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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
I didn't get Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. 18-year-old me had more pressing things to worry about than Merry Shelly's prodigious vocabulary and an Inception-like descent into bleak "17--" moping. I remember my English teacher explaining ideas of motherhood and man's desire to play god but I didn't really get it.
Until now.
As an independent book, Hideous Progeny isn't the best thing I've ever read. While Mary is a compelling narrator, nothing she does is so compelling. I longed for the technobabble explanations of reanimation in the 19th century if only to escape the depressive drudgery of mid-century misogyny.
BUT
As an explanation of the themes of Frankenstein? Easy 5 stars. Better than the lectures and YouTube videos that defined my first attempt to read Frankenstein. Without being melodramatic or conspicuous, McGill builds a persuasive argument for why the original Frankenstein is a queer text and how its varying themes play in that space.
And I think that's pretty neat.
Until now.
As an independent book, Hideous Progeny isn't the best thing I've ever read. While Mary is a compelling narrator, nothing she does is so compelling. I longed for the technobabble explanations of reanimation in the 19th century if only to escape the depressive drudgery of mid-century misogyny.
BUT
As an explanation of the themes of Frankenstein? Easy 5 stars. Better than the lectures and YouTube videos that defined my first attempt to read Frankenstein. Without being melodramatic or conspicuous, McGill builds a persuasive argument for why the original Frankenstein is a queer text and how its varying themes play in that space.
And I think that's pretty neat.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Gothic Victorian woman of science creates life despite the greed and selfishness of the men around her. What's not to like?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Misogyny, Blood
Dinosaurs, Frankenstein, cool victorian era scientists, the MC snatching her husband’s sister (karma is a bitch) and someone gets eaten. What more can you ask from a book?
dark
mysterious
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
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The concept was better than the writing I fear..I wanted to like this book more but the prose was so trite and trope-laden that it couldn't hold the interesting ideas within. If a reader is not such a snob about this point as I, know that she would likely rate this book higher if not for that annoying point.
I absolutely loved the feminist view of women in science and the Frankenstein twist. Truly delightful. The authors note at the end describing how this story came to be