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A review by house_of_hannah
Frankenstein: The 1818 Text by Mary Shelley
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
I have finally read this classic ! It's definitely one I've thought about picking up for years, but for some reason just never did until now. During the pandemic I actually watched a play of this that the National Theatre (I believe that's who did it) streamed on YouTube, and it's quite faithful to the book.
There were a few scenes in here that were different from what I was expecting. There really is no detail on how Frankenstein created his monster. The entire process is just a few paragraphs, where a lot of adaptations hone in on this aspect of the story. There is quite a lot of detail put into describing certain things, but what you would think are the most important parts are simply glossed over, and not explored in depth. I do believe this takes away from the horror of the story, as we don't get to experience Victor's process.
Oh boy, Victor. He came off as extremely whiny in the end, and I was surprised that he was not able to handle anything happening around him considering what he had to do to create the monster.Also, what the hell was up with how he behaved on the wedding night !? He knew the creature had killed two people (3 if you count Justine) close to him, yet he thought he wouldn't touch Elizabeth ? There was no reason for him to think this, and it made him seem quite stupid to not be worried about leaving her alone.
I know the creature himself is a victim, but the scene where he makes his request to Victor made him sound like an incel. No one is entitled to having a woman. No one is entitled to sex. I get that he is the only one of his "kind", and wanted companionship, but you know he would have been pissed if Victor made another man.
My review probably makes it seem like I didn't enjoy this book, but I promise I did ! I quite enjoyed the writing, and how quickly we would jump in the timeline. I could feel Victor's paranoia, and the creature's anguish. They were both very flawed characters, which makes this a book where there really is no one to root for, but is very fitting for the story. Overall I'm between a 3 and a 4 for this one, but I think I'll keep it at a 4 for now.
There were a few scenes in here that were different from what I was expecting. There really is no detail on how Frankenstein created his monster. The entire process is just a few paragraphs, where a lot of adaptations hone in on this aspect of the story. There is quite a lot of detail put into describing certain things, but what you would think are the most important parts are simply glossed over, and not explored in depth. I do believe this takes away from the horror of the story, as we don't get to experience Victor's process.
Oh boy, Victor. He came off as extremely whiny in the end, and I was surprised that he was not able to handle anything happening around him considering what he had to do to create the monster.
I know the creature himself is a victim, but the scene where he makes his request to Victor made him sound like an incel. No one is entitled to having a woman. No one is entitled to sex. I get that he is the only one of his "kind", and wanted companionship, but you know he would have been pissed if Victor made another man.
My review probably makes it seem like I didn't enjoy this book, but I promise I did ! I quite enjoyed the writing, and how quickly we would jump in the timeline. I could feel Victor's paranoia, and the creature's anguish. They were both very flawed characters, which makes this a book where there really is no one to root for, but is very fitting for the story. Overall I'm between a 3 and a 4 for this one, but I think I'll keep it at a 4 for now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder