Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - Frankenstein: Or the Modern Prometheus

Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Frankenstein: Or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley

124 reviews

bill369's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I read this book for the Classics Reading Challenge.

The complexity of Frankenstein's monster is hands down one of the best aspects of this book. I like his development and how he's becoming more human throughout the book. I believe the author did manage to make the reader feel for him. After all, he was just misunderstood and needed love.

Page 52, calm mind.

Dokonalý člověk má vždy zachovat klidnou a pokojnou mysl a nikdy nemá připustit, aby vášeň nebo pomíjivá touha porušily jeho pohodu. Ani vědecké bádání nemá být podle mého názoru výjimkou z tohoto pravidla. Jestliže studium, kterému se člověk věnuje, vede k oslabení přátelských vztahů a prostých radostí, v nichž nemá být ani stopa bolesti, pak je toto studium určitě nesprávné a pro lidskou mysl nevhodné.

I hoped for a happier ending, but it wasn't bad.

I'm glad I read this book.

Content Warnings

leonormsousa's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.5

TRIGGER WARNINGS

child death, death, death of parent, murder, xenophobia, abandonment, grief, medical content, self-harm, suicide, and violence

REPRESENTATION

maybe queer MC (?)

REVIEW

Like with most classics, I was pretty afraid of getting into Frankenstein. I knew how much this book means to Cláudia (from @hendrixsbookcorner) and that meant that I was putting extra pressure on myself to enjoy this book that is no less than one of the first science-fiction novels, written by a feminist bisexual women at the age of 18, who also happens to be the daughter of a renowned women’s rights activist (I mean, what a queen! How could I not already love her?!). So yeah… some expectation management had to be done and some courage had to be acquired but it was so freaking worth it!

Frankenstein is one of those books that you don’t love while you’re reading it but that completely takes you once you’ve had the time to process it. It’s pretty slow paced (and a bit confusing) in the beginning (I was fearing for the worse!) but once it picks up, it gets you quite glued to the page as you uncover the story of both Frankenstein and his creation.

It goes around the question of “who is the monster?”, playing with our empathy as we unravel the “creation”’s story. It’s a book on Man’s ambition and desire to “play god”, with no regard for the consequences of its actions nor courage to take responsibility for them. It’s also a book about loneliness and superficiality and obsession.

There’s not really much more that I can say (or at least nothing good enough compared to the book). It’s daunting and haunting and really the absolute perfect choice if you’re looking for a recommendation for this time of the year. Not only does the monster theme perfectly fits the Halloween vibes, you also have a bit of a Dark Academia vibe that matches the fall season.

Content Warnings