Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

24 reviews

carodunn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

nahimgood's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death and Medical content

Minor: Death of parent

jomarie's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This was a book that I’ve had for quite a while and was interested in reading as a lover of sci-fi stories. Having read it, I’m not sure I gained any more respect for it. 

Caveat: I don’t have a great track record of liking classics, so definitely take my opinion with a grain of salt! 

I only knew the bare bones of the story through pop culture references. I was expecting a gothic, atmospheric story of man’s hubris. The actual story didn’t quite hit that mark. Mostly, I was bored. The monster featured so little, most of the characters were flat, and framing it as a story being told to a man on a mission to the North Pole felt unnecessary. The most interesting part was what the monster did after running away from Victor, but that was told as a dry conversation rather than actually spending time in that space. It frankly made Felix out to be a more enticing character than anyone else in the book. 

Luckily, I read through the info in the front of my copy that explained some of the historical context that Mary Shelley wrote it under. If I hadn’t, I’d feel even more disconnected from the point of it all than I already am. If you’re only looking at it as an example of historic literature, it’s a fascinating study. However, that’s not what I was doing. 

Knowing the kind of reader I am, I should have done the audiobook to better comprehend and connect with the story, or just picked my favorite movie adaption and called it good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Child death, Medical content, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death and Racism

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I picked this up as a fun, classic read for Halloween this year.
"Frankenstein" is the classic story written by Mary Shelley. In an effort to find immortality, Dr. Victor Frankenstein spends his adolescence seeking education in the sciences. Once he reaches adulthood, he attempts his own experiments to bring something to life. When he succeeds, he is horrified by the abomination he created, and he runs away from it. Feeling abandoned and slighted by its creator, the monster seeks revenge, and causes havoc to Frankenstein's life.
This book really epitomizes the idea that monsters are created, not born. The monster in this novel did not want to kill or cause harm, and it initially attempted to help the people it encountered. Only after the people realized what he looked like, did they become scared of the monster and run away. At its core, the monster had a good heart, but the world turned its back on it.
Even after Frankenstein saw the destruction the monster caused, he did not do enough to appease the monster. The monster wanted a woman companion and asked Frankenstein to create one for it. This only further highlights that the monster was just lonely. Sometimes it only takes one person to show kindness and change a person's entire perspective on life.
This was a very approachable classic, and fairly easy to read. I also think the themes and lessons it presents are elements that today's world needs a refresher on.
I highly recommend this novel, especially this time of year! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Murder

laurenkgrace's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Stalking, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Classism

akane_readsyt's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Incest, Suicide, Blood, and Stalking

Minor: Animal death

leeyongjin's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body horror, Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, and Murder

lucinotlucy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Abandonment

kristinetp's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

Would I read it again? No. HOWEVER.....

 The themes of this book really stick with me. Reading through Victor's and the creatures relationship knowing that it is reflective of the struggle of motherhood made it a much more interesting read. I think there is a lot to take away about struggling with regret and resentment as a parent figure, specifically as a mother figure. There is a lot to take away about being the offspring in that kind of dynamic. Mary Shelley was really ahead of her time for exploring these themes and especially in this way, being the catalyst for science fiction as a genre, which has become male dominated. 

Good vs Evil is another theme that felt prevalent to me as well. Are people inherently good or evil? Are people born wicked or do they have wicked thrust upon them? 

There were a lot of things I liked and a lot of things I didn't like. I think some things were really dragged out, but I can see how playing the long game like that really gives in to the fact that depression can be all consuming.

Overall, I'm glad to have revisited this book and to find that I still really resonate with the themes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Murder

ilmariel's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and Classism