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A review by thegrimhobbyist
Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley
5.0
So here's the deal, if I rated this book based on the train wreck that is Dr. Frankenstein and his creation, it'd be a lower star rating. I was rolling my eyes and screaming at the both of them for their decisions throughout the entire book. But, that's not what I'm rating this book on. That was the whole point of this story; witnessing the horrible tragedy that was creator and creation destroying each other and themselves.
Mary Shelley's poetic prose swept me into this gothic horror from the very beginning. I didn't even mind the long pauses as Frankenstein admired the countryside. We didn't dwell too long on it, and it was written in such a way that was as beautiful as Frankenstein described the countryside to be.
I will say that this was a difficult read for me, as I'm not used to classical writing; but that'll get easier as I read more classics. I managed to get the hang of it (I had to learn to slow down and pause where the pauses should go, instead of attempting to speed read this).
The intro pointed out there are several ways to interpret this story, and now that I've read it, I agree. I especially enjoyed the theory of how the creation was only a figment of a slowly maddening Dr. Frankenstein's imagination. There were several moments and a lot of evidence suggesting this, but then again there were moments where witness sightings thwart that theory. There's of course other theories than this one, it's just the one I enjoyed thinking about the most while reading the story. There's more philosophical theories too that I quite enjoyed thinking about as well. You could really deep dive and study this story. Everyone could have differing theories.
All in all, this has now landed in my favorites and my current favorite of the classics I've read (unless something else overthrows Frankenstein). Expect to shout, shake your fist, roll your eyes, and perhaps even feel sorry for those involved in this series of unfortunate events. I think I'm in the minority though, where I say I don't feel sorry for either Frankenstein or his creation. I felt mildly so for his creation, but then lost it as things progressed.
Mary Shelley's poetic prose swept me into this gothic horror from the very beginning. I didn't even mind the long pauses as Frankenstein admired the countryside. We didn't dwell too long on it, and it was written in such a way that was as beautiful as Frankenstein described the countryside to be.
I will say that this was a difficult read for me, as I'm not used to classical writing; but that'll get easier as I read more classics. I managed to get the hang of it (I had to learn to slow down and pause where the pauses should go, instead of attempting to speed read this).
The intro pointed out there are several ways to interpret this story, and now that I've read it, I agree. I especially enjoyed the theory of how the creation was only a figment of a slowly maddening Dr. Frankenstein's imagination. There were several moments and a lot of evidence suggesting this, but then again there were moments where witness sightings thwart that theory. There's of course other theories than this one, it's just the one I enjoyed thinking about the most while reading the story. There's more philosophical theories too that I quite enjoyed thinking about as well. You could really deep dive and study this story. Everyone could have differing theories.
All in all, this has now landed in my favorites and my current favorite of the classics I've read (unless something else overthrows Frankenstein). Expect to shout, shake your fist, roll your eyes, and perhaps even feel sorry for those involved in this series of unfortunate events. I think I'm in the minority though, where I say I don't feel sorry for either Frankenstein or his creation. I felt mildly so for his creation, but then lost it as things progressed.