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A review by eesh25
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
4.0
So… Frankenstein. I didn’t actually know much about this story until a few recent posts on the internet about how the monster has been misrepresented in media, which doesn’t surprise me because Hollywood does like to ruin things. Though I watched The Gray Man yesterday and that was really fun. I finally get why people love Ryan Gosling so much. But anyway, back to the book.
Frankenstein is considered one of the first ever science fiction books. The story follows Dr Frankenstein and his creation of a living creature. Though the book doesn’t go into the gritty details, there are enough hints to guess how he did it. Then we follow the aftermath of Frankenstein playing a cruel God who abandons his creation.
Now, the nature vs nurture conflict is very interesting. As well as trying to decide how much blame could be placed on the monster for his actions. I mean, there’s no doubt that this is all Frankenstein’s fault and he sucks. But does that absolve the monster from blame? He goes through a lot of shit but to what extent can we forgive a person’s actions just because they’ve had a terrible life. The monster’s anger is justified but his actions? There’s not really a right answer here. And that’s why everything related to monster is great. The chapter from his perspective is easily the best part of the book.
Frankenstein himself, on the other hand… There are good parts there but only when they’re related to a plot development. Beyond that, Frankenstein is insufferably tedious in his self-pity. He just goes on and on about how he’s been wronged by the universe or some shit. He blames himself for creating a monster but never for mistreating what is essentially his child. I can’t stand him.
The book as a whole is good. There are parts that make for a great discussion. But at times it’s very hard to get through. It’s also quite repetitive in its prose. The word “wretched” for example starts to lose all meaning by the end.
One last thing before I’m done. I didn’t know that there were two main texts of the book before I started it. The copy I got from the bookstore didn’t mention anything. But it turns out I read the 1831 version instead of the original 1818 text. I looked up the differences afterward and the most notable one is the 1831 version’s seeming attempts to shift some of the blame off of Frankenstein. Except I didn’t interpret the new lines the way some others did and fully blamed Frankenstein always. So no harm done.
If I’m ever in the mood for a reread, I’ll pick up the 1818 version but I’m good for now. I barely made it through the book the first time and have no interest in doing it again anytime soon.
Frankenstein is considered one of the first ever science fiction books. The story follows Dr Frankenstein and his creation of a living creature. Though the book doesn’t go into the gritty details, there are enough hints to guess how he did it. Then we follow the aftermath of Frankenstein playing a cruel God who abandons his creation.
Now, the nature vs nurture conflict is very interesting. As well as trying to decide how much blame could be placed on the monster for his actions. I mean, there’s no doubt that this is all Frankenstein’s fault and he sucks. But does that absolve the monster from blame? He goes through a lot of shit but to what extent can we forgive a person’s actions just because they’ve had a terrible life. The monster’s anger is justified but his actions? There’s not really a right answer here. And that’s why everything related to monster is great. The chapter from his perspective is easily the best part of the book.
Frankenstein himself, on the other hand… There are good parts there but only when they’re related to a plot development. Beyond that, Frankenstein is insufferably tedious in his self-pity. He just goes on and on about how he’s been wronged by the universe or some shit. He blames himself for creating a monster but never for mistreating what is essentially his child. I can’t stand him.
The book as a whole is good. There are parts that make for a great discussion. But at times it’s very hard to get through. It’s also quite repetitive in its prose. The word “wretched” for example starts to lose all meaning by the end.
One last thing before I’m done. I didn’t know that there were two main texts of the book before I started it. The copy I got from the bookstore didn’t mention anything. But it turns out I read the 1831 version instead of the original 1818 text. I looked up the differences afterward and the most notable one is the 1831 version’s seeming attempts to shift some of the blame off of Frankenstein. Except I didn’t interpret the new lines the way some others did and fully blamed Frankenstein always. So no harm done.
If I’m ever in the mood for a reread, I’ll pick up the 1818 version but I’m good for now. I barely made it through the book the first time and have no interest in doing it again anytime soon.