A review by lacanadienneinreads
Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley

adventurous challenging dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was a re-read for me. It's easy each time I encounter this book to recognize why it has become the inspiration from which countless stories and artworks have spawned. It's likely impossible to say anything new about Frankenstein. But on this reread, as an older and wiser person, I can't help but to recognize and resonate with the helpless, despairing, and angry monster. Who better to write to alienation, loneliness, the impossible standards of society and the horrors of being in a body who's shape betrays you, than a teenage girl? There was obviously something magical in the air during the stormy season that Shelley wrote this, and something magical within her to capture these existential feelings. But to ask questions that we continue to ask ourselves today, What was I made for? Am I not deserving of companionship? Why was I abandoned by my creator to the vastness of this world? How can I love and hate my parents? How far is too far in scienti ic pursuit?, is a pretty incredible feat. The interwoven narratives and perspectives were clearly demarcated in this audiobook through multiple narrators, which I felt contributed to the story and added a dynamic element to those moments that could feel like listings of European places. Gorgeous. Horrible. A classic. 
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