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thelittlefriend's review against another edition
2.0
How do we create monsters? What constitutes the meaningfulness of life? And how much can our deeds and sufferings be traced back to our environment and the people who - in different ways - aided in creating us?
These are questions that arose from my reading of this 1818 novel by Mary Shelley. I'm not sure I agree with this being a horror story, though. Surely there are many of the elements that horror stories usually comprise of - storms and thunder, death and destruction, fear and terror - but mostly, I feel, it's a very sad story of love (yes), loss and humanity.
However, despite the very interesting story and the wonderful gothic themes, I found the reading to be quite exhausting. The pace is extremely slow, the narration (someone tells their story to a person who then tells his story to another person who writes his sister some letters which we as readers then are reading *phew*) is super weird and the writing is tedious and often downright boring. Still, there are a few beautiful quotes and moving passages, but had the book been much longer I don't know if I'd bothered finishing it.
These are questions that arose from my reading of this 1818 novel by Mary Shelley. I'm not sure I agree with this being a horror story, though. Surely there are many of the elements that horror stories usually comprise of - storms and thunder, death and destruction, fear and terror - but mostly, I feel, it's a very sad story of love (yes), loss and humanity.
However, despite the very interesting story and the wonderful gothic themes, I found the reading to be quite exhausting. The pace is extremely slow, the narration (someone tells their story to a person who then tells his story to another person who writes his sister some letters which we as readers then are reading *phew*) is super weird and the writing is tedious and often downright boring. Still, there are a few beautiful quotes and moving passages, but had the book been much longer I don't know if I'd bothered finishing it.
karolinamarat's review against another edition
5.0
absolutely in awe of this masterpiece!! so sad and eerie, a perfect october read.
however, i'm quite disappointed with how the character of elizabeth was written, the victor-elizabeth relationship was weird, but considering how unimportant it was, i'll let it pass.
however, i'm quite disappointed with how the character of elizabeth was written, the victor-elizabeth relationship was weird, but considering how unimportant it was, i'll let it pass.
seabreeze_reader's review against another edition
3.0
This audio version was narrated by Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey, Beauty and the Beast). He did an excellent job of conveying the feelings of both Frankenstein and the wretched creature. Sometimes the writing is beautiful but other times the story just drags on with its themes of revenge and misery. At one point Frankenstein thinks, "A fiend had snatched from me every hope of future happiness; no creature had ever been so miserable as I was." What he never seems to realize, is his creation is even more miserable than himself. I read this in 2014 and ultimately ended up giving the novel a three star rating again.
bookswithnatasa's review against another edition
3.0
I love Shelley’s description and imagery. There were a couple places where she was describing Frankenstein waking up in the woods in spring and listening to the song birds, and another page where Victor was adrift on an ice float in the arctic and the waves tossed him about. It was both vivid and metaphoric.
More detailed review here: https://bookswithnatasa.home.blog/2020/11/04/frankenstein-by-mary-wollstonecraft-shelley-review/
More detailed review here: https://bookswithnatasa.home.blog/2020/11/04/frankenstein-by-mary-wollstonecraft-shelley-review/
tigerlinus's review against another edition
4.0
4.5. Not what I expected, given Hollywood's massacre of the story. It misses perfection for a few reasons, one of which was that a scientist as bright as Victor, who was able to create a man, doesn't see the pattern of revenge the monster has planned for him. All that Victor loves is attacked; however, he doesn't quite get - even though directly threatened - that the monster may kill. Issues like this were the misses, and a few slow areas.
Spoiler
Elizabeth and not him, so he allows Elizabeth to go off by herselfcythera15's review against another edition
5.0
My feelings are overwhelmed and my heart is too heavy :(
shelby_3's review against another edition
3.0
Written well. I read it for school so I didn’t enjoy it as well as other books. But still a really interesting school book :)
nisforneville's review against another edition
2.0
I was disappointed with this. Not at all what I expected, and somewhat boring.
koshkemeow's review against another edition
2.0
I probably liked it just as much as I did in HS. It's fine, just not what I really wanted from it I guess.
I also expected more pitchforks.
I also expected more pitchforks.
lyssamarie's review against another edition
3.0
Title: Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus
Author: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Publisher: Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones
Publication Date: 1818
Rating: 3.5 stars
Opening Line:
Though this novel was written in the early 1800s, practically everybody knows the name “Frankenstein” today in the 21st century. Most people (and unfortunately I, too, was in this group) commonly think this is the name of the monster. Well, it’s not. The monster does not have a name; Frankenstein is the scientist, AKA the creator of the monster. I had to read this novel in preparation for my final exam in my adaptation class. My professor picked a scene (the animation scene, go figure) and we had to write about some aspect of adaptation with three films and the novel. It was actually a fun exam, but two hours was not enough time to say what I wanted to say. Anyway, I digress; the point is, I am glad I was forced to read this novel, but wish I would have had more time to do so.
Frankenstein is about an ambitious guy (named Frankenstein) who really likes philosophy and science. He decides to dedicate his studies to piecing together a body and bringing it to life. Spoiler alert: he succeeds, and Frankenstein’s monster is born. Though he’s not a monster, at first — he’s just a big, lanky, confused creature who has no idea how to function in the world. He’s essentially a giant baby. Frankenstein grows fearful of the monster and hopes that if he ignores it, his creation will just disappear. And then it does — the monster escapes. Frankenstein believes himself to be free of this burden and continue on with his life while his monster learns to live on his own. But the monster finds life to be cruel to him, and he grows lonely, resentful, and angry. Frankenstein does not live happily ever after and pays for what he has created.
Though most people commonly refer to it as a horror novel, I myself think of Frankenstein to be more of a gothic. The novel features a lot of death, some romance, and features a very uncanny undertone. Luckily for me, I’ve never watched a Frankenstein film, so I went into this novel completely blind. I thought the structure of the novel was interesting: it was a story within a story within a story within a story, which was only slightly confusing. First there’s the novel itself. Within that, there is the narrator of the novel, Robert Walton. Then there’s Frankenstein, who tells a story to Walton as he writes it down. Finally, there’s the monster, who tells the story to Frankenstein who relays that story to Walton who writes that story down which becomes the novel Frankenstein. Are you following along? If not, that’s okay, because it makes a lot more sense if you just read it. There are a lot of voices to follow, but the transitions are easy enough to understand.
The writing is beautiful. Though Shelley uses 15 words to explain something that would only take 5 (like most early British authors do), she does so with beauty and grace. The best part is that you don’t need a dictionary to figure out what Shelley is saying — her language is easy to read and comprehend. I know this novel used to taught in a lot of high schools, and I can see why — like The Great Gatsby, it is simple to understand the most basic meaning on the novel and at least a shallow level of literary analysis.
The characters are very interesting. I admired Frankenstein for his ambition and genius, but as I read, I discovered he’s kind of an asshole. He’s also in love with his adoptive sister, and I realize I am looking at this with a 21st century eye, but that’s still weird to me. However, I think he was incredibly irresponsible in creating this monster and then completely deserting it. For an intelligent man, he handled the situation horribly. I felt sorry for the monster for a while, and then he started killing people, and though I still sympathized with him, he reached the point in his intelligence where he knew right from wrong and was still committing brutal murders, so I had to dislike him too. The only character I really liked in the novel was Walton, though we don’t get much from him except letters written to his sister.
I had to rush through this novel in order to take my final exam, but I hope to return to it again one day. I really enjoyed reading the story and experiencing Shelley’s writing. One of the clips we watching for the final exam was Young Frankenstein with Gene Wilder, and after having read Frankenstein, I actually have a desire to watch it and other adaptations. Though it’s not a modern gory horror story, it’s still a creepy novel that is wonderfully written and fairly interesting. There are definitely sections which I skimmed through and thought were needless additions to the novel, but overall it was a good read. And now I have another classic to add to my library!
Favorite Quote(s): “I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.”
“…when falsehood can look so like the truth, who can assure themselves of certain happiness?”
“Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it.”
Author: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Publisher: Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones
Publication Date: 1818
Rating: 3.5 stars
Opening Line:
“St. Petersburgh, Dec. 11th, 17 —
TO Mrs. Saville, England
You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings.”
Though this novel was written in the early 1800s, practically everybody knows the name “Frankenstein” today in the 21st century. Most people (and unfortunately I, too, was in this group) commonly think this is the name of the monster. Well, it’s not. The monster does not have a name; Frankenstein is the scientist, AKA the creator of the monster. I had to read this novel in preparation for my final exam in my adaptation class. My professor picked a scene (the animation scene, go figure) and we had to write about some aspect of adaptation with three films and the novel. It was actually a fun exam, but two hours was not enough time to say what I wanted to say. Anyway, I digress; the point is, I am glad I was forced to read this novel, but wish I would have had more time to do so.
Frankenstein is about an ambitious guy (named Frankenstein) who really likes philosophy and science. He decides to dedicate his studies to piecing together a body and bringing it to life. Spoiler alert: he succeeds, and Frankenstein’s monster is born. Though he’s not a monster, at first — he’s just a big, lanky, confused creature who has no idea how to function in the world. He’s essentially a giant baby. Frankenstein grows fearful of the monster and hopes that if he ignores it, his creation will just disappear. And then it does — the monster escapes. Frankenstein believes himself to be free of this burden and continue on with his life while his monster learns to live on his own. But the monster finds life to be cruel to him, and he grows lonely, resentful, and angry. Frankenstein does not live happily ever after and pays for what he has created.
Though most people commonly refer to it as a horror novel, I myself think of Frankenstein to be more of a gothic. The novel features a lot of death, some romance, and features a very uncanny undertone. Luckily for me, I’ve never watched a Frankenstein film, so I went into this novel completely blind. I thought the structure of the novel was interesting: it was a story within a story within a story within a story, which was only slightly confusing. First there’s the novel itself. Within that, there is the narrator of the novel, Robert Walton. Then there’s Frankenstein, who tells a story to Walton as he writes it down. Finally, there’s the monster, who tells the story to Frankenstein who relays that story to Walton who writes that story down which becomes the novel Frankenstein. Are you following along? If not, that’s okay, because it makes a lot more sense if you just read it. There are a lot of voices to follow, but the transitions are easy enough to understand.
The writing is beautiful. Though Shelley uses 15 words to explain something that would only take 5 (like most early British authors do), she does so with beauty and grace. The best part is that you don’t need a dictionary to figure out what Shelley is saying — her language is easy to read and comprehend. I know this novel used to taught in a lot of high schools, and I can see why — like The Great Gatsby, it is simple to understand the most basic meaning on the novel and at least a shallow level of literary analysis.
The characters are very interesting. I admired Frankenstein for his ambition and genius, but as I read, I discovered he’s kind of an asshole. He’s also in love with his adoptive sister, and I realize I am looking at this with a 21st century eye, but that’s still weird to me. However, I think he was incredibly irresponsible in creating this monster and then completely deserting it. For an intelligent man, he handled the situation horribly. I felt sorry for the monster for a while, and then he started killing people, and though I still sympathized with him, he reached the point in his intelligence where he knew right from wrong and was still committing brutal murders, so I had to dislike him too. The only character I really liked in the novel was Walton, though we don’t get much from him except letters written to his sister.
I had to rush through this novel in order to take my final exam, but I hope to return to it again one day. I really enjoyed reading the story and experiencing Shelley’s writing. One of the clips we watching for the final exam was Young Frankenstein with Gene Wilder, and after having read Frankenstein, I actually have a desire to watch it and other adaptations. Though it’s not a modern gory horror story, it’s still a creepy novel that is wonderfully written and fairly interesting. There are definitely sections which I skimmed through and thought were needless additions to the novel, but overall it was a good read. And now I have another classic to add to my library!
Favorite Quote(s): “I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.”
“…when falsehood can look so like the truth, who can assure themselves of certain happiness?”
“Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it.”