A review by mijtje
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Fascinating read. First, would I recommend it? Yes. It is a classic and fascinating story and a book that says a lot about the time it was written in. That, and I love the pretty old English that it is written in. The impact on the literary world is something that I also can't ignore. So read it for sure!

However, I can’t say I found it a very good book. It is impressive for sure, especially the themes that are intertwined with the story, but the story... often just doesn’t make sense. There are plenty of contradictions and mistakes. So the monster learned French by listening, then suddenly could READ French, then could READ German at the same time as well, but couldn't understand spoken German? Mistakes like these aren’t a problem in a book like this (which, surprise surprise, isn't super realistic). However, Shelley does her very best to make the story make sense, in a way that sometimes feels like she’s trying too hard. Because of this, these oversights are pretty obvious. It made the reading experience pretty annoying, especially in the beginning.

Also, dear mr Frankenstein, stop fainting and almost dying all the time. Seriously.