Reviews with content warning for Body horror - Frankenstein

Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

204 reviews

wandering_recorder's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Approaching this famous novel I had high expectations, ones that it didn't fail to deliver on in the most surprising way. Even though this is considered to be a classic horror novel I wasn't all that scared while reading it. If anything the the horror came from the plot and idea of the narrative than any single action or character. Nonetheless even though it didn't excel in this area it awed me in others. The eloquence in writing, the story telling, and the philosophical questioning present all kept me thoroughly engaged in a book that I chose to read for a completely different reason than what I got. For those who adore thought provoking classical reads I would highly recommend this read.

Content Warnings

kingcrookback's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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

Somehow, in all my years of hearing about Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and having friends who really enjoy the novel, I never knew that this was an epistolary novel. But in any case, being an epistolary novel, it's an excellent exercise in detecting and questioning the narrators' unreliability and biases in their storytelling.

I don't have much to say regarding whether I think this was "good." Of course it's good. It's an enduring and oft-discussed classic for a reason, and that reason isn't merely the fact that it's the first science fiction novel or that it was written by a woman. It's a fascinating and complex study of hubris, humanity, and obsession. Being the person that I am, I really fixated on the themes of humanity that Shelley spins around the Creature--specifically how the Creature's descent into immorality aligns not with his physical monstrosity/deformity/disfigurement (as tends to be the case with monsters and villains with deformities/disfigurements) but rather with the internalization of his lived experiences. (In this vein, I also found it fascinating to put Frankenstein in conversation with Richard III, where Richard's disability/deformity is meant to be read as a physical manifestation of immorality.)

Content Warnings

alexandra_skl's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A wonderful example of a gothic/ romanticism novel. The breathtaking descriptions of nature contrasted with the horror of the Frankenstein’s creation make this a fascinating novel

Content Warnings

elspethmigliore's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective 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 absolutely loved this story. There are so many things wrong with it, which is exactly the point and the prime reason I loved it so much.

definitely reread material ✅

Content Warnings

angelfireeast24's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: N/A

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

ran_sophia's review

2.0

challenging dark slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

After reading the book, I didn't know exactly what to think about it. There is a good style of writing and storytelling. But that's all. The characters have no development and the story is only half captivating. I didn't feel interested in the story or the characters at all. That it was supposed to be a Gothic novel, so I expected it to be scary in some way. But that was not the case at all. The story dragged on, the narration was slow, and at times it seemed to be stuck.

Content Warnings

raynestorm's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

An incredible book for those who love the Mary Shelley classic and are interested in knowing more. The pages are filled with information, historical backgrounds, references, new ideas, and much more.

Content Warnings