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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Murder
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this in high school, and I’ve been wanting to reread it to prepare myself for the Guillermo Del Toro movie dropping in November. I simply wouldn’t know what was going on if I didn’t read the book first. What can I say about Frankenstein? Everyone knows the gist of it. It’s such a foundational piece of horror literature, and Shelley was a critical figure among early women authors. There are so many great themes in this book—birth and morality and purpose. The monster blames his creator for his miserable existence the same way many of us rail against our various gods. It’s very tormented and hateful, the relationship between Frankenstein and his monster. And for being over 200 years old, it’s still applicable and accessible. If you’re looking for an easy to digest classic and are also excited to watch Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi fight to the death in gorgeous costuming, read this.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Grief, Murder
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent
Such a thoughtful and thought-provoking work. The story was exquisitely written and very well-crafted. It is perhaps implausible the extent to which histories were repeated between characters verbatim, and the fact that they were told in such great depth, as scenes, in the first place. But it was an effective choice and one that can be moved past.
The crux of what I am left with are two questions: what does it mean to be human and what are or should be the limits of our creation? Frankenstein's monster was not biologically human, but in spirit and mind he very much seemed to be. It was his rejection by humanity that made him so base. Should he have been created? If he could have been treated humanely, then perhaps yes. In order for this to occur, Frankenstein would have needed to play a much more active role in his "monster's" upbringing.
For me, this is not so much a cautionary tale about hubris, but of the failure to step into one's responsibility. Frankenstein was not a god, but he should not have created a living creature only to run away from it like a child. It is so cool he figured out how to create life. He needed to be so much more mature before he created it though. We have immense power as a species, and it is not for us to shy away from, nor to treat lightly.
Edit: I was not aware of the feminist interpretation(s) of the novel, but I love the idea that it is essentially about what happens when a man is so afraid of female sexuality that he tries to create a child without a woman.
The crux of what I am left with are two questions: what does it mean to be human and what are or should be the limits of our creation? Frankenstein's monster was not biologically human, but in spirit and mind he very much seemed to be. It was his rejection by humanity that made him so base. Should he have been created? If he could have been treated humanely, then perhaps yes. In order for this to occur, Frankenstein would have needed to play a much more active role in his "monster's" upbringing.
For me, this is not so much a cautionary tale about hubris, but of the failure to step into one's responsibility. Frankenstein was not a god, but he should not have created a living creature only to run away from it like a child. It is so cool he figured out how to create life. He needed to be so much more mature before he created it though. We have immense power as a species, and it is not for us to shy away from, nor to treat lightly.
Edit: I was not aware of the feminist interpretation(s) of the novel, but I love the idea that it is essentially about what happens when a man is so afraid of female sexuality that he tries to create a child without a woman.
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can't believe Mary Shelley wrote this at 19... GOATed behavior, especially since women writing fiction wasn't common back then.
I found the process of reading this book something akin to torture because I'm dealing with a literary burnout at the moment. The pace is too slow for me. I feel like I didn't grasp enough of the story to write a substantial review, so I won't expand on that too much.
I enjoyed the themes, the overall atmosphere and the plot, and the beginning of the reading was quite enjoyable before it felt like a chore (all thanks to my burnout rather than a problem with the story itself or whatever). I'm giving it a solid 4.
I should probably re-read it in the future though.
I found the process of reading this book something akin to torture because I'm dealing with a literary burnout at the moment. The pace is too slow for me. I feel like I didn't grasp enough of the story to write a substantial review, so I won't expand on that too much.
I enjoyed the themes, the overall atmosphere and the plot, and the beginning of the reading was quite enjoyable before it felt like a chore (all thanks to my burnout rather than a problem with the story itself or whatever). I'm giving it a solid 4.
I should probably re-read it in the future though.
3.75 ⭐️ the prose was beautiful and the plot was amazing, but victor made me want to pull my hair out (which was the point).
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
FIRST OF ALL, THE SPEAKER??? I love his voice so, so, SO much. Felt asleep while listening to his voice sometimes as it is very soothing, but he conveys the atmosphere very accurately and I just uhm loved the experience
this book is beautifully written :O It's so impressive to me that Shelley wrote this at such a young age!!!
Though it had its lengths and was much darker than my usual reads, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. It really made me reflect on ethics, accountability, empathy and ambition and, well, many more topics. Also very interesting read through an anthropological lens if you ask yourself: is the monster human? If not, what exactly disqualifies him?
I still don't know yet, but he seems pretty human to me, just a little more limitless.
My favourite part, though, are the different perspectives that we are given. I could definitely understand Frankenstein and his creature equally and felt with both of them. I think this book does a really great job at portraying the motives, desires and needs of humans and how a lack of care and love will eventually lead to violence and crime.
Also, funny story: I was actually listening to this story partly during a trip to the city Mainz. And who do you think travelled along the rhine through Mainz as well? I fucking adored the descriptions of the mountains and the old castles next to the river. Very gloomy atmosphere that really fitted my own thoughts on the train ride and the overall setting of the book.
Oh AND I absolutely adore the characters. They are lovely, full of life and each one of them had something tender and beautiful about them. Made the book pretty sad, but that's not really a surprise. It also made the book a lot lighter and balanced out the difficult themes.
Only thing that annoyed me was the frequent use of the word "busen" hahshshs, but that's just a me problem I guess. She used the world "gay" often as well tho, so who knows 🤭 (just joking, I'm sleep deprived rn and it shows)
Okay that's alllll, I'm too tired to correct my spelling and grammar so thank you for your forgiveness :>
this book is beautifully written :O It's so impressive to me that Shelley wrote this at such a young age!!!
Though it had its lengths and was much darker than my usual reads, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. It really made me reflect on ethics, accountability, empathy and ambition and, well, many more topics. Also very interesting read through an anthropological lens if you ask yourself: is the monster human? If not, what exactly disqualifies him?
I still don't know yet, but he seems pretty human to me, just a little more limitless.
My favourite part, though, are the different perspectives that we are given. I could definitely understand Frankenstein and his creature equally and felt with both of them. I think this book does a really great job at portraying the motives, desires and needs of humans and how a lack of care and love will eventually lead to violence and crime.
Also, funny story: I was actually listening to this story partly during a trip to the city Mainz. And who do you think travelled along the rhine through Mainz as well? I fucking adored the descriptions of the mountains and the old castles next to the river. Very gloomy atmosphere that really fitted my own thoughts on the train ride and the overall setting of the book.
Oh AND I absolutely adore the characters. They are lovely, full of life and each one of them had something tender and beautiful about them. Made the book pretty sad, but that's not really a surprise. It also made the book a lot lighter and balanced out the difficult themes.
Only thing that annoyed me was the frequent use of the word "busen" hahshshs, but that's just a me problem I guess. She used the world "gay" often as well tho, so who knows 🤭 (just joking, I'm sleep deprived rn and it shows)
Okay that's alllll, I'm too tired to correct my spelling and grammar so thank you for your forgiveness :>
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment
Moderate: Stalking, Fire/Fire injury
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes