Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Frankenstein: The 1818 Text by Mary Shelley

12 reviews

mangonana's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence

jenna_justi2004's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

This book made me get back into reading. Slay Mary Shelley 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

rin_varga's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

I enjoyed reading this classic immensely! I'm so glad that I decided to start it in the heart of winter just after the holidays since I discovered so much of the mood is wrapped up in desolate, frigid landscapes & frozen tundra.

If you've only ever watched the 1930s movie like me, then the original 1818 version will feel like a completely new story to you!

I appreciated how much heart, empathy, passion & flaws we see as both Victor & his creature explore the same feelings (believing that they're completely different from one another) such as hubris, the spectrum of morality, justice, & if wickedness is due to nature or nurture. The book even begins & ends through the lens of a third party, leaving us the reader free to sympathize a bit with both Victor & his creature who are at such odds with each other.

I didn't expect to get as emotionally invested in the characters as I did--it was a pleasant surprise to find myself hoping, grieving & crying on their behalf, especially the monster who so desperately & sincerely loves people & longs to be accepted for who he is on the inside💔

The middle of the novel could drag on at times, especially as Victor traveled and couldn't shake his fears, regrets & melancholy no matter who he was with or what he was doing for long. In the begin & by the end though, events picked up again in anticipation & drama leaving me at the edge of my seat!

There may be a little good & evil in everyone, & this novel explores in depth just how much enemies can be more similar than they'd like to believe. I'd recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind a little (or a lot) of gray area & want to try a classic where emotions are a strong motivation--both for the characters & us as readers!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and Xenophobia

Minor: Child death, Confinement, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

felofhe's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism

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

pizzaisjesus98's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Stalking, Abandonment, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child death, Chronic illness, Self harm, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Gaslighting, and Classism

Minor: Animal death, Incest, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

marenm's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Gaslighting

linnylionheart's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Mental illness, Terminal illness, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Colonisation

Minor - execution of an innocent person

ran_sophia's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

2.0

After reading the book, I didn't know exactly what to think about it. There is a good style of writing and storytelling. But that's all. The characters have no development and the story is only half captivating. I didn't feel interested in the story or the characters at all. That it was supposed to be a Gothic novel, so I expected it to be scary in some way. But that was not the case at all. The story dragged on, the narration was slow, and at times it seemed to be stuck.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Hate crime, Incest, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Child death, Gun violence, and Colonisation

recycled_personalities's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

It was a pretty good novel and I do recommend that you read it. The plot was a lot more complicated than I anticipated but it was still a good read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment