Scan barcode
A review by jaina8851
Frankissstein by Jeanette Winterson
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
This is such a difficult book to give a star rating to.
I LOVED the parts set in the past. The Mary Shelley POV bits were gorgeously rendered, her pain and grief seared through the poetic writing and I could have read an entire novel just about that.
The present/futuristic bits were so incredibly hit or miss. All of the characters felt more like a blend of caricature and vaguely archetype rather than having their own developed personalities (which, makes sense I guess, since all of them share names with either people in Mary Shelley's life or book). This particularly made the other POV character of Ry a bit fraught. He was an incredibly passive narrator, to the point that I even commented in my reading journal at one point "this whole section is written in first person plural, but literally nothing here has been addressed to Ry and he's said no dialogue, is he even present??" The choice to make him trans was inexpertly handled in my opinion. I think the idea of comparing being transgender with transhumanism could be interesting, but that the whole book could have benefited from having a sensitivity reader or two, because even as a cis reader, there were aspects of it that just threw me out of the book.
All in all though, I found this a really interesting book. I read this back-to-back with my first ever read of Frankenstein, so it was REALLY cool to have the source material be so fresh. The interview at the end was *fascinating* as well. Just a lot of thought provoking stuff about the meaning of humanity, intelligence. AND LOOMS.
I LOVED the parts set in the past. The Mary Shelley POV bits were gorgeously rendered, her pain and grief seared through the poetic writing and I could have read an entire novel just about that.
The present/futuristic bits were so incredibly hit or miss. All of the characters felt more like a blend of caricature and vaguely archetype rather than having their own developed personalities (which, makes sense I guess, since all of them share names with either people in Mary Shelley's life or book). This particularly made the other POV character of Ry a bit fraught. He was an incredibly passive narrator, to the point that I even commented in my reading journal at one point "this whole section is written in first person plural, but literally nothing here has been addressed to Ry and he's said no dialogue, is he even present??" The choice to make him trans was inexpertly handled in my opinion. I think the idea of comparing being transgender with transhumanism could be interesting, but that the whole book could have benefited from having a sensitivity reader or two, because even as a cis reader, there were aspects of it that just threw me out of the book.
All in all though, I found this a really interesting book. I read this back-to-back with my first ever read of Frankenstein, so it was REALLY cool to have the source material be so fresh. The interview at the end was *fascinating* as well. Just a lot of thought provoking stuff about the meaning of humanity, intelligence. AND LOOMS.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape