Frankenstein

Written by Mary Shelley

Narrated by Daniel Philpott, Jonathan Oliver and Chris Larkin

One of the greatest classic horror stories, Mary Shelley’s Gothic novel sees Dr Frankenstein manufacture life – The Monster – only to see it go beyond his control. The original novel is more sympathetic to the monster’s plight than is generally presented on film, making it an important book to be read.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Naxos Audiobooks
• Release date: Apr 1, 2009
• ISBN: 9789629548551

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

[zhyatt-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Man, I could have sworn that I already wrote a review for this.Short version: classic book, you really can't get a good impression from the Karloff film.It's deep - really deep; sex, science, our place in the world, existential crises, and so forth. However, I don't think you can go wrong if you just read it and expect to read a story about a man who makes a monster and tragedy ensues. That really is a completely fine reading.

[dr_cicle · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I had to read this for my Monsters and Fairy Tales class. The plot was very interesting but there were a few things that bothered me a bit. The time is very messed up and confused me a lot while reading this. If you have or will read this book then you know what I am talking about. Also, the writing style was difficult for me to get through at times. Overall, I really enjoyed this book.

[shofichoudhury · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Reading this whole book i never felt anytime boring.It is a great and must read book i think.

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

A classic with a long legacy, and absolutely worth reading. Themes of loneliness and exile stand out to me. The backstory - Mary Shelley's age at writing, her incredibly smart parentage, the Lord Byron connection - is almost as tantalizing as the story. I will never imagine Frankenstein's unnamed "fiend, abhorred devil!" as the green, bolted machine portrayed in film. The true monster was more hideous, and much more pitiable.

[aethercowboy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What started as a rainy day story got a set of neck bolts and an electric charge, introducing one of the most iconic movie monsters of the day. If you saw the ever popular Universal adaptation of Frankenstein, or have experienced any Halloween decor or media, then you are probably are familiar with Frankenstein. Unfortunately for you, when you think Frankenstein, you think flat-top, green skin, neck bolts, and more stitches than can be found in an audience for a medieval comedy troupe. This is not Frankenstein, but rather, his monster.So, please, let’s stop this misconception.To split hairs, this guy is better known as “Frankenstein’s Monster.”And to really, really, really split hairs, he’s nothing like the one in the book.Mary Shelley went out one day to build a better man. Or at least write about a guy (Victor Frankenstein) who did. Unfortunately, much like anybody else who tried to create their own life, this living creature liberated itself and devoted its life to destroying its creator.This creature, having a vastly intelligent brain, and a muscular body, teaches itself to live, to learn, to love, and ultimately, to hate. His hatred for his creator drives him to slaughter those nearest and dearest to poor Victor, who already has enough turmoil in his life.And so Victor, no match for the creature he made, finds himself always thwarted by this super-man, who is always hiding, lurking in the bushes beyond sight.Shelley’s tale may be a warning against tampering with nature, or an allegory for God, or any other such thing, but heed its warning: don’t create a super-smart zombie and then get it to hate you. And I suppose, by extension, be wary of those things that you create, and do not let them get too far out of your control.

[bibleblaster · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not the story you'd expect from the late-night "creature features. With the power of myth, Shelley tells the story of Dr. Frankenstein, the life he creates, and the lives he destroys. Makes me wonder about her other novels and what themes she tackled...Seeming only to gain in relevancy to the human condition with each passing year, this story will be with us for a long time.

[imshi_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I really didn't like this one. Maybe it's because of all the hype about it - surely after that anything would be a letdown. The reason I didn't like it was this: I felt that the themes of the novel were very interesting (knowledge, humanity, etc.) but I felt the execution was poor. Some key events in the novel depended on far too convenient plot devices (The monster needs to learn about humankind and morality! Oh, look, there's a random suitcase of philosophy texts lying in the woods! How convenient!) and because of that for me the plausibility of it suffered. And I KNOW it's meant to be a fantastic as opposed to realistic story, but I feel that with really, really good writing an author can make readers believe in things that are fantastic and implausible - and the writing in this book definitely didn't do that. Giving it two stars only because it's remained popular this long, so I suppose there must be something going for it.

