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Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Racism, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Death of parent, Murder
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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
I didn’t really like the book. It felt like that second of pain when you drop a glass and you can’t catch it and are helplessly watching it shatter. Also almost all of the problems would be solved if Frankenstein made the monster pretty or at least not horrifying. I can’t really decide who is the villain of the story, which I think is the point. I dislike Victor, but it isn’t the point to absolute hatred, like I feel sympathy for him. I also feel sympathy for the monster too. It weirded me out that he married who he called his cousin throughout the whole book. I get that she wasn’t really his cousin, but they just kept calling each other cousin even when they were engaged. I appreciated the elements that looked at how wonderful the world and human connection is. Also if you are wanting a more detailed thing on how frankienstien made the monster, then you aren’t gonna get it here. It was glossed over quickly to get to the main point/moral of the story. It’s more of a cautionary tale than it is a story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Murder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Incest, Xenophobia, Islamophobia
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder
Moderate: Gore, Incest, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Classism
Minor: Body horror, Suicide attempt
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Incest, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical content, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Xenophobia
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
did mo xiang tong xiu read this before writing mdzs i need to know (also i think Walton and Frankenstein should kiss btw)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Incest, Xenophobia, Murder
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Liked this book very much, I knew it was different from how it it's presented in pop culture. But it was even more different than expected. And it was better than expected.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Xenophobia
Moderate: Child death
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Xenophobia
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a re-read for me. It's easy each time I encounter this book to recognize why it has become the inspiration from which countless stories and artworks have spawned. It's likely impossible to say anything new about Frankenstein. But on this reread, as an older and wiser person, I can't help but to recognize and resonate with the helpless, despairing, and angry monster. Who better to write to alienation, loneliness, the impossible standards of society and the horrors of being in a body who's shape betrays you, than a teenage girl? There was obviously something magical in the air during the stormy season that Shelley wrote this, and something magical within her to capture these existential feelings. But to ask questions that we continue to ask ourselves today, What was I made for? Am I not deserving of companionship? Why was I abandoned by my creator to the vastness of this world? How can I love and hate my parents? How far is too far in scienti ic pursuit?, is a pretty incredible feat. The interwoven narratives and perspectives were clearly demarcated in this audiobook through multiple narrators, which I felt contributed to the story and added a dynamic element to those moments that could feel like listings of European places. Gorgeous. Horrible. A classic.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Rape, Xenophobia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it🏔️🌌”
Frankenstein is a sweeping, gothic delight that provides interesting insight into human nature + the depth of human cruelty. I honestly found myself able to discuss it at length with lots of people around me because the themes presented are so engaging. It depicts what it means to be Othered through the creature and is an exploration of the conflict between all-consuming individualistic pursuits of greatness and the human need for community, connection and love. Victor’s rejection of community is what ultimately led to his downfall and that same lack of love and care is what he cursed his Creature child to. What I found particularly poignont and painful is Victor’s positioning as a failed parent and the Creature’s as his scorned child. It was so heart-wrenching and beautifully executed. I thought I enjoyed the sections centered on Victor, but when I first read from the Creature's perspective, I was utterly swept away. Reading about him lumbering through the forest awkwardly with the senses of a confused child cut deep and the depth of loneliness experienced by his character is rendered in dazzling clarity in Shelley's atmospheric prose. Something that stuck with me is the solace both characters found in the natural world, and I felt a pang of heartbreak thinking about how both father and cursed son wandered through the world with only the moon and the mountains for company.
This is one of my favourite books but I’m knocking off a star for the deeply orientalist portray of Safie sometimes called ‘The Arabian’ like she’s a sought after breed of horse and her father who is only referred to as ‘the Turk’, ‘the treacherous Turk’ or ‘the unfortunate Muhammadan’. I’d recommend reading Sauleha Kamal’s
‘ Muslim Women and the Victim/Seductress Binary in Frankenstein and “Alastor” ’ for more on this. As a Muslim woman, this subplot left a bad taste in my mouth but I don’t expect much from Mary Shelley considering that she’s an upper class, white Victorian woman whose mother was literally Mary Wollstonecraft (Wollstonecraft’s ideas of women’s liberation in relation to 'Eastern women' have racist, orientalist underpinnings).
Frankenstein is a sweeping, gothic delight that provides interesting insight into human nature + the depth of human cruelty. I honestly found myself able to discuss it at length with lots of people around me because the themes presented are so engaging. It depicts what it means to be Othered through the creature and is an exploration of the conflict between all-consuming individualistic pursuits of greatness and the human need for community, connection and love. Victor’s rejection of community is what ultimately led to his downfall and that same lack of love and care is what he cursed his Creature child to. What I found particularly poignont and painful is Victor’s positioning as a failed parent and the Creature’s as his scorned child. It was so heart-wrenching and beautifully executed. I thought I enjoyed the sections centered on Victor, but when I first read from the Creature's perspective, I was utterly swept away. Reading about him lumbering through the forest awkwardly with the senses of a confused child cut deep and the depth of loneliness experienced by his character is rendered in dazzling clarity in Shelley's atmospheric prose. Something that stuck with me is the solace both characters found in the natural world, and I felt a pang of heartbreak thinking about how both father and cursed son wandered through the world with only the moon and the mountains for company.
This is one of my favourite books but I’m knocking off a star for the deeply orientalist portray of Safie sometimes called ‘The Arabian’ like she’s a sought after breed of horse and her father who is only referred to as ‘the Turk’, ‘the treacherous Turk’ or ‘the unfortunate Muhammadan’. I’d recommend reading Sauleha Kamal’s
‘ Muslim Women and the Victim/Seductress Binary in Frankenstein and “Alastor” ’ for more on this. As a Muslim woman, this subplot left a bad taste in my mouth but I don’t expect much from Mary Shelley considering that she’s an upper class, white Victorian woman whose mother was literally Mary Wollstonecraft (Wollstonecraft’s ideas of women’s liberation in relation to 'Eastern women' have racist, orientalist underpinnings).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Murder, Abandonment
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Fascinating concept. The language of the story is very high society and somewhat to flowery for a reader some 200 years removed. If there were a translation that was more readable it might be better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent
Minor: Suicidal thoughts