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A review by sergek94
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
2.0
Actual Rating: 2.5/5
“Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be his world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow.”
Victor Frankenstein had a sunny childhood, and a relatively sunny start to his adolescent life. Surrounded by his family and friends, all whom wish nothing but good for him, Victor's support system was strong, and the ship of his life was sailing on ever-steady shores. However, Victor's mind was hungry for traversing new scientific horizons. He longed to dive into the wonders of creation and birth his own life, and no force in nature could withstand his unrelenting determination. It was this determination that led him to become a creator and a giver of life. However, the result of this excess ambition that sought to bend the rules of nature birthed an abomination that proved to be Victor Frankenstein's ruin. This monster, initially being a creature with a tender heart, despite his monstrous appearance, quickly discovers that love and acceptance have no place for him in this life his creator had given him. Shunned by society despite his attempts to do good, his broken heart leads him on a dark murderous path and a hell-bent determination to darken and destroy the life of his maker. We thus witness how Victor Frankenstein's sunny life devolves into agony and despair as the monster plucks away each flower in Victor's life, rendering his once lush field desolate and bleak.
This book that comes from 1818 is one of the first of its kind and the idea behind it was definitely unique for the epoch it was written in. That fact makes this book a timeless classic that acted as a pioneer for the many different works that came after it, following the same direction, involving the blending of science with literature, paving the way for the future works of science fiction to come. Despite its dark subject matter, the prose in this work is surprisingly flowery and quite pleasant to read. The author fills the pages with long and vivid descriptions of the locations our characters are in, so this novel is very descriptive. The characters here have an obvious over dramatic streak in them, which works well for certain characters, notably Frankenstein's monster, but borders on overly whiny and irritating on some others, especially Victor Frankenstein. Atmosphere wise, the flowery and sunny descriptions of bright and lush nature took away from the supposed dark and gothic vibe this story was supposed to have. In the author's introduction, Mary Shelley had mentioned that she intends this to be a creepy and chilling tale, something I didn't really experience while reading this story. It read like any other classic without much atmospheric darkness, save for the very specific scenes of murder.
The biggest issue I had with this book however was the relatively scarce appearance of the monster himself. Instead, we get long winded descriptions of the environment and the volatile dramatic flare-ups of Frankenstein, which is a shame because the monster is the most complex and interesting character in the story. Apart from one section where we see what became of him after escaping Frankenstein's laboratory, we barely get any interaction with him, and this might be because the author preferred to keep him as a menacing presence in the background to add an air of suspense, not knowing where he is or when he will strike, but since that time was spent with excessive descriptions of nature and Victor's love for his friends and family, that sucked away most of the intended darkness of the story. This is why despite the status this book has as a pioneering and unique genre of its time, I felt the execution to be mediocre. Of course, one could argue that one must not place modern expectations on old classics, which I am not, since other works around the same time period, such as Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, have succeeded in creating a dark and gothic atmosphere alongside their descriptiveness which this type of novel Mary Shelley wrote very much needed, given its subject matter.
I am happy that I can now finally say that I read this classic, though my expectations weren't met while reading it. It is still a book with good prose though, and the little moments we actually do get to spend with the monster, who, I repeat, is the most interesting and fascinating character I wish I could have read more of, were very good to read. Overall, it was okay, and I almost "liked it", and would have given the extra 0.5 star if we had more of the monster, and it would have went up to 4 or 5 stars if we had more gothic prose that fit the mood instead of the bright floweriness that took away from it.
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“Nothing is more painful to the human mind than, after the feelings have been worked up by a quick succession of events, the dead calmness of inaction and certainty which follows and deprives the soul both of hope and fear.”
“Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be his world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow.”
Victor Frankenstein had a sunny childhood, and a relatively sunny start to his adolescent life. Surrounded by his family and friends, all whom wish nothing but good for him, Victor's support system was strong, and the ship of his life was sailing on ever-steady shores. However, Victor's mind was hungry for traversing new scientific horizons. He longed to dive into the wonders of creation and birth his own life, and no force in nature could withstand his unrelenting determination. It was this determination that led him to become a creator and a giver of life. However, the result of this excess ambition that sought to bend the rules of nature birthed an abomination that proved to be Victor Frankenstein's ruin. This monster, initially being a creature with a tender heart, despite his monstrous appearance, quickly discovers that love and acceptance have no place for him in this life his creator had given him. Shunned by society despite his attempts to do good, his broken heart leads him on a dark murderous path and a hell-bent determination to darken and destroy the life of his maker. We thus witness how Victor Frankenstein's sunny life devolves into agony and despair as the monster plucks away each flower in Victor's life, rendering his once lush field desolate and bleak.
This book that comes from 1818 is one of the first of its kind and the idea behind it was definitely unique for the epoch it was written in. That fact makes this book a timeless classic that acted as a pioneer for the many different works that came after it, following the same direction, involving the blending of science with literature, paving the way for the future works of science fiction to come. Despite its dark subject matter, the prose in this work is surprisingly flowery and quite pleasant to read. The author fills the pages with long and vivid descriptions of the locations our characters are in, so this novel is very descriptive. The characters here have an obvious over dramatic streak in them, which works well for certain characters, notably Frankenstein's monster, but borders on overly whiny and irritating on some others, especially Victor Frankenstein. Atmosphere wise, the flowery and sunny descriptions of bright and lush nature took away from the supposed dark and gothic vibe this story was supposed to have. In the author's introduction, Mary Shelley had mentioned that she intends this to be a creepy and chilling tale, something I didn't really experience while reading this story. It read like any other classic without much atmospheric darkness, save for the very specific scenes of murder.
The biggest issue I had with this book however was the relatively scarce appearance of the monster himself. Instead, we get long winded descriptions of the environment and the volatile dramatic flare-ups of Frankenstein, which is a shame because the monster is the most complex and interesting character in the story. Apart from one section where we see what became of him after escaping Frankenstein's laboratory, we barely get any interaction with him, and this might be because the author preferred to keep him as a menacing presence in the background to add an air of suspense, not knowing where he is or when he will strike, but since that time was spent with excessive descriptions of nature and Victor's love for his friends and family, that sucked away most of the intended darkness of the story. This is why despite the status this book has as a pioneering and unique genre of its time, I felt the execution to be mediocre. Of course, one could argue that one must not place modern expectations on old classics, which I am not, since other works around the same time period, such as Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, have succeeded in creating a dark and gothic atmosphere alongside their descriptiveness which this type of novel Mary Shelley wrote very much needed, given its subject matter.
I am happy that I can now finally say that I read this classic, though my expectations weren't met while reading it. It is still a book with good prose though, and the little moments we actually do get to spend with the monster, who, I repeat, is the most interesting and fascinating character I wish I could have read more of, were very good to read. Overall, it was okay, and I almost "liked it", and would have given the extra 0.5 star if we had more of the monster, and it would have went up to 4 or 5 stars if we had more gothic prose that fit the mood instead of the bright floweriness that took away from it.
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“Nothing is more painful to the human mind than, after the feelings have been worked up by a quick succession of events, the dead calmness of inaction and certainty which follows and deprives the soul both of hope and fear.”