Scan barcode
A review by pastelwriter
Unwieldy Creatures by Addie Tsai
dark
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
My feelings for this book are…complex. I see the quality of the writing, and I found the overall story engaging…. However, I find one of its biggest flaws (for my personal taste) is that Frankenstein by Mary Shelley exists in this universe.
If this were merely a retelling or reimagining of Frankenstein, I think this would be an incredible interpretation. I love the reproductive angle taken here. The different lens through which to approach an obsessive scientist. The source that compels this scientist to pursue this kind of research. It’s all very good!
Still. I couldn’t deal with the fact that said scientist, Z, was a fan of the original text enough to rename herself after it… without neither recognizing the awful parallels to said text to her life…or changing course at all due to having read the book. The arrogance and folly of Z was too much for me. As insufferable as he was, the original Frankenstein could just barely be tolerated because no one before him had done what he did nor had he read any cautionary tales. The same could not be said about Z. She let her ambitions cloud her judgement to a point that felt unbelievable. If Frankenstein the novel did not exist in Unwieldy Creatures, I wouldn’t have had any issues with the path Z took. It would have all made sense and been a creative parallel to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Ugh. It’s so frustrating! I’m sure part of the frustration I feel is intentional, but I have a personal threshold for this kind of thing. Sadly, this crossed it for me to a point that makes this reading experience complex in a way that I don’t enjoy.
Despite it all, I find myself still giving it a 3🌟 rating (and not lower) because the writing itself was still excellent. Its only real “flaw” was the glacier pace of the story up until we get to “volume two” where the pace picks up exponentially.
All this to say, this is a far more engaging read than the original Frankenstein…but it doesn’t quite amend what I perceive to be the original’s flaws in order to make a stellar retelling. That’s personally what I seek from retellings 🤷🏻♀️
If this were merely a retelling or reimagining of Frankenstein, I think this would be an incredible interpretation. I love the reproductive angle taken here. The different lens through which to approach an obsessive scientist. The source that compels this scientist to pursue this kind of research. It’s all very good!
Still. I couldn’t deal with the fact that said scientist, Z, was a fan of the original text enough to rename herself after it… without neither recognizing the awful parallels to said text to her life…or changing course at all due to having read the book. The arrogance and folly of Z was too much for me. As insufferable as he was, the original Frankenstein could just barely be tolerated because no one before him had done what he did nor had he read any cautionary tales. The same could not be said about Z. She let her ambitions cloud her judgement to a point that felt unbelievable. If Frankenstein the novel did not exist in Unwieldy Creatures, I wouldn’t have had any issues with the path Z took. It would have all made sense and been a creative parallel to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Ugh. It’s so frustrating! I’m sure part of the frustration I feel is intentional, but I have a personal threshold for this kind of thing. Sadly, this crossed it for me to a point that makes this reading experience complex in a way that I don’t enjoy.
Despite it all, I find myself still giving it a 3🌟 rating (and not lower) because the writing itself was still excellent. Its only real “flaw” was the glacier pace of the story up until we get to “volume two” where the pace picks up exponentially.
All this to say, this is a far more engaging read than the original Frankenstein…but it doesn’t quite amend what I perceive to be the original’s flaws in order to make a stellar retelling. That’s personally what I seek from retellings 🤷🏻♀️