2.5

One of my favourite classics of all time.

As many other people I never knew the real story of Frankenstein or that it isn’t even the name of the creature. I went into the book blindly or even biased thinking that the monster is just evil. Well I was so wrong. This book is so deep on so many levels. Starting at the beginning I thought it was very interesting that the story was more or less revealed through letters. It also is kind of a spoiler for the story to come since you know from the beginning that Frankenstein will end up alone in the cold ice but that also stirred curiosity to know what really happened. Frankenstein had an amazing childhood and at his core he wanted to do good and use his talents, he wanted to create something for his fellow people however the outcome was not what he wished for or expected. Nevertheless it was his creation and his fault. All the misery and misfortune ( what he calls it) is his fault. He created all his problems and still he just kept complaining how everything is sooo unfair. The monsters pov ( I don’t like calling him monster but unfortunately Frankenstein strapped him of any humanity and didn’t even gave him a name) was what really moved me. Shelley described the creature’s emotions so beautifully and the journey of discovering the world for the first time from his point of view was wonderful and heartbreaking. He was lost, alone, confused but not evil. He had a pure soul, he was enchanted by the song of the birds and mesmerized by the warmth of the sun. He had human emotions, he was made from human body parts. It is so sad that just because his appearance looked so horrifying, his soul and character were ignored. He was good and pure but the world made him wicked and a murderer. The world changed him even though his first instincts were to be good and loving. Frankenstein was in the wrong, he abandoned HIS creation, he made him with his hands, what did he expect? It is a question of morality. Also it’s hard to answer the questions that keep arising. The creature ran away and Frankenstein had no chance of talking to him and he also couldn’t since the creature couldn’t speak at the beginning. After the creature realized that it was abandoned he killed William. This crime led to Frankenstein wanting to destroy his creation. Could it have been avoided if the creature didn’t flee? Well Frankenstein called it a demon even before so probably no. Maybe he would have killed him immediately and the creature would have never gained the conscience it did. The battles in both of their minds Frankenstein and its monster are very interesting. Shelley did a very good job at describing them. We see how Frankenstein starts to become paranoid and blames all the misfortune in his life on the “demon” he created and more interesting we see how this monster gains a sense of self. The monster has feelings and a moral compass. It is very complex how he went from loving to wretched and his revenge of killing all that Frankenstein loves. I loved this book especially the scenes where we saw the monsters thoughts and how he came to be. I see why some people criticize it. It should be a horror story but it didn’t really feel like that. Yes it’s about a monster and his killing spree however it didn’t have that dark of a vibe for me. For me this wasn’t a problem I loved it very much and I am amazed and sad at the same time that the media has a completely wrong image of Frankenstein ( the monster). I’m glad I read this book.

Imagine how short this book could have been if Frankenstein had basic parenting skills

I am unsatisfied because this book is always praised as one of the first science fiction novels. But it is not Science Fiction. The only aspect which fits to this genre, is the responsibility of a creative creator: what if you try to achieve a little scientific wonder but everything goes wrong and instead you release true evil over mankind (the monster or for example the atom bomb). What you get instead is a truly romantic gothic novel. Romantic not as in love but as in Epoque of literature. And that is fine. But it also means, you get lots of pages filled with reflections about friendship, beauty of nature and virtues. Which is sometimes inspiring and sometimes exhausting. It also means that there is no real suspense - unfortunately What I found really marvelous was the choice of words. It is fantastic- but because English is not my mothertongue it was extremely hard to read as well. I don’t know if I would recommend this book, it is classic and it is beautiful... but I think it is more a piece for people who already are knee deep in their love for studies of literature.