts, while they could be philosophical at times, treated the trans protaganist, Ry, abysmally. The

sexual assult

was gratuitous and did nothing to the narrative. It's just there to tell you how "miserable" being trans is. Having a trans protaganist in a reimagining of Frankenstein should be a match made in heaven, touching on themes of what humans can change of themselves, seeing ourselves in the creature in how he is viewed in ways that he's not, but here it just feels tacked on and not respectfully explored. Ry doesn't feel likely a fully realised character (the rest of the cast doesn't fare too well either) and is deadnamed and fetishised constantly. Doesn't help that it didn't keep my attention well either.

I can appreciate the novel's exploration of AI and what makes us human, but I feel like I can find a better book that covers the topic without the transphobia.

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siebensommer's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.5

‘you got a lot of not yets in your life‘ […]. she‘s right. i am liminal, cussing, in between, emerging, undecided, transitional, experimental, a start-up - or is it an upstart?

when people part, they usually hate each other, or one hates the other. - that is the conventional way. there are other ways. […] if we cannot keep this love, there is place in me that has been changed by this love and i will honour it - think of it as a kind of place of worship if you like. and sometimes, boarding a plane or waking up or walking down a street or taking a shower,… i will recall that place and never regret the time i spent there.

life, we imagine, is familiar enough until we begin to tell it to another. then, observe the wonder on their faces.

women blame each other all the time, it is a trick men play on us.

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rad_reads_123's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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m3i3r3r's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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marissab's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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thereadingscorpios's review against another edition

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1.0

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schnanko's review

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dark emotional funny reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

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hannahbailey's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective 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

3.5

This is an interesting exploration of what our future could look like: bionic humans, AI sex robots and eternal life (the brain as data). I loved how Winterson connects these ideas to Mary Shelley's ideas of human life and reanimation after death. This connection between the past and present shows how prevalent this idea of eternal life and making the impossible possible has always been. Shelley's perspective was engaging to read and reminded me how much I love her novel Frankenstein (perhaps more praise should be given to Shelley here than Winterson lol). The modern POV follows a non-binary trans person (Ry) and their relationship with Victor Stein, a scientist (of sorts) trying to bring his mate's beheaded head back to life. This was (perhaps purposefully) less engaging, as Ry often lacks agency amongst the people around them who shove their opinions of gender and identity down their throat.

I've read several reviews of this novel in which people describe Winterson as transphobic. In this novel specifically, I don't see the ignorant views of the characters as a reflection of her own views. However, there is very crude language used throughout which focuses on the anatomy of the characters. I don't feel that this narrative focus on bodily features has aged well (I know this book is only 3 years old but even then) in response to present ideas of gender, sex and identity. The characters around Ry are consistently transphobic, denying their identity, misgendering them and deadnaming them. This is a book to read if you're interested in the future of AI and human relationships, but not if you're looking for a story with good trans rep. Had this book not featured Frankenstein but a different cautionary tale, such as Brave New World, I probably would've hated it.

Alternative reads with trans rep/trans authors:

https://bookriot.com/best-trans-fantasy-books/
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/126482.Novels_by_Trans_Authors_with_Trans_Protagonists

Jeanette Winterson//transphobia:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-lgbt-books/no-rush-to-change-gender-uk-writer-joins-trans-debate-idUSKCN1T028R

Non-exhaustive list of TW: sexual assault, transphobia, homophobia, child death, miscarriage, misogyny, body horror/gore

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