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spxceflwr 's review for:
Mary & the Birth of Frankenstein: A Novel
by Anne Eekhout
First, thank you to NetGalley and HarperVia for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I'd like to start off by saying that gothic literature is a genre that I typically have to read multiple times-- or very carefully-- to enjoy. So I wasn't entirely surprised when it took me a while to finish this book.
Mary & the Birth of Frankenstein is a translated Dutch novel about Mary Shelley, written with a gothic and sapphic twist that blended facts and fiction together. With a promising exposition, I thought that this book would be one of my favourites. Instead, I was left bored, not feeling deeply for any of the characters or their stories. I kept on wishing this book was less gothic and more realistic/historical fiction. I wanted to learn more about Mary Shelley as the author of one of the most well-known pieces of literature and how she got there.
Despite that, I can't argue that this book is well-written, or, I guess, well-translated. Translation is an art of its own, and I know that translated books can often feel off. But this never did. For the most part, the writing was cohesive and did properly tell a story that I wanted to hear.
2.5 stars, rounded up.
I'd like to start off by saying that gothic literature is a genre that I typically have to read multiple times-- or very carefully-- to enjoy. So I wasn't entirely surprised when it took me a while to finish this book.
Mary & the Birth of Frankenstein is a translated Dutch novel about Mary Shelley, written with a gothic and sapphic twist that blended facts and fiction together. With a promising exposition, I thought that this book would be one of my favourites. Instead, I was left bored, not feeling deeply for any of the characters or their stories. I kept on wishing this book was less gothic and more realistic/historical fiction. I wanted to learn more about Mary Shelley as the author of one of the most well-known pieces of literature and how she got there.
Despite that, I can't argue that this book is well-written, or, I guess, well-translated. Translation is an art of its own, and I know that translated books can often feel off. But this never did. For the most part, the writing was cohesive and did properly tell a story that I wanted to hear.
2.5 stars, rounded up.