Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus

Written by Mary Shelley

Narrated by Matt Armstrong

Victor Frankenstein was a brilliant and driven scientist with a passion for discovering the way the world worked. In a fit of madness, Frankenstein perfects a method for reanimating dead tissue, and uses it to form a creature. Terrified by his own creation, he is forced to face the consequences of creating a being with superhuman powers and a desperate need to be loved. Used countless times in movies, television, radio, cartoons, and more, Frankenstein is a wonderful morality tale that has established itself as one of the most well-known novels in the English language.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Matt Armstrong
• Release date: Mar 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781936455010

Mary Shelley

Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin was born in 1797, the daughter of two of the leading radical writers of the age. Her mother died just days after her birth and she was educated at home by her father and encouraged in literary pursuits. She eloped with and subsequently married the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, but their life together was full of hardship. The couple were ruined by disapproving parents and Mary lost three of her four children. Although its subject matter was extremely dark, her first novel Frankenstein (1818) was an instant sensation. Subsequent works such as Mathilda (1819), Valperga (1823) and The Last Man (1826) were less successful but are now finally receiving the critical acclaim that they deserve.

Reviews for Frankenstein

[atoponce-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is fantastic. Shelley brings the emotions of betrayal, grief, joy, love, hatred, loneliness, companionship, and so much more to center stage. It's less of a horror, and more of a tragedy. She draws parallels of God and Adam, man and creation, Satan and abandonment. For a book that is over 200 years old, it is very much relevant today.

[delphimo_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have seen the horror movies concerning Frankenstein, but Mary Shelley's book, Frankenstein, surpasses every Frankenstein movie. The language and grammar are superb, and the discussion of Frankenstein creating the creature generate wonder at Shelley's scope of science, literature, and multitudes of topics. Mary Shelley started the story at 18 and completed this descriptive story two years later. Shelley brings into the narrative many allusions to other writers both past and present. I listened to an audiobook which presented an excellent reading of this journey. The story follows the narrative of Captain Robert Walton and then of Victor Frankenstein, both men present interesting views on life and death. After hearing this excellent book, I loathe reading a merely average book

[wang01142 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a chilling tale that may sometimes elicit sympathy for the "monster" in the story. Many people have the misconception that Frankenstein is the monster but it is actually the last name of Dr. Victor Frankenstein, the creator of the monster. Frankenstein's mistake to "play God" costs him his loved ones. At first, readers see Frankenstein's point of view and the shock and regret he feels from creating this monster. However, readers also later discover the monster's point of view: he is just a creature who is alone and looking for the love and company that most humans desire. The monster even becomes attached to a family he lives next to and learns how to speak from them. He realized that he needed a mate and when Frankenstein destroys the almost complete female version of the monster, he realizes that he will never find the love he deserves. This drives him to revenge and ultimately, a vicious cycle of cruel acts by both the him and Frankenstein. This novel examines not only the revenge and cruelty of the monster, but also the harshness of humanity.

[mlyons1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you haven't taken the time to read this book, do yourself a favor: take time to read this book.

[es135_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is one of the original monster stories. What works so well for this novel is the human side to the monster. Shelley makes the readers sympathize with the monster which is no small feat. This is one novel everyone should read in their lifetime.

[aoibhealfae · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Frankenstein is a horror and morality novel about an ambitious scientist who wanted to create life by himself and succeeded in creating a being that tormented his life for years to come. The novel is very philosophical and hardly descriptive, it's a point of view novel in truest sense. It derived suspense from the reader's perceptions and nurtured horror from the thoughts of unknown.

The novel is narrated by letters and two main character, the scientist Frankenstein and the unnamed creature simply called "The Monster". I have done an essay namely "Frankenstein : The Failure and Future of a Modern Scientist" which I focused his occupation, the author's perception take on him and the future of science itself. I couldn't deny that Frankenstein, despite being caricatured heavily by Hollywood (that the monster is always mistakenly named as Frankenstein), is by itself a tale of overshadowing and a foreboding prophetic imagining to the future of science. It's very impressive considering it was written in 1817 by a woman. Had the Victorian scientific society taken her book as something more than just gothic fiction, we could have averted most of the events in our modern society.

Frankenstein was one of the novel I had chosen in 2005 for the Literature in English SPM elective that I got an A2 in it while I was bored in Terengganu. It was either this book or the Lord of the Flies book which I read and dislike. Actually, I barely had a good opinion on this book too since I was never a fan of Frankenstein since I'm more of a fan of "The Monster".

