Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Frankenstein: The 1818 Text by Mary Shelley

146 reviews

brieflyblue's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

Frankenstein is brilliant. It’s short, easier to read than many other classics, and gives the reader a lot to consider morally and ethically. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Stalking, and Murder

mhanson101's review against another edition

dark 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

4.0

For over 200 years old it really holds up well as a modern story. I do think that in a modern writing, Frankenstein's failings would have been explored in a different way. Not just from a scientific hubris standpoint and the lack of human perfection from a religious viewpoint, but more explicitly his lack of guidance and care for his creation placed more centrally as the cause of the misery.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, and Classism

lightningmc_logyn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

Frankenstein is compelling, dark, and wrought with devastation. I don’t usually read horror/dark stories, so my review is from the perspective of someone who is crossing genres. I was curious about this, as it’s one of the most prominent stories in pop-culture of all time. After reading, it is clear why. The philosophical themes of life, debt of creation, loneliness, and misery all uphold the horrific elements. It is a story that feels familiar and realistic in an eerie way. I found myself passionately invested, and parts of the novel had me turning pages as fast as I could, eager to see what happened next. 

Contrary to that, I found much of the novel to be dense, hard to navigate, and incredibly slow. I required a dictionary at my side that I used nearly every page, as the meanings and popularity of words have changed drastically in the last 200 years. This, while challenging, is not what made the novel feel slow. The novel takes its time setting everything up, which in my opinion unfortunately dragged the rating down. I understand why this set up was required for the story-especially after reading the hauntingly coincidental story of Mary Shelley’s life-but I feel the first 1/3 of the novel dictating Victors life could have been shortened. I sympathized with the monster far more than Victor Frankenstein, and perhaps that’s why I feel this way. 

The version I read included some fascinating insights into how the book was received and how it became a sensation. My favorite thing about classical literature is learning the stories around it, and this book, as well as Mary Shelley, have an intriguing history. 

The most compelling and heart wrenching parts of the story for me were the monsters recount of his experiences, victors moments of passionate action-for better or worse-, and the finale of the novel. I was extremely pleased with the ending. I feel it suited the melancholy and complex nuance of the novel perfectly. 
All in all, I am glad to have read this. And I’ve learned to steer clear from dark horror, as it doesn’t intrigue me as a genre. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Incest, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

The book is very dark and heavy. The characters experience a lot of grief and horrific events. The incest is minor, as it was altered by the author to be between

adoptive siblings, but originally the characters were blood cousins.

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Incest, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Medical content, and Murder

whynotreadwithalex's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I've had Frankenstein on my TBR forever and I figured it was high time to give the first science-fiction novel ever written a go! 
Here are my thoughts:

THE STORY -- 
- Haunting (obviously)
- Lots of twists + turns
- Clever, with growing tension underlaid by an impending sense of doom
- It's obvious that so much of modern science-fiction and horror find their roots in this work of fiction (it's a classic for a reason, that's for sure)

THE CHARACTERS -- 
- The story primarily follows the relationship (if you can call it that) between Frankenstein and his Creation/Monster
- While there are secondary characters, they serve primarily as sources of grief for Frankenstein and instruments of torment for the Monster to use against his creator

THE WRITING -- 
- This was a bit of a struggle for me: most of the story is conveyed through long discourses (internal monologues as well as multi-chaptered monologues), which wasn't my favorite thing at times

Overall, this is an engaging book and it's obvious to me why this story has captivated audiences and inspired retellings since its publication! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

stratospheric's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Stalking and Abandonment

Minor: Incest

rena_raven's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense 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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, and Murder

capa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Abandonment

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Suicide and Death of parent

luxxltyd's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Incest

some_random_person_hi's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad fast-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

3.0

Read it for lit.
Depressing pre-analysis and depressing post-analysis.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, Suicide, Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Abortion, and Fire/Fire injury