[lunaverse · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This classic novel has a number of flaws that appeared in many novels back before we refined the art of exciting storytelling to a science. We take several chapters before we even meet Victor Frankenstein, and there is a lot of backstory told that isn't really needed. However, between the unnecessary exposition, there are many exciting and profound, and even emotional moments. Shelly went much further into character development than what I was expecting from what little I knew about the story - I knew the monster is misunderstood, but was not expecting the depth that is offered. The roots of modern sci-fi are found in books like this, and this should be considered a sci-fi classic. I also noticed hints of language and style that reminded me a lot of H.P. Lovecraft, particularly the descriptions of madness and angst, and themes of delving too far. Could it be that Lovecraft was heavily inspired by this novel? Possibly. A great book that should be part of anyone's repertoire if you wish to be functionally knowledgeable about literature and science-fiction.

[emresevinc · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It would be unfair to both Shelley and the author of the Afterword to write a short review of this masterpiece. Thus I will not attempt to accomplish this dificult task. Suffice it to say that the deep dilemmas posed by this novel are still relevant for us and no film adaptation can match the atmosphere of the original novel. (PS: Would it make a great exercise to re-read the book in the light of the strong Artificial Intelligence or Artificial General Intelligence theses?)

[toobusyreading · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Like many people, despite frequently encountering references to, books and movies about Frankenstein, I had never until now read the original novel. Written by Mary Shelley at the urging (a contest of sorts) of Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, it was first published anonymously in 1818 when the author was only 20.Oh my! How many exclamation points are needed to tell this story! To be fair, it is written in a style common for the period, and quite melodramatically. For me, the prose tends to be a little too purplish. I had not known that the story starts not with Victor Frankenstein but with letters between Captain Walton, who is exploring the Arctic, and his sister. The captain saw a large figure racing across the ice with a sled team, and later, another man with the one remaining dog on his team. The man, Victor Frankenstein, is rescued although we never learn what happens to the remaining dog. Frankenstein tells his story to Walton.Surprising to me, there is very little about the creation of the monster – poof – it's done. There was quite a bit about how Frankenstein felt about his horrible task, how it repulsed him yet he continued. I would have enjoyed the story more if I'd been able to like Frankenstein in any way. He created a monster only to abandon it when he saw what he created, he hid his complicity from everyone, even when an innocent girl was accused of one of the monster's crimes, and he whined...a lot. It seems that for a good part of the model, he was more concerned with his own sorrows, his own illnesses and state of mind, more than he cared about the monster's victims. Of course, this was also a cautionary tale about progress (as well as other moral issues), a weighty issue during the early industrial revolution.This classic is a quick read, and I'm glad I read it, but it's not ever going to be one of my favorites.

[arkrayder · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When I first read Frankenstein as a teenager I found it incredibly boring. But, thankfully I decided to re-read it after having found this edition and could not put it down. Great story, in a way timeless. I will seek out the "uncensored" 1818 version and compare. Fully worth the time it took to read.

[cassielm_2 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I want very much to like this book. I've had to read it several times for various classes but I've never actually made it through the whole thing. It puts me to sleep. I found all the discussions about it interesting, and I very much appreciate the importance of the tomb. I just can't seem to read it all the way through.

[milda8tx · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My daughter read this in high school and recommended it to me. It was an interesting don't-fool-with-mother-nature story. But it's so sad and lonely and cold. Maybe it was more enjoyable to read and discuss in class...?

