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mercedes's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It's through said foreshadowing, and eventual circularity, that Walton's letters become interesting. It's through the repeated and ever-present themes within the book that the excitement, wonder, and meaning can be gained. It's hard to pick out what I love most about the book—I won't lie, everything prior to chapter 10 is a little tedious, but chapter 10 is marvellous. The creature's tale of looking in on the cottagers is just an absolute page turner for me. Mary Shelley's use of words, especially in the monster's dialogue, is breathtaking. The way she describes nature! The way that the creature speaks through Victor who speaks through Walton, and how each character parallels one another. But above all, it's the idea that knowledge is a danger that once attained is almost impossible to escape that really resonated with me on this reread.
Recently it's been playing on my mind that the constant onslaught of information I have consumed, particularly information pertaining to social justice, has served no purpose except to make me aware of the miseries in our existence. I cannot alleviate people's suffering or injustices they have faced, so what is the use of knowing about it? Is ignorance really bliss? I'm not sure that knowing all of the intricacies of bigotry and oppression have made me any more accepting than I already was of marginalised people, who before would have just been people but are now fit into neat little boxes in my mind. We further separate and alienate ourselves from others—like Victor Frankenstein. And to what end? Am I really better off for knowing every time a celebrity steps out of line, or a popular creator I've never heard of likes a problematic tweet? I don't think we have evolved far enough to be able to asborb these levels of constant mass-information sharing, and for that reason I have decided to stop browsing social media once again. Ignorance may not be bliss, but like Walton, like Frankenstein, like the creature, sometimes I feel knowledge may not always be bliss either.
Moderate: Child death, Incest, and Murder
rosita's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I love how complex and morally grey both Frankenstein and The Creature are, i love the whole moral dilemma of progress and science and prejudices, I loved the parts that were narrated by the creature the most.
I isnt a 5 star bc the descriptions were too long for my taste, and that fact that Frankenstein was just narrating this to his friend, word for word, destroyed my suspension of disbelief, nobody is that bad at summarizing.
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Body horror and Child death
Minor: Gun violence, Incest, Suicide, and Death of parent
Just like, general loneliness and bigotry against people for what they look like.ellawhen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Incest and Murder
smallredboy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Child death, Death, Incest, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder
melchior's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Regrettably, a five-star premise with a one-star execution. Frankenstein was devised as a brilliant novelty when it was first published, and it is a deservedly respected piece of literature given its context, so I was quite excited to finally give it a read. However, despite its far-reaching impact on western pop culture, the book hasn't aged well at all, making it a laborious read in spite of its brevity. My main complaint is with the way it was written, as especially the foreshadowing happens too explicitly and too often. The forewarning sentences are repeated verbatim and ad nauseam so often that I couldn't help but shake the feeling that the book thought I was a bit slow, and I really don't need that kind of sass from a two-hundred-years-old book. Scenes in the book are often little described, giving essentially no leeway to taste the atmosphere in any the wonderful locations across Europe that the story takes place in without visiting Lonely Planet. However, my biggest complaint lies with the characters. Each character is so irredeemably bland that it's hard to tell them apart. They have no depth to their personalities, and mostly indeed no personality at all. Having all the main characters be a ragtag band of Mary Sue's does little to connect you with them, so when tragedy befalls any of them and they start incessantly moping about it I simply couldn't bring myself to care and wanted the book to get on with the good bits already. Sadly, just like the first time I got three-quarters of a handjob in high school, those good bits I hoped for never came, leaving me sorely dissatisfied.
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Incest and Xenophobia
paulaspityparty's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Incest, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
ok7a's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Stalking, and Death of parent
Moderate: Incest
kaiulanilee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Incest, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Stalking, and Murder
baponthecob's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief
Moderate: Body horror, Suicide, Stalking, and Death of parent
Minor: Confinement, Incest, and Medical content
gabrield's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Animal cruelty, Child death, Confinement, and Incest