A review by marissasa
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

dark tense fast-paced
  • 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

This classic was surprisingly introspective and philosophical, especially since I was only expecting gothic horror and scares. I really enjoyed the narration of this book as we got to see perspectives from Dr. Frankenstein, his monster, and from an outsider recounting the whole situation, giving the whole book the intended experience of trying to keep up while a friend or family member is telling you a wild story. Although the actual process of Frankenstein creating and giving life to his monster wasn't explained scientifically, I actually liked the abstraction of the process in favor of showing more of his descent into obsessive research, isolation, and madness. It also paved way for more internal conflict about the ethics, morality, and implications of his experiment, and it was a great literary choice to have the monster himself pose many of those ethical questions to Frankenstein as his creation and have the doctor genuinely struggle with what he owes to him as his creator. 
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