A review by james1star
Mary and the Birth of Frankenstein by Anne Eekhout

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

2.5

I found this book one of two halves. The first very good in terms of the writing which transports you, Eekhout is masterful with her words, there’s lots of descriptive passages and I did enjoy this. She paints quite a claustrophobic and gothic tale overall. The characters present are also complex enough and there is some nuances too. But then the actual story… meh. I didn’t really like it all that much and do wish I had DNFd it earlier on. The pacing was rather slow which does add to the tension but also made the reading experience quite a boring one that I personally wanted to hurry up. I had also expected more sapphicness like the description had promised but this doesn’t occur till the 60-ish% mark (maybe later) and if Eekhout wanted to explore Mary Godwin (Shelley)’s bisexuality in her book, it was somewhat lost in main plot of the the book. In some aspects I see that an explicit lesbian relationship wouldn’t really have been possible at the time and how queer people have constantly been made to repress themselves, not having the opportunities available but still I was a little unimpressed - Mary does express her areligious throughs and is clearly a strong character given the ‘place’ of woman so maybe more could’ve been done here?? 

The plot is in dual timelines: 1816 when Mary is holidaying with other poets/writes by lake Geneva, they’re sharing stories then Byron challenges them to write a scary story… leading to the birth of her infamous masterpiece that is Frankenstein. Whilst there she’s also dealing with loss of her first child and a marriage with Percy Shelly that’s already rather up-and-down considering his infidelity. The memory of a past summer comes to mind and this is the other timeline set in 1812 as she’s sent to the Baxters in Dundee at the age of 14. The Baxters have a tradition of sharing stories and with the family, Mary begins to explore more of what her mind can conjure up and a fellow guest plants the idea of bringing the dead back to life (seem familiar??). Whilst there she becomes come with the younger daughter Isabella who was distant at first having lost the matriarch but soon the young women become friends and both seem to start having more feelings as well. I’d say I preferred the 1812 storyline a lot more then the other but still not entirely, I just couldn’t jam that well with the characters and general plot which meant I kept a distance throughout my reading (well listening). 

Personally, I found this book rather mediocre when I factor in the writing, plot, characters and the rest. I can certainly see it appealing to others but I did think it was too slow and I didn’t enjoy the overall storyline either so the middle ground is where my rating lies. 
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