Frankenstein
Ratings1,545
Average rating3.9
When I run over the frightful catalogue of my sins, I cannot believe that I am the same creature whose thoughts were once filled with sublime and transcendent visions of the beauty and the majesty of goodness. But it is even so; the fallen angel becomes a malignant devil. Yet even that enemy of God and man had friends and associates in his desolation; I am alone.
I'll be honest, I went in with rather low expectations. The story of Frankenstein has never been one that particularly interested me and I had a feeling this book would probably not carry the same weight today as it did when it was first released. Not because its themes aren't relevant anymore, but because its themes are something that has been explored a ton throughout art by now and isn't as novel anymore. I wasn't sure if this book actually dug deep enough to wow a reader in the 21st century.
I was curious to see if I'd be surprised though and I like the backstory of how Mary Shelley came to create this story after all.
I agree that Frankenstein opens up some great moments about existential themes, the relationship and obligations between a creator and its creation, the concept of innocence and blank slates, the fear of the strange, the burden of consciousness. The creature's suffering was definitely the most intriguing part of this book for me. Victor Frankenstein himself was pretty awful as a character.
In general, the way people throughout the story react to and treat the creature is very over the top and ridiculous in a way that I don't think aged well. Victor's own inner struggle is also often hard to empathize with, in my opinion.
And of course, there are things like the way the creature learns to travel all across Europe and learns to speak sophisticated language so quickly is a bit odd even in the context of this story.
I also can't really say if I find it strange and corny or really innovative that the story is told through all these different accounts from different characters. I mean, at some point we're reading letters in which someone describes the story of someone listening to someone else tell their story in which they listened to someone else tell their story. The layering in this is ridiculous sometimes.
The prose can be a bit repetitive and dull at parts too. Mary Shelley loves to get distracted by describing landscapes for a couple of pages at a time. But there are moments of great prose with really powerful and effective words as well. The final speech by the creature actually hit me a bit.
Overall, I enjoyed this though. It's not a terrible read and it had some engaging and interesting moments. I don't think I'm ever gonna be a big fan of the Frankenstein concept though and that's more because of my personal preferences and less because of the quality of this text.
3.0 ★
it was good, but i think i had high expectations, and the book just didn't meet them
After Frankenstein the book focuses on one boy's strange encounters in his old home. The stores end up circling back to answer bizarre questions from his first story and whew, I love how strange these stores get
increíble como dijo alexa ha trascendido el tiempo y se aprende mucho sobre lo q significa ser humano
Glad I read this classic. With all the concern over AI today, this story seems to be a forewarning. Astounding work by such a young author.
A timeless book. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley wrote it at 19, it's a masterpiece of a story. This is why we read classics.
It's hard to believe this was written so long ago, I can only imagine what it must have been like reading it when it came out!
Even though the Frankenstein story is very well known I was surprised how different it is from the dominant ‘Universal' version.
I think knowing so much about the story lessened the impact of it for me but it's still a great read that gives you a little window into a different time.
I tried reading Frankenstein several years ago but didn't get past the first few pages. Attempting it again, I was surprised at how absorbed I became. Not so much in the story itself, but the questions pondered, particularly involving the ‘being'.
After seeing endless spoofs in TV shows or movies, I went into this expecting some form of satire. That's not to say I was under the impression this was a comedy... I'm not sure how to put my exact expectations into words. Anyway, as it went on, I got the gothic feel, though I wouldn't personally consider this a horror story. Twisted, but not particularly scary. It felt very literary.
I found Victor easy to dislike and I sympathized more with his creation at first. Then the tables turned, and then by the end, I wasn't sure who I ought to root for. I love books that leave me feeling unsettled. I also think listening to this book on audio also made the difference. The narrator did a fantastic job portraying the being. It added so much to the atmosphere of the story. I'm already looking forward to a future reread.
Yes there are symbolic layers and brilliant remixes of mythic stories, examinations of friendship and nature and loneliness and (I only got this last one from the analysis included at the end of the book) fear of sex, but I gotta say, I did not expect this book to have one of the most modern protagonists in all of fiction.
It took me about 3/4 of the book to see the cleverly concealed narcissism of Victor Frankenstein and then it was all I could see.
His manipulation manifests as a constant state of trauma that makes him conveniently incapable of questioning his own beliefs. He spends the entire book crying genuine tears over the burden he's bearing for the people around him while simultaneously never actually doing anything anyone asks of him - you lose count of how many times he takes a few months off to emotionally recover from the latest terrible event that he is mostly to blame for.
And because he is charming and eloquent and wears his heart on his sleeve - plus constantly suffering depression over the trauma he has endured - he endears himself to everyone while being nothing but a burden on them, dragging them all down before finishing off with himself.
Can't believe I haven't seen more of this type of character.
Frankenstein's monster is an incel. Gonna read some Victor Frankenstein/Robert Walton Fix-It fics now.
While this isn't the most entertaining book I've read, you have to admire it and acknowledge the massive influence it has had on the genre and literature in general. All hail Queen Mary!
Sometimes when driving, you wind up in a roundabout, and your destination is right after the first exit. You could just simply go, or you could take five whole spins around the roundabout and then go to the destination you needed to go. Unnecessary, but you still wound up in the same place, despite the extra miles being meaningless.
