Author: Mary Shelley
# of Pages: 273 (paperback)
Genre: Fiction, Classics, Horror