[theokester · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I think I bought my copy of Frankenstein when I was a Sophomore in High School. Pretty sad that it took me until now to finally get around to reading it (I won't tell you how many years it's been *grin*). Based on my experiences with the multiple Frankenstein movies as well as appearances in cartoons like Scooby Doo and parody's like Young Frankenstein, I thought I had a pretty good feel for exactly what I could expect from the novel. I was rather surprised with the widespread differences I encountered. Looking back on my experience with Victorian literature in general and the Gothic literature of the era in particular, I should have expected what I found, but I had let myself be tainted by the mass media translation of Frankenstein.Now that I've sufficiently digressed, let me just say that even though the novel was different than I expected, I was far from disappointed by it. I expected a terrifying horror novel filled with invigorating suspense, perilous adventure and chaotic frenzy filled action. What I got was a slower paced exploration of the soul of man, the virtues and vices of science, passion, compassion and revenge. Initially I was very confused as the first many letters (the book had a LOT of 'correspondence' sections) had nothing to do with Frankenstein, his family or his creation. Instead, I found myself growing attached to a lonely adventure seeker sailing to the far ends of the world in search of something to ignite and maintain his passion. When our good Dr. Frankenstein does enter the story, we then get his very detailed narration of his life from childhood to present. The novel is laid out with a narrative structure intended to be highly conversational either through letters or through the orally delivered story of the narrator to the listener (who then transcribes it for us, the reader). However, the language used seemed overly detailed and pretentious for a simple conversation, even from a speaker as highly educated as Victor Frankenstein. It had all the flowery and ornate elements of Victorian prose, which feels natural as far as writing goes, but whenever I was reminded that nearly the entire narrative was to have been spoken, I was taken somewhat aback.The book portrayed very well the details of the exultation and triumph felt by Victor throughout his studies and his discovery of a method to create life. His educational cycle was interesting in terms of his relation with his father and his professors. When the realization of his action finally came about, Victor's agony, fear and despair were equally well realized. I kept waiting for the mob with torches and pitchforks to appear, led by Victor once he recovered from his initial shock. Instead, the arc of the story presented itself to me and I felt compassion for the poor hated creature even before the novel presented him again for our sympathies. I was certain that Frankenstein had falsely judged the fiend and that we would surely get a type of morality text casting a spotlight on society and our lack of compassion for those less fortunate for whatever reason.My next surprise came when Frankenstein came face-to-face with his creation and had a lengthy conversation. I never expected an articulate monster, but what I had was a self-educated creature who had a huge wealth of knowledge at his disposal. At that point, it was very clear that his only disadvantage was his ghastly appearance and we were obviously supposed to feel sympathy towards him. Even when his crimes were laid bare, it was a struggle to completely condemn him.In addition to the commentary on human compassion, I enjoyed the dynamic between creator and creation. Looking at Victor as a god-like person provided an intriguing perspective. As the creator, what should his responsibilities be to his creation? What should his involvement be? I didn't necessarily go down a religious path with my thoughts, but I was curious about the concept of the creator as a provider of compassion, mercy and forgiveness.Instead, Victor looks "to the good of humanity" and rejects his own creation. The result of which spirals into disaster and makes for a fun-filled ride filled with some degree of the action and suspense that I was expecting from the book (still no villagers with pitchforks, sorry). When the novel finally drew near to its conclusion, I was a little confused as to how it was going to wrap itself up. The ending was actually strangely satisfying. As it unfolded, we once again gain some compassion for the creature and in a sense look upon Victor as a type of monster. As with anything dealing with humanity, it's not that simple. For Victor was acting in the best interests of the greater good as he perceived them and his logic was sound. Thus, as the novel ends, we can't fully condemn either creator or creation. At the same time, we can't wholly condone the actions of either. Which is why I was surprised that the ending satisfied me…because it left things unsettled and confused. But after all, that's the way humanity is…a teetering house of cards, balanced precariously on a precipice, just waiting for something to turn emotions and values to chaos.Overall, I really enjoyed Frankenstein and my only regret is that it took me so long to finally get around to it.4 out of 5 stars****

[bearlyr · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What doesn't this true classic horror story have? We have the requisite mad scientist, grave robbers, stolen body parts, a creature made of mix and match human parts, scientific experiments, and of course it's a love story as well. What a great book! If you're one of the few who have not yet read this tale... what are you waiting for?

[netsim · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

He began writing Frankenstein when she was 18 years old. At the same time a Gothic thriller, a passionate romance and a cautionary tale about the dangers of science, Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein committed student. Obsessed with discovering the cause of generation and life and providing animation on the subject without life, Frankenstein assembles a human being of stolen body parts but; to bring it to life, he recoils in horror at the horror of the creature. Haunted by the isolation and loneliness, the innocent creature once becomes evil and unleashes a campaign of murderous vengeance against his creator, Frankenstein.

[firecrackerscribe · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book and can't believe how differently this story has been portrayed by American culture. Aside from the sheer disbelief that everyone who has not read the book has gotten the story so WRONG, I often found myself getting wrapped up in the eloquence of Shelley's words. The way she described some of the most mundane things was simply beautiful.

I loved the story within a story within a story. I felt it allowed us to not only see the characters as they saw themselves, but also as the respective narrator saw them. Though there were portions that I felt weren't necessary (Chapter 19 read like the most boring travel brochure ever) I appreciated most of it. Frankenstein's overall struggle and loss as a result of his "playing god" was heartbreaking.

[renbedell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The science fiction classic that is nothing like the movies and instead filled with angst and a desire for love, not only by the creature, but also by Dr. Frankenstein. The writing of this book is amazing. Mary Shelley has a way with words that make every sentence seem deep and meaningful. The story jumps back and forth between the doctor and the monster, with both of them lamenting about who they are and their acceptance in the world. It is depressing, dark, and suspenseful. The book is about finding meaning and Mary Shelley describes it in a great way.

[moriquen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

must say that this book can really still stand its ground as a classic. Todays horror stories focus too much on blood and gore, the classical ones are far more subtle. The horror lies in what mankind can put himself through. The prison he builds for himself.

