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jomarie's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
This book did not deliver on the promises of the back cover blurb. I wanted to see what growing up was like for Elizabeth, wanted the tension that came with Victor being sent away for school and coming back amid tragedy that he helped cause. The flashbacks were as close as we got, but they came in only when Elizabeth was reminiscing on a specific memory.
While Elizabeth was positioned as being a master manipulator, it had a desperate edge to it that didn’t strike the right cord for me. In the beginning, I couldn’t tell if Elizabeth truly wanted to be with Victor or if she just was compelled due to her station - and I don’t think I was supposed to question that. Victor retained his dramatic pick-me tendencies from the original story, but with a more sinister, psychotic edge which was the best combination of original text and innovation by White in the whole novel.
In fact, the one plus this reimagining has over the original text is that it had much more of the gothic, creepy vibes I expected from a story about reanimating the dead. Although, if I hadn’t read Frankenstein right before, then I’m not sure I would have enjoyed this book since everyone’s travel across Europe would have seemed overly random.
The final nail in the coffin for me was the ending. There was promise when the author changed Elizabeth’s end from the original text, even if I didn’t love the implication that Victor wrote a fictitious version of events that became The Modern Prometheus (put some respect on Mary Shelley’s name). Still, it was a chance for the author to get creative. Elizabeth’s final confrontation, however, felt a bit rushed and out of the blue, and then the literal last page went back on her characterization for the back half of the book. My opinion of the book plummeted from ‘fine’ to ‘annoying’.
The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein is just one of those stories where the premise is better than the actual plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Forced institutionalization, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Blood, Death, Mental illness, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy and Murder
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