I do consider The Monster as a protagonist instead of antagonist. I never actually thought Frankenstein as a sympathetic character especially with many of the book's study guides expressively said so. From the start of The Monster's narration, one could see a creature like him as a newborn in a world where everyone including his 'father' and his adopted family abandoned him just because of his appearance of a corpse. He became self-aware faster and soon developed resentment to the world that wanted him dead for being different. He's a clean slate that was corrupted by circumstances.

Although, it's not that hard to feel empathy for the Monster but its much harder to be empathy with Frankenstein himself. Maybe because I am a scientist or more appropriately a biological scientist that I abhor his reaction to his creation. I never knew a scientist who dislike his or her work. If you've spent years crafting and studying it, you wouldn't feel or anticipate superficial things that you yourself made. And I find an intense dislike for his character and the narration because he's possibly too much pride onto himself for a person who considered being well-knowledgable. A scientist may take pride with his studies but he shall never have pride that rivalled the gods. That what Frankenstein is actually doing!

On its essence, it's a simple novel to understand and still maintained its popularity among science fiction derivative including in paranormal genre. It's really is a curious 19th century novel with an ability to be able to be dissected, analysed and still be relevant to the modern times. Unlike the romantic period that glorified the chic-lit of its days, Mary Shelley is one of the pioneer female author who tried to breakthrough the skepticism and two hundred years later, still succeeded.

[paperdust · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This is the dullest most miserable classic I've ever read. I was bored out of my wits but determined to finish it. 90% of the book is devoted to the wonders of the snowy alpines. Then when it comes to the juicy parts, eg1: Victor changes his mind about creating a female companion for the Monster and destroys her - Shelley dedicates one paragraph on this important turn of events! Eg2: Victor was acquitted on charges of causing the death of Clerval - I was really looking forward to a long drawn out court scene and arguments leading to Victor's acquittal but no - Shelley wraps it up in one paragraph. All suspense, dashed.There are many tragic but likeable characters in classical literature but Victor Frankinstein comes across as an extremely sad and hapless figure, who spends the whole novel crying, indulging in self-pity, reflecting morosely on his 'evil' creation, and his thoughts volley recklessly from horror to empathy for the creature. The tale about the comings and goings of the de Lacey family was melodramatic at best. Victor's failure to warn his family about the Monster's murderous streak and that their lives were in danger, was selfish and negligent. And as for the Monster - I can hardly sympathize with anyone who has murdered a child and innocent women and men, regardless of how badly he was treated because of his ugly face. It's like saying all criminals on Death Row today were born innocent, so let's be lenient on them too. You just have to take responsibilty for your own criminal actions.I tried to find a reason to like this book, sparknotes quote: "The pursuit of knowledge is at the heart of Frankenstein, as Victor attempts to surge beyond accepted human limits and access the secret of life." If this is really the heart of Frankenstein then I'm sorry but it totally bypassed me. Perhaps it's because Shelley spent only 2 pages (somewhere in Chapters 4 and 5) on describing the night the Monster attained the spark of life.I was more interested in Shelley's biography, written in the Introduction by herself and Karen Karbiener. Ideas for her story germinates from discussions with other literary and philosophical intellectuals, of which Shelley was often in the company of, (her parents were reknowned radical literary figures during the Romanticism era). Their discussions included Columbus, Darwin and Galvani, the latter developed "the idea that an 'electric fluid' ran through the veins and animated animals". Powerful images of human engineering gone disastrously wrong haunted Shelley one night and she decided to use what she had envisioned as the basis for her story. Shelley had a lot of burden to shoulder in her young life: there were numerous deaths in her family: her mother (died giving birth to her), her stepsister, husband, close friends, several of her own children did not survive infancy. "Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void, but out of chaos". Shelley must've suffered tremendous grief - did she ever recover from bereavement? Did she "feel like a fiend....desperately craves the attention and affection of the remaining parent; and ultimately ..responsible for the death of the one who gave it life." Was Shelley "conscious of how much of herself and her experience she was using to create Frankenstein?"5* for the movie. Sorry, 1 for the novel. 10+ for women's lib.