[drardavis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Despite its 19th century style and vocabulary this story still horrifies, partly because the gruesome details are left to the imagination. Victor Frankenstein does not reveal how he reanimates the creature. Stephen King would have spent several bloody chapters arranging the guts and brains and eyeballs. The motion picture image of the creature is only supported by Shelley’s description of the watery yellow eyes and the straight black lips. The pearly white teeth, lustrous flowing black hair, limbs in proportion, and beautiful features give a more godlike aspect to the monster. The violence is barely described. A dead body with finger prints on its throat. An execution. Some screams and sticks and stones to drive the creature out of a cottage. Even the death of Victor’s fiancee is but a muffled scream in a distant bedroom and a body on the bed. The true horror is symbolic, mythical, ethical, and metaphysical. Mary Shelley describes the consequences of hubris in prose while her husband gives a similar image poetically in Ozymandias. “Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair.”

[shamille_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

OMG THIS IS A GREAT BOOK AND YOU HAVE TO READ IT RIGHT NOW. I mean it. go to your library. RIGHT NOW. Well. After you finish reading this >:3This is about Victor Frankenstein, who is so interested in science etc, that he creates a monster. and once he creates this monster, it ruins his life. The hideous being of his creation kills people, who don't accept him, and threatens Victor, leading him and following him everywhere.That's basically all this story is about. It's great though. it's suspenseful and v. deep: like the monster striving for acceptance and humanity and... like he's intelligent and he feels things but in the end he is still a horrible, ugly monster, inside and out. And Victor is battling within himself to: protect his family by being a coward and catering to the monster? or be brave and kill him, to protect everyone... it's... JUST READ IT. GO NOW.Also there's lots of nice vocab words.

[john257hopper · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is primarily a novel that sets out to create an atmosphere of fear, horror and despair and succeeds admirably in so doing. Mary Shelley must have had an appalling dream but she brought it to life in wonderful, evocative language and at such a young age (only 19 when she wrote the book). The monster is so different from the monster of the films. Here he is no lumbering, stupid brute, but an agile, resourceful and calculating creature who can and does conduct a deep and thoughtful dialogue with his creator when explaining his background story. But at the same time the monster carries out horrible murders of Frankenstein's nearest and dearest and these deaths are shocking when they happen. The science is almost non-existent and we never find out how Frankenstein creates the monster nor indeed what the monster really looks like other than being repulsively hideous. But that is not the purpose of the book, which is to set a mood and raise philosophical questions about the purpose of scientific discovery. And Mary Shelley does this brilliantly.

[ms7claudia · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Reading online on my Wattpad app on Iphone. Already read it once before but I am re-reading it. Great fluid language.

[dukefan86 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Okay, so it's taken me almost six months to finish this one, and part of the motivation to wrap it up is that it's due at the public library this week, and the online system wouldn't let me renew it again!! I'm glad I read it, but I'm glad I'm done with it. It was okay, but I didn't like it as much as I'd hoped.

[bonniemarjorie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The summer of 1816 was named the “Year Without a Summer” after the eruption of Mount Tambora caused a long and dreary Volcanic Winter. With everyone keeping to the indoors, Mary, her future husband Percy Shelley, Lord Byron and John Polidori all entertained themselves by telling ghost stories and then inevitably it was suggested they each come up with their own type of horror story. It was during this very summer that Mary Shelley, at the age of eighteen, came up with the initial concept of Frankenstein.‘After days and night of incredible labour and fatigue, I succeeded in discovering the cause of generation and life; nay, more, I became myself capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter.’Frankenstein is the story of Victor Frankenstein, a man that through experiementation in both science and alchemy devised a way to combine pieces of human corpses and give them new life. Frankenstein is a legendary story and has become a pivotal part of our cultural understanding of the supernatural world, however, the novel is actually nothing like the classic movies involving lightning, screaming and Frankenstein actually being excited at his accomplishments.His shock and awe quickly transforms into a horrific realization at what he was capable of and he ran away in terror, leaving the monster alone. We’re told Frankenstein’s story first and the steps that led to the monsters creation and the subsequent events as well. Frankenstein depicts him as a monster, thus the reason he is never given an actual name, but when we are finally given the story via the monsters point of view we realize this ‘monster’ is quite possibly anything but. His is a story of complete despondency that easily garners your compassion regardless of the pain and suffering he has wreaked. He may be a creation but is he still not a person? Is his creators ensuing abandonment to blame for his conduct because Frankenstein had a duty beyond just his creation? I believe it is. Without his creator there to teach him the ways of the world, he was forced to observe, learn and interpret on his own. So then it was his observances of society what transformed him into who he came to be? A matter of circumstance? He became an outcast of society because of his appearance and after a time became lonely and craved a companion. He sought out his creator so as to force him to duplicate his work.This is my first read of the classic and I must say it’s nothing like I was expecting. It ended up being a strange and eclectic blend of genres. It was science fiction, with the creation of a man from pieces of corpses, and it was gothic and horror, the dead coming back to life and wreaking havoc on the world. Neither of those were the sole purpose or point of this story; it only set the scene. At the heart of this story are the revolutionary and intellectual questions about life, death and existence. About scientific possibilities and how far is too far. And it’s about compassion and lack of it in this world. Was Frankenstein’s monster truly an outcast only because of his appearance, because initially he showed the utmost caring towards individuals and even saved a drowning girl at one point. Society saw the monster and judged him harshly based off that alone, never giving him the benefit of the doubt. It’s a fictional accounting of a harsh world but it’s a rather truthful and distressing accounting. This is Gothic literature at its very finest and I’m so glad I finally conquered this incredible piece of work.‘Once I falsely hoped to meet with beings who, pardoning my outward form, would love me for the excellent qualities which I was capable of unfolding. I was nourished with high thoughts of honour and devotion. But now crime has degraded me beneath the meanest animal. No guilt, no mischief, no malignity, no misery, can be found comparable to mine. 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 transcendent visions of the beauty and the majesty of goodness.’

