Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

8 reviews

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

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

Minor: Racism and Animal death

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: Suicidal thoughts, Dysphoria, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, and Death

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

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

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

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Gore, Confinement, Body shaming, 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: Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Body shaming, Child death, Abandonment, Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Murder, Stalking, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts

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

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

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

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

Minor: Gun violence, Colonisation, and Child death

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

thekinkykid's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Violence

margztgz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Body horror, Child death, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, and Murder