[benmartin79 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A highly overrated gothic horror story which has all too often been interpreted as a deep philosophical work. Despite that belief, and the catchy subtitle, it isn't. The characters are not developed and their motivations, especially Victor Frankenstein's, rarely make sense - other than to advance the plot. This book is all about plot, even though the ingredients necessary to move the plot are so often lacking. Which doesn't make for bad gothic horror. It's actually somewhat entertaining if you don't try to think too hard about it, and probably better than a lot of the contemporary horror fiction, though E. A. Poe it is not. But it isn't good philosophy. Read it for the thrills, but don't expect too much else.

[mrslee_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I finally finished this by skimming through the parts that dragged. The premise of the crisis is too hard to swallow. To be confronted with a fully articulate, sorrowful, insightful creature that is wholly rejected on the basis of his looks alone, is unbelievable. As is Frankenstein's ineptness. He is an ineffective, yellow-bellied sap. How did he have the hutzpah to create the creature in the first place? One doesn't have any remorse for him and can't tell why those around him have much sympathy towards him either. Phaw! The only thing that makes this story interesting, is the pondering of morality and science. A very relevent topic in this day of cloning and stem cell research.

[misslizzy_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another book that I read my senior year. As I recall, I pretty much bombed the essay I had to write, but it didn't matter. I am in love with this book...and the myth that Shelley had a dream that operated as the catalyst for it just makes it that much better. And all the ethics and morals that Dr. Frankenstein and the author must struggle with help increase the sharp tension that characterizes the novel: Will he follow the creature's demands, or will he attempt to take control of the creation that he most likely should not have attempted to bring to life? A disquieting read, one that futurists should take heed of.

[madam_razz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book isn't scary so much as it is sad, so definitely keep a box of tissues nearby when you read this.

While I feel badly for all the characters involved, and while I don't condone the actions of the "Monster," I do definitely feel the need to mention that Victor Frankenstein is an extraordinarily oblivious and self-centered person. At least that was my perception of him.

The book itself wasn't difficult to read and was extremely engaging, despite the fact that it was first published in the 1800's and you could really tell by the writing style. At first it was a little difficult, but not much, and I got used to it pretty quickly and soon found it to be almost lyrical. Not quite, but almost. There were times when it seemed to edge a bit on purple prose, but it wasn't in an irritating way.

I found this book to be extremely engaging and I had a hard time putting it down from the start. It makes you think and engages your emotions as well as your reasoning. I would definitely recommend this book, even to people who don't usually like sci-fi or older books.

[mducman-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Written with just as much melodrama as you'll see in every film adaptation, Shelly's novel is nonetheless still quite powerful. Frankenstein still allows parallels to be drawn with our times despite being originally published nearly 200 years ago. For all its symbolism it remains a very human story.

[wolfsong_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Realizing there are some books I am just never going to get around to, I've decided to at least have the experience of having them read to me via audiobook. I don't consider this a substitution for the reading process, but it ranks as number two when it comes to experiencing a work of literature. I chose FRANKENSTEIN first.I'm glad to finally have experienced this story in its original form. Great story, but it left me sad and angry. I have grown to really despise Victor Frankenstein, a creator who abandoned his creation at the onset, merely because he was ugly. No one in the book affords the Creature any lasting sympathy, this is left only for the readers, if they are so inclined. Even the explorer from the book's framing sequence seems to side with Victor and he supposedly hear the tale exactly as I did. As the book drew to a close I was astounded that he felt admiration for Victor after the man's own tale exposed him as self-pitying, sniveling and often stupid coward. I suppose Mary Shelley must have been commenting on the society she lived in. Strangely, it makes me appreciate the character of Frederick Frankenstein in the comedy YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN more, as he is practically the antithesis of Victor, showing care and compassion for his creation despite his appearance.

[moniquesnyman-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A classic isn't a called a classic because it's a run-of-the-mill type of book. It's a groundbreaking novel/movie/song that inspires people and stays with you forever, and it's likely that it won't be topped in one, two or sometimes three generations. A classic is a classic because it's unique, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is definitely a classic. The prose is beautiful, the story is gripping and the book itself is absolutely breathtaking. As far as horror is concerned, this is one of those must-have classics that you can revisit every couple of years.