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

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the story of not one, but two monsters.

Frankenstein craves to surpass the petty academics of Ingolstadt by resorting to the most abject of human deeds. He goes ransacking graves for fresh corpses to use in his ultimate experiment—turn dead flesh into a living creature.

Frankenstein is a monster because he thinks he can succeed, but his abjection rises one step higher. When life is injected in his creature, instead of rejoicing and making a man of the stitched lumps and show it to the world, his courage falters and he runs.

It is in this regrettable act that Frankenstein trespasses the threshold between human and evil and becomes forever a monster himself.

The story is just the horrible escalation of the feats of these two monsters, Frankenstein and his creature, in an hopeless game of death.

The creature kills young William in revenge for Frankenstein’s abandonment, but Frankenstein is no less evil—instead of reporting his creature to the authorities, he is afraid and keeps quiet while Justine pay for their sins. By this act of cowardice he becomes an accomplice with his creature.
Frankenstein grows into a selfish monster by letting his creature kill in a pointless bloodshed both his newly wed wife, Elizabeth, then his father, then his friend Clerval.

It is in Frankenstein’s determination in keeping that secret that he rises to unprecedented levels of turpitude. His silence and his behavior makes him jointly responsible of his creature’s murders.
He is guilty because it’s him who gave life to his creature.

The two characters enter a new, mythical dimension that transcends the human condition and borders with the godly world. The whole Earth becomes the background of an insane murdering race which climaxes with the death of one and, possibly soon, of the other.

But the original sin lies withing the creator, Frankenstein. His creature is, after all, a modern Prometheus(*) in a world of Gods.

(*) Some believe it's Frankenstein the modern Prometheus, I say it's his monster.

[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.

[drt_4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Frankenstein by Mary ShelleyWhy I picked this book up: I picked it up because I wanted to read it to see if it was appropriate for my oldest son (age 11) to read. Why I finished this book: I quickly saw that my son was not ready for this book. The words are too big for him and he would not understand but I wanted to finish it because I was drawn in by the whole story. I really felt sorry for the monster with his anguish and loneliness, how he observed people and really had a heart for them and his compassion and helpfulness and then on the other hand his anger about being created, the desire to have a partner and Victor’s vacillating. Overall it was ok in my opinion. Rating: I’d give this book a 3 star rating out of 5 stars. I’m glad I check it out. My son might like it when he’s a little older.

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

The creature when in rage was evil, while Frankenstein was a martyr. God gave us persons to love and cherish, but that was not the case for Frankenstein's creation.

[msf59 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It has taken me decades, but I finally read this classic horror novel. I have no excuse for the procrastination, but it turned out to be a nice surprise because it is much different from the movies, we are so familiar with. The films and vampire lore surrounding Dracula, seem to have followed closely to that novel, but Shelley's Frankenstein is a much more philosophical exploration, asking big questions about nature, mankind and our different responsibilities to each. This is even more impressive if you consider that the author was only eighteen when she wrote it. If you are still perched on a fence, over this one, reconsider, and give it a try. It also worked very well as an audiobook.