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A review by tfortilney
Frankissstein by Jeanette Winterson
Did not finish book. Stopped at 47%.
This was sadly not for me.
I love Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the questions surrounding good and evil, monstrosity, the responsibility of creation, personhood, etc. it raises. The idea of retelling the genesis of this famous book while also retelling its content, in a way, in present day, relating it to AI, robots, transgender and trans-human identities, sounded intriguing. Unfortunately, while I mostly enjoyed the chapters with Mary Shelley at Lake Geneva — like the way the loss of her child and the idea of a creature that’s neither dead nor undead, but was never alive, inspired her —, I couldn’t get into Ry Shelley’s chapters in present day at all.
Both storylines are invested in philosophical questions regarding scientific progress, people vs. machines, the essence of humanity, and gender, and the characters discuss several fascinating aspects that shine an interesting light on Frankenstein and current technological advances. Unfortunately, especially in Ry’s storyline, it often felt like Winterson was more interested in discussing these questions and having her characters represent different positions than in actually telling a story, so I felt like I would’ve done better simply reading essays on the topics.
When Ry is not discussing these questions, or inexplicably pining after the scientist Victor Stein who treats him about as badly as his namesake treats the creature in Shelley’s book, Ry mostly encounters people interested in discussing his trans identity. Even though these people seem more ignorant than malicious, the casual transphobia à la“I’m not gay.” (Victor’s words shortly before hooking up with Ry) or invasive questions about his genitalia made me uncomfortable and didn’t seem to lead anywhere. (In Mary Shelley’s chapters, I found Byron’s constant misogyny equally exhausting.)
I also wasn’t sure what to think of the was Ry describes his identity himself, frequently referring to himself as (also) a woman or female. I can’t judge how real trans men would describe themselves, and I’d love to know if Winterson consulted any when writing the character of Ry. To me, it felt like she wanted to emphasise that transitioning will never fully change someone’s biology or erase their pre-transition years, which is a fact that no one denies, but also seems like an odd thing to focus on this much when writing a trans protagonist.
While Ry is often funny, with a rather dry humour, it didn’t help that his style of narrating is very distant and aloof, making it hard to connect with him emotionally, or even to understand what he’s feeling. Even almost halfway through the novel, I felt myself still utterly uninterested in his story, so I decided to let it go.
Maybe audio wasn't the right format to approach this book because it’s easier for me to get distracted which isn’t helpful in the often dense dialogue. I do, however, also have a paper copy, and considering that large chunks of Ry’s chapters consist of dialogue with no quotation marks and little narration to mark the speakers — a style I personally strongly dislike—, I believe the well-read audio actually makes it easier to follow these conversations. Either way though, there was simply too much dialogue on too little story to keep me invested.
I love Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the questions surrounding good and evil, monstrosity, the responsibility of creation, personhood, etc. it raises. The idea of retelling the genesis of this famous book while also retelling its content, in a way, in present day, relating it to AI, robots, transgender and trans-human identities, sounded intriguing. Unfortunately, while I mostly enjoyed the chapters with Mary Shelley at Lake Geneva — like the way the loss of her child and the idea of a creature that’s neither dead nor undead, but was never alive, inspired her —, I couldn’t get into Ry Shelley’s chapters in present day at all.
Both storylines are invested in philosophical questions regarding scientific progress, people vs. machines, the essence of humanity, and gender, and the characters discuss several fascinating aspects that shine an interesting light on Frankenstein and current technological advances. Unfortunately, especially in Ry’s storyline, it often felt like Winterson was more interested in discussing these questions and having her characters represent different positions than in actually telling a story, so I felt like I would’ve done better simply reading essays on the topics.
When Ry is not discussing these questions, or inexplicably pining after the scientist Victor Stein who treats him about as badly as his namesake treats the creature in Shelley’s book, Ry mostly encounters people interested in discussing his trans identity. Even though these people seem more ignorant than malicious, the casual transphobia à la
I also wasn’t sure what to think of the was Ry describes his identity himself, frequently referring to himself as (also) a woman or female. I can’t judge how real trans men would describe themselves, and I’d love to know if Winterson consulted any when writing the character of Ry. To me, it felt like she wanted to emphasise that transitioning will never fully change someone’s biology or erase their pre-transition years, which is a fact that no one denies, but also seems like an odd thing to focus on this much when writing a trans protagonist.
While Ry is often funny, with a rather dry humour, it didn’t help that his style of narrating is very distant and aloof, making it hard to connect with him emotionally, or even to understand what he’s feeling. Even almost halfway through the novel, I felt myself still utterly uninterested in his story, so I decided to let it go.
Maybe audio wasn't the right format to approach this book because it’s easier for me to get distracted which isn’t helpful in the often dense dialogue. I do, however, also have a paper copy, and considering that large chunks of Ry’s chapters consist of dialogue with no quotation marks and little narration to mark the speakers — a style I personally strongly dislike—, I believe the well-read audio actually makes it easier to follow these conversations. Either way though, there was simply too much dialogue on too little story to keep me invested.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Transphobia