A review by leonormsousa
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

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

4.5

TRIGGER WARNINGS 
 
child death, death, death of parent, murder, xenophobia, abandonment, grief, medical content, self-harm, suicide, and violence 
 

REPRESENTATION 
maybe queer MC (?)


REVIEW 
Like with most classics, I was pretty afraid of getting into Frankenstein. I knew how much this book means to Cláudia (from @hendrixsbookcorner) and that meant that I was putting extra pressure on myself to enjoy this book that is no less than one of the first science-fiction novels, written by a feminist bisexual women at the age of 18, who also happens to be the daughter of a renowned women’s rights activist (I mean, what a queen! How could I not already love her?!). So yeah… some expectation management had to be done and some courage had to be acquired but it was so freaking worth it! 
Frankenstein is one of those books that you don’t love while you’re reading it but that completely takes you once you’ve had the time to process it. It’s pretty slow paced (and a bit confusing) in the beginning (I was fearing for the worse!) but once it picks up, it gets you quite glued to the page as you uncover the story of both Frankenstein and his creation. 
It goes around the question of “who is the monster?”, playing with our empathy as we unravel the “creation”’s story. It’s a book on Man’s ambition and desire to “play god”, with no regard for the consequences of its actions nor courage to take responsibility for them. It’s also a book about loneliness and superficiality and obsession. 
There’s not really much more that I can say (or at least nothing good enough compared to the book). It’s daunting and haunting and really the absolute perfect choice if you’re looking for a recommendation for this time of the year. Not only does the monster theme perfectly fits the Halloween vibes, you also have a bit of a Dark Academia vibe that matches the fall season. 
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