This book does just that, a whole page's worth of boring, unnecessary, repetitive descriptions of trivial things that add nothing to the story, in reality, it only seems to drag it down. Despite having interesting themes, it fails to grasp interest where it matters. Yeah, I get it that little Frankie boy feels remorse and horror, that the monster is the most human character of all, and that he wanted companionship with a Ms.Monster. But I don't feel any sympathy for these characters when they monologue for almost 2 entire chapters and it doesn't feel... real. The dialogue looks so out of place, no real person talks like this.
Imagine you are dying in your bed, and you talk super eloquently while having immense pain. Does not happen, ever.
My favorite part was when he said “It's Frankensteining Time!”
Frankenstein's monster has one of the best villain origin stories ever. Queen Mary Shelley really invented the science fiction genre at age 19
2.5
This was weirdly story in a story in a story and the best part was the Wikipedia rabbit hole i fell into.
Mary Shelley is a fascinating person and this book touches on a lot of interesting themes but my god is Viktor Frankenstein the WORST .. whiny and pretentious and for a smart person so incredibly stupid that it hurts.
This book started out as a short story and I think it should've stayed one, or a novella at best. The good parts disappear between long tangents and unnecessary monologues but I'm still glad I read it, it really does have great moments.
started off sympathising with the monster but half way through i honestly wanted him dead too lol
he scared the shit out of me
This has probably been my favorite book that I read this summer. What a beautiful message and story. I really identified with the monster. I still think about this book even after I finished it.
This book is like a bad dream.
A passionate scientist in the early 1800s embarks on a mission to create life from non-life, resulting in disastrous consequences.
All I remember from the abridged version, I read as a kid was a man made a monster and may or may not have made a female companion for him. I'd forgotten that Frankenstein was the scientist, not the monster. I haven't watched any of the movies. So I read this with untainted perspective.
For people expecting a sci-fi - there are no technical details. A ‘spark of life' and ‘chemical instruments' are all he needed to make a live being. That was a disappointment. It was clever though. Technicalities would have been pretty soon outdated. It was either none or nonsense. The book is long enough, and I'm glad she chose none.
Passion
The book begins with passion, goes through a lot of emotions and ends in tragedy.
“nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose - a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye” -from Robert's letter.
The creature is a direct consequence of the fiery passion of Frankenstein.
“A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. No father would claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs”
And then when the big guy starts moving, like a switch was flipped, Frankenstein's feelings change. Working on this project for 2 years, and only when it starts moving the dream bubble pops; his heart fills with “breathless horror and disgust”. It was not a deed or a conversation or the countenance that made him loathe it. It was the mere sight of him ‘alive.' When it was merely a science project, a goal to achieve, the ugliness did not matter. Did he foresee the ‘completely understandable havoc', the big guy was gonna wreck? Or was it simply because he was ugly? If the latter is the reason, which is more likely, then that was a pathetic turn of events. He did not even have a chance. With the power to meddle in nature's affairs comes responsibility to deal with the consequences, which I think is the point of the story.
“A human being in perfection ought always to preserve calm and peaceful mind and never to allow passion or a transitory device to disturb his tranquility. I do not think that pursuit of knowledge is an exception to this truth”
It is a socially acceptable psychosis when a scientist puts so much into work or a students prepares really hard for a test and everything around them ceases to matter. Full-on passion levitating you off ground reality is cool until you hit the ground with a thud.
Nature
Throughout the novel, the author spares no words in describing the grandeur of nature surrounding, encompassing our lead character, who is comparatively miniscule - the magnificence of the mountains, the raging avalanches, the torrential downpour, thunder, the winding river and the unrelenting wind, through which this lone man, a dot in the vastness, tries to wade through.
The apparent insurmountability is subtly intended.
Who's right.
Definitely the big guy. What was he to do? He was reasonable. Frankenstein could have atleast made him an infertile partner, they might have happily lived ever after. (If it was in the 21st century there is a slight chance of her going woke and spouting ‘I'm not made for a man' nonsense. Anyway...
How a fully grown ugly looking infant would survive in the wilderness of the society would be an interesting thought experiment. Other than the crash course on everything and anything else, he learns as a peeping tom on a whole family, our big guy has had no parenting. He believes he owes his compassionate personality to his ‘protectors', and if they were soldiers instead of a ‘loving family', he would have had a completely different outlook on life. Frankenstein refuses to believe the effect the nurture on the big guy; he calls him a daemon, a wretch and doesn't believe that his nature will change(?)
Is this just real lifeis this just fantasy
Is any of it real?
If not written as a recording of Robert's experience, this surely could be considered under the heading of ‘unreliable narrator'. Just for the sake of it, if we consider the story without Robert in it, everything following Frankenstein getting sick from too much work could be just dreams and hallucinations.
This book is like a bad dream. Why? Because the story goes everywhere.
There's a guy climbing mountains during rainstorms and avalanches, jailbreaking, enjoying the vista while sailing, a murder investigation, romance, capital punishment and making 8foot tall live being. Like dreams where you are chasing down the bus you just missed one moment, and the next moment you are in class, pantless; it appears incoherent from the outside but coherent from the outside.
And for some reason, the Kindle edition of this book I got was typed(?) twice; the book was over when I thought it was only half way through. I'll admit there was a sigh of relief, because things couldn't get worse, and there was nowhere the novel could go from there. Still unexpected abrupt endings are disappointing.
It's a tragic novel. There are plenty of literary effusions, so much of emotions that might seem a little over the top. The images are sharp, emotions intense, it was a novel idea at the time and there's nothing quite like this since or before this. As a ‘sci-fi' venture during the romantic era, Frankenstein surely deserves the unique status it has in literature.