A review by leahreadsstuff
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

Masterful, is the best word I can think of to describe this book. Beautifully and lyrically written, with a keen sense of atmosphere and mood. Beyond that, there was so much depth, so many layers to engage with. Without pretension or affectation, Mary Shelley asked some highly intellectual and deeply ambiguous questions, and she did it with subtlety. I can’t even fathom the fact that she was all of 19 years old when she wrote this. 

It was thought provoking, disturbing, and achingly emotional. I was surprised by how close to tears I came, and by how affected I was by what I was reading. The horror here is found not in the action, but in what the action betrays. I was more horrified by the exposure of Frankenstein’s inner world than by anything else on the page. 

Frankenstein’s casual cruelty in the act of creation reminded me intensely of Oppenheimer. That consuming passion, almost lust, for what COULD be possible eclipsed totally the ethical question of SHOULD. Having seen Oppenheimer and been very moved by it, reading this book at this time seems fateful. 

This was a ruthless and skillful examination of man’s hubris as a species, the cost of unchecked ambition, and our inability to choose mercy over judgement.