But we all know the story about Frankenstein and the monster he creates out of body parts. We all know who Igor is and what happens in the end, I mean, if you haven't read the book then you've probably watched one of the movies, right? So, instead of going on and on about the plot we all know about, I'm going to talk about the beautiful book. Seriously, this is one super pretty book. It's in Penguin Books' horror series, recently brought out for horror fans that includes five other fantastic titles (American Supernatural Tales was one of them). This is one pretty edition for one creepy tale ... in other words, you'll freaking love it if you have a thing for horror books. Also, I'm pretty sure it'll be a collectors edition in the not-so-distant future.

If that doesn't appeal to you, and you need a little something extra, rest assured that I can sweeten the pot for those folks on the edge. Guillermo Del Toro is the series' editor and there's a nice little introduction by him. Yes, he's not all movies all the time, sometimes this horror director makes time for books too!

So, yes it's pretty, yes it's a great edition and yes, the editing is great. As far as I'm concerned you can donate your other editions of Frankenstein to the less fortunate, because this one just looks so much better on a bookshelf.

[jlsmither · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Although I normally love classics, I found this one hard to get into. Victor spends a lot of time whining about how no human has been been half as miserable as he is/was, but not a lot of time actually doing anything about it. This got especially irritating to me when it became clear that more horrible things were just around the corner, and he let them happen because he was too self-involved to stop or foresee them. However, near the end he does finally get that needed motivation, and there are some legitimately creepy scenes, although this section doesn't last very long compared to the whining parts. But I'm glad I read it and know the story now--which is completely different than I expected!

[amydross · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There are great pleasures to be found in this novel, but overall I am not surprised that it lends itself so well to adaptation in various forms... the concept is outstanding, but the execution is, well, uneven. And overlong. Still, worth the read.

[schatzi_5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm not sure how I went this long without reading Frankenstein (or Dracula, which is still on my TBR list). Of course I'd heard about the story, and thought that I knew the basics of it (apparently I knew more about the movies than the book), and since it's October and Halloween is fast approaching, I thought that I'd find a creepy read.Instead, I found myself getting weepy over Frankenstein's creation. Frankenstein is a total dick, and I find it impossible to really feel anything for him except a vague disgust. Frankenstein spends years crafting his creation, and as SOON as his creation is animated, he is repulsed by him. Having brought this creation to life, with him knowing nothing about life or humans or anything, completely dependent on his creator for care, Frankenstein abandons him - FOR TWO YEARS. TWO FREAKING YEARS. Meanwhile, this poor creation is thrust into a world he does not and cannot possibly understand. He doesn't even understand hunger or thirst, much less how to speak or express his needs. All the creation longs for is acceptance; instead, he finds only horror. Every time he tries to help people in an attempt to win their favor, he's shot or beaten or hated. Is it any wonder that he becomes full of rage and turns that against his creator, whom he blames for bringing him to "life" and then abandoning him in a cruel world? I do feel sorry for the characters that are hurt because of their association with Frankenstein, but Frankenstein himself? Meh. In spite of never being formally educated, the creation is quite smart (having taught himself language and reason by observing, studying his neighbors circumspectly, and reading a few books he found abandoned) and totally calls out Frankenstein for his dickish behavior, and I enjoyed this part the most. And I hated how remorseful the creation was when Frankenstein dies, because I really wanted him to just say "fuck this hoe" and leave. Altogether, this wasn't what I expected it to be - and I'm glad for that. Three stars because I still feel we're suppose to sympathize a bit with Frankenstein, and I just can't. CANNOT.

[dulac3_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5 stars

Ok, so it’s one of the big two of the great classic monster stories: Dracula and Frankenstein…sort of a literary Beatles and the Rolling Stones scenario. Which do you think is better? Your choice may say a lot about you. Considered a classic both in the realms of science fiction and horror and even granted the distinction to be part of the literary cannon, the pedigree of Mary Shelley’s _Frankenstein_ is pretty much impeccable. This was actually my second attempt at reading the book, however, the first being stymied some years ago by the morose, and seemingly endless, philosophizing of the monster. Somehow this didn’t bother me this time around, and I was able to enjoy Shelley’s nightmare tale and appreciate its classic status. To me the book reads almost like a primer in the Romantic ethos, not surprising considering its author who was a member of one of the greatest literary circles of the Romantic movement. From the emblematic poetry quoted throughout and the many, many (many) paens to the revelatory aspects of wild and majestic Nature to the existential philosophizing central to all of the characters and the combination of hopefulness with despair, this book has the Romantic movement tattooed on its soul.

