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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4⭐️ I listened to this on audible and I am glad I finally got around to this classic. It was hauntingly beautiful and tragic. I loved the narrator, he made it all the more dramatic. The characters, the imagery, the heartache, the letters to his loved ones, the reasoning behind the creations motive. It was phenomenal and I'm glad I read it in October because it was the perfect vibe I was looking for. Yes I would recommend this book if you havent already!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Prefer this edition to the later text where Mary bends over backwards to prioritize her husband and disavow her own merits. So glad they included her 1831 intro at the end so we can see the difference in how she presents herself.
This edition also has an intro by Charlotte Gordon, who wrote Romantic Outlaws, the essential biography of the Marys, Wollstonecraft and Shelley. If you read that -- and you should! -- it will make your reading of Frankenstein infinitely richer. Truly, without knowing Mary's history you are only reading a small fraction of what is packed into this novel.
It would also help if you've read Paradise Lost. So go read Gordon's and Milton's masterpieces, and then read Frankenstein, or re-read it.
While you're at it, go ahead and read The Castle of Otranto, and look at the painting The Nightmare by Henry Fuseli. And if you like the cover of this Penguin edition as much as I do, feast your eyes on Caravaggio's Narcissus as well. You're welcome.
We are used to thinking of Shelley as a famous writer, but this is clearly what would today be called a debut novel. Looking at the work as such, it does have some new-writer room for improvement. Also, the high-toned antique-sounding drama will probably wear on a modern reader. But as a work of imagination; as a psychological study where the author's life and emotional trauma "Freudian slip" all over the doppelganger-y place; and as a massively influential work, Frankenstein and perhaps especially this version reaches the summit. Dare we call it sublime?
This edition also has an intro by Charlotte Gordon, who wrote Romantic Outlaws, the essential biography of the Marys, Wollstonecraft and Shelley. If you read that -- and you should! -- it will make your reading of Frankenstein infinitely richer. Truly, without knowing Mary's history you are only reading a small fraction of what is packed into this novel.
It would also help if you've read Paradise Lost. So go read Gordon's and Milton's masterpieces, and then read Frankenstein, or re-read it.
While you're at it, go ahead and read The Castle of Otranto, and look at the painting The Nightmare by Henry Fuseli. And if you like the cover of this Penguin edition as much as I do, feast your eyes on Caravaggio's Narcissus as well. You're welcome.
We are used to thinking of Shelley as a famous writer, but this is clearly what would today be called a debut novel. Looking at the work as such, it does have some new-writer room for improvement. Also, the high-toned antique-sounding drama will probably wear on a modern reader. But as a work of imagination; as a psychological study where the author's life and emotional trauma "Freudian slip" all over the doppelganger-y place; and as a massively influential work, Frankenstein and perhaps especially this version reaches the summit. Dare we call it sublime?
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really boring and melodramatic. Character choices that make no sense. Did not vibe with the style at all, and felt it was really grating.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very easy read because the writing/dialogue is just so melodramatic that it is entertaining. They do that thing where its a story within a story within a story, told by the person who experienced it, which can be fun because you feel like you're hearing a wild story from someone you ran into, but also means that you're just hearing what happened, not "experiencing" it. With that, plot-wise I was a bit underwhelmed. Also, the version I read didn't have the explicit incest, but it still felt damn weird!!!!!
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
(all books get 5 stars) The monster is not green.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes