mariceltanya's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-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
4.0
theoliveprincess's review against another edition
Well. This was way less exciting than I expected. Even the exciting parts just kind of happened before there was time to react. But, considering the source and era I'm going to leave the boring parts alone.
Where did we get the modern day myth and description of Frankenstein? Through the movies? How did they get everything so grossly wrong? Penny Dreadful did a better job of depicting Frankenstein's creature (and their feelings toward each other) than the movies did. The PD version, so much more like the fiend in Frankenstein's tale, is intelligent, wrathful, strong, curious, and deeply, deeply, hurt. I believe what struck me more than anything else in this tale was his early childish faith and hope in everything, and his heartbreaking pain to have his every good act thrown back into his face simply because of his appearance. I can't really blame him for his actions once he realized what had happened to him.
I have always despised the person of Dr. Frankenstein as a selfish, spoiled person with no real sense of compassion or care, except as it pertained to his own existence. You would think that someone who was smart enough to CREATE LIFE would have had a clue, or a better sense of responsibility than to just weakly run away from something he created. Who can blame the monster for his course of action? This of course requires a longer discussion, but I'm out of time so that was my two cents' worth.
Where did we get the modern day myth and description of Frankenstein? Through the movies? How did they get everything so grossly wrong? Penny Dreadful did a better job of depicting Frankenstein's creature (and their feelings toward each other) than the movies did. The PD version, so much more like the fiend in Frankenstein's tale, is intelligent, wrathful, strong, curious, and deeply, deeply, hurt. I believe what struck me more than anything else in this tale was his early childish faith and hope in everything, and his heartbreaking pain to have his every good act thrown back into his face simply because of his appearance. I can't really blame him for his actions once he realized what had happened to him.
I have always despised the person of Dr. Frankenstein as a selfish, spoiled person with no real sense of compassion or care, except as it pertained to his own existence. You would think that someone who was smart enough to CREATE LIFE would have had a clue, or a better sense of responsibility than to just weakly run away from something he created. Who can blame the monster for his course of action? This of course requires a longer discussion, but I'm out of time so that was my two cents' worth.
captainjavi's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
shannay_05's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
sagelikesscats's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.25
A classic sci-if novel with amazing writing, complex characters, and an interesting story structure.
kevionna's review against another edition
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? Yes
4.0
hannah_reads_books's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
jessicalouise31's review against another edition
4.0
Such a tragic tale which is beautifully written posing the question of was he born a monster or did his surroundings make him one. Who was the real monster in this tale.
wombat_88's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
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
2.0
nnannanna's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-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
3.0
I feel like I want to at the same time rate this book higher and lower. For when it was written and Mary Shelley's age at the time, it is remarkably well written. Which does make the language incredibly difficult to digest, at least for me as a non-native reader. Frankenstein is highly unlovable and makes getting through the book harder, but I'm happy to have crawled through and now know what the book is about beyond the images and ideas pop culture often lifts from the book.