Regardless of the fact that many see this as the birthing point of science fiction due to young Frankenstein’s pseudo-scientific attempts to create life, I think that these sfnal elements hold a distant second place to the more poetic and philosophical ones in the story. To me it isn’t the cautionary tale of the dangers of scientific progress that is paramount, but rather that of the family. I think _Frankenstein_ is ultimately more concerned with parenthood and its responsibilities, and an examination of what happens when love and its attendant obligations are absent, than it is with the dangers of the advancement of scientific knowledge. Victor is thus not so much at fault because he attempted to emulate God in the creation of life, but because he did not emulate Him in his care for his creation. (Though I think Shelley is herself ambiguous about whether God is any better…there seems to be an implicit judgement in some places that we in some sense share in the Creature’s abandonment.) Victor does not attempt to teach his creature or even do so much as stay in its vicinity after it has been awakened from death, instead abandoning it to the vicissitudes of the world merely because of its horrific appearance. Victor’s fault is compounded by the fact that his own family life was one of bliss with the full support and love of his parents, a fact that Shelley makes sure to underline as Victor tells the tale of his life. Even after his initial rejection by his creator and only link to humanity, the Creature attempts to live as best it can, looking for companionship and love until, driven by constant rejection due only to its frightful features, it chooses a path of vengeance and hate.

Which of the protagonists is the romantic hero of this tale? Is it Victor, who is certainly mad, bad and dangerous to know (though in a somewhat different vein from Byron)? Or is it the Creature who seems destined to most evoke the reader’s pity and displays all of the pathos of the unjustly suffering tragic figure, for all of Victor’s whining about his own predicament? Victor is indeed somewhat laughable in his sentiments (though I imagine this was not Shelley’s intent). There are only so many times that we can hear his inner monologues about how he is suffering more than any of those around him due to the inner torments of conscience, while at the same time he sits safely watching a figure like the poor servant girl Justine who stands alone in the dock awaiting death for a crime she did not commit, before we roll our eyes in frustration. Sure Victor, poor you. The torments of the soul are surely a fate worse than an ignominious death. Victor’s extreme passivity is also somewhat annoying. I’m still not sure why he prefers to sit and moan over the trials that assail him instead of taking matters into his own hands. If he truly believed the creature was such a blight on creation, and one whose soul was irredeemable, then why didn’t he just wait for one of the Creature’s inevitable visits with a gun instead of nothing more than impotent rage and mad ravings? The novel would have been over much sooner and in much less dramatic a fashion, but it strained my credulity a bit that such a ‘genius’ didn’t have this simple foresight. One other moment in the story that stetched my disbelief was the manner in which the Creature learned to read and speak. Let’s just say that it involved an incredibly convenient series of coincidence and leave it at that.

These issues aside, I did quite enjoy the novel. It was certainly chock full of ideas and had some luscious prose. Both were often in a somewhat overheated vein, but, given its place square in the midst of the Romantic genre I could expect no less of it. In addition to the critiques of parental abandonment Shelley also inserts several criticisms of the burden we carry as a result of our self-awareness. Tellingly, both Frankenstein and the Creature bemoan their sensibilities in an almost identical fashion and pine for the state of brute beasts, wishing that they had never “…known nor felt beyond the sensations of hunger, thirst and heat”. Intellect and feeling are an affliction that the happy beasts of the field need not suffer. Of course it is these very feelings that allow mankind to be both poet and scientist; to appreciate the beauty and wonder of Nature which the book so ardently admires; and to bring about the goodness of humanity as much as its evil, so these critiques are not, I think, without a rejoinder even in the novel itself.

All in all this was a great read; an exemplum of the horror genre still in its infancy…but I still like _Dracula_ better.

[albertgoldfain · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Book club pick for halloween which I hadn't read since high school. Interesting to read from the contemporary perspective of AI and alife. Much more philosophical and psychological than the haunting/ spooky monster story of reputation.

[elizajane_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reason for Reading: I intend to read the upcoming non-fiction title "The Lady and Her Monsters" which is about the writing and background of the creation of the novel "Frankenstein" so I thought it would be best if I re-read the book to better appreciate the former.I am a huge Frankenstein fan! I first watched the Boris Karloff movie as a young child and have since seen it dozens of times. I've seen all the MGM sequels and have a deluxe DVD edition with commentaries, etc. I've also seen many, many different remakes, pastiches and parodies of the movie as well as reading Frankenstein themed retellings, comics and pastiches. I have read this, the original book, once before when I was quite young. It was one of the first books I took out of the library when I obtained an adult library card with special permission of my father at 12 or 13. (You had to be 14, or in highschool, to get one at the time). Needless to say at this point in time 30 years later, the movie version, specifically the James Whale (Boris Karloff) version is the one that I think of when I think of the Frankenstein story.When I went into reading this book I knew that it was a totally different story than what my mind recalls from the movies but I also remembered that it started in the Arctic with the monster relating his story to Frankenstein. So from this I was totally blown away with how incredibly different the actual story is to the conceived modern notion of the tale. The book is told in narrative form from three different points of view and is a story within a story within a story. Starting off with a mariner writing home letters to his sister as he starts an Arctic expedition and then becomes stuck in ice he recounts his tale and his meeting of Victor Frankenstein who stumbles upon them near death in his mad chase of his creature. Then Walton, the mariner, recounts the tale that Frankenstein relates to him of his life. The awful, hideous story of his wretched life. Halfway through this recounting Frankenstein stops to relate the story the creature pauses to tell him of his life story since he woke from the "spark of life" and wandered into the world on his own. Then it goes back to Frankenstein's narrative and finally ends again with Walton's letters. This way we get both Frankenstein and the creature's tales from their own mouths, in their own words as they were related to the person they spoke to. Neither Frankenstein or the creature are sympathetic which I found surprising, as in the movie I am deeply sympathetic to Karloff's monster. But in the novel, he is a vile, wicked, murdering beast who at first thinks he has human compassion but quickly is turned from having any and easily finds violence and revenge better to his suiting when he is not treated fairly by others. Frankenstein himself is simply mad, the quintessential mad scientist. Obsessed with his creation he thinks of nothing else, working in solitude day and night until he completes his reanimation of life. Upon first glimpse of this "life" he is so horrified that he runs from it and from this point on he becomes obsessed with finding it and destroying it, however the monster has developed his own lust for destroying Frankenstein and sets out to destroy him also, not bodily but in mind and soul by killing all who mean anything to him.A frightening tale that shows the futility and madness at playing God with science, even though the book mentions very little about religion. This edition I read from "The Whole Story" edition is a wonderful annotated edition which really brings the classics to life. The annotations don't particularly help explain the story any better, though there are some pictures and definitions of some items and devices one may not be familiar with. The main purpose of these annotations is to set one geographically and historically within the place and era that the book was written. Profusely illustrated with etchings and paintings of place names mentioned in the story one becomes immersed in the scenery and in this book particularly the Gothic feel comes to life. Historically we see the prisons of the time period, meet the Romantic poets and artists who shaped the life of the author and the mood which carried over into this novel. I really enjoy and recommend this edition, have several others in the series and would pick up any others I found, but unfortunately they are out of print at this time.

[m.belljackson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This illustrated version enhances the power of Mary Shelley's story as the fragmented features and intermittent color call up both the tragic horror and the pervasive deep sadness.With foreshadowing of lightning and storms, it was surprising that Victor Frankenstein's creationsimply came alive by opening its milky eyes. In this instance, the combination of his awakeningin the movie heightens the strength of the original story. Grateful for both!

[phil5james · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In the last year I watched the two Bela Lugosi films of Frankenstein and was curious to read the book. They are remarkably different,yet complement each other. If you can cope with a lot of gothic gushing and emoting it's a worthy read.

[syunya · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Through the book, I learned real sadness and loneliness. A monster, he is usually called Frankenstein. But the name is creater of Frankenstein. First he is kind. But he changes evil by degrees because people around him hate his face. I thought human is stupid.

