bunnyhero's reviews
117 reviews

last time i read frankenstein was probably 20 years ago. rereading it now, i still love it. this heavily-annotated edition is great for a reread, but i wouldn't recommend it for a first-time reading (too distracting, and too spoilery). i learned a lot more about mary shelley and the context in which the book was written.

also of possible interest is that this edition is based on the original 1818 version of frankenstein. the annotations make note of where the more-widely-read 1831 edition differs significantly.

i have to admit that one of the reasons i like this book so much is that both frankenstein and his creature are so tortured and angsty about the act of creation and about one's own monstrous nature... etc etc. i dig it.

not brilliant writing by any means, but i rather enjoyed this because it hit all kinds of buttons for me: bad-ass angels, ancient conspiracies, etc. the on-the-nose names were a bit distracting though (grigori, gabriella, etc).

my favourite part of the book by far is the middle third, which is a back story flashback to wwii. the story of two young women being inducted into the world of the angelologists kept me turning pages more than any part of the book.

i wouldn't recommend this for everyone, but it's a decent thriller if you're a fan of the subject matter. i'll likely read the sequel(s) (and see the movie-- it's been optioned already).