[seraphinac.b4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In "Frankenstein", Victor Frankenstein, a student who attended a science university, discovers how to animate dead flesh. After many months of Victor's tedious work, his monster opens its hideous, yellow eyes. It sickens Victor, who then flees to his home town, Geneva. The creature, noticing he had been abandoned by his creator, seeks revenge by destroying everything that Frankenstein loves. The creature killed Victor's brother, William. A friend,Justine, is convicted for the murder and is executed. The creature being abhorred by everyone, needs a partner to love. He finds Victor and tells him to create another one. He agrees. After starting the gruesome work, he can no longer take it. The monster coming to this knowledge, confronts and tells him and that he will be with him on his wedding night. On the night of his marriage, in a villa by the lake, Victor hears a shill then a dreadful scream, rushing to Elizabeth, he finds her dead and a disfigured human form running on the shore. Victor followed this menace into the Arctic where it was spring and the ice was fragile. Both having a sled and dogs, tread onto the frozen ocean. The heavy monster fell through the ice which was cracked due to an earthquake, but he survived. Victor died on a boat going to England. The demon killed himself when Frankenstein died. This book was interesting and "terroriffic". I would call it historical fiction. I liked this book because I can connect to the places I've been to that were mentioned in this book. I have always wanted to read this book because people said the movie wasn't the same. I liked the way the author gave human emotions to the creature. On the other hand, it was a little bit too long and drawn out. I would recommend this to someone that likes to read suspenseful books.

[cindywho-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is another one I'd just never gotten around to reading. The story is far from what popular culture has made of it (I confess I was most familiar with the Young Frankenstein version) The monster is much more vocal and interesting. Victor is kind of a weenie and it's all a bit overwrought. I listened to the audiobook from the classic tales podcast and the narrator was pretty good, obviously enjoying all the "begone!s" and "wretchs"

[reading_fox · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Seminal fantasy work, one of the early defining books of fantasy genre. Shame it isn't more readable though I suspect that's just my more modern tastes.

[coach_of_alva · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I first read this tale when I was too young to get it. I hadn't read other novels from that time period and I only knew the story from the Universal and Hammer films. I am a big boy now, and on my second reading , I found it is an excellent novel of ideas, with a good horror plot to maintain interest. I am also more accepting of what novels of the time period were like.So, have I become an expert in early nineteenth century literature? No, but I've read early Dickens, Charles Brocken Brown, and the opening pages of Ann Radcliffe's The mysteries of Udolpho, and from this little learning, I've learned that the audience of the time loved melodramatic plots, long flowery expositive speeches and detailed descriptions of landscapes they could neither see or imagine. They also liked their characters larger than life and full of emotion. They must have reveled in Frankenstein's secret shame and guilt and in the monster's suffering and rage.For myself, I love graphic novels and B-horror movies and am no stickler for realism. I wouldn't have finished or liked the book if I hadn't emphasized with the inner turmoil of man and monster: the man unable to love something hideous or to warn his loved ones of the danger; the monster who couldn't get anyone to love or accept or even thank him, reduced to hiding in cellars and roaming in wildernesses and living in caves. I've read a lot of Shakespeare this year and apparently reading so many great theatrical speeches has made me tolerant of the speeches of lesser writers. As for the picaresque details, I like them when they are well done and found Shelley's descriptions of the Swiss lakes and mountains and other backgrounds added much to the atmosphere. I only became irritated with her travelogues when she had Victor and his friend travel through England and she began extolling the beauties of her country instead hastening Frankenstein on to the creation of the bride. As for the horror, the monster kills the scientist's loved ones. What kind of brat was I to want more?As for Ms. Shelley's ideas, I could enjoy the characters and storylines they generated without agreeing completely with them. I was raised as a fundamentalist Lutheran, and made aware of what I owed my creator and savior. Even after years of near apostasy, I was found Frankenstein's admission that a creator owed something to his creation to be daring and thrilling and borderline blasphemous. I didn't buy the monster's insistence that he was born good, that he didn't want to commit his terrible crimes, that he didn't enjoy committing them (he claimed to have cried while strangling Victor's friend Henry), and that he committed them only because Victor - and society - had been mean to him.

[bookwyrmm_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

OK, so I seem to have really known nothing about the original Frankenstein story. Turns out, there is no Igor and the monster ends up with a wonderful command of language. There is also a tremendous lack of action, so I am very glad I listened to this instead of reading it or I never would have finished. I will say, though, I now understand the beginning of the movie I, Frankenstein much better.

[oldflame_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Too much romanticism. And I think the pressure to look at the creature sympathetically pissed me off more than it should.

[amandrake_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Highly underrated by much of the population. Mary Shelly (at nineteen) wrote this complex novel full of historical and contemporary themes, including man's responsibility for his creations (weapons, Industrial Revolution), contemporary ideas of pregnancy (women giving birth to "monsters" because of bad thoughts), hubris (man taking the place of God by creating life), parental abandonment - all kinds of interesting questions.Good to read in a book group, as different people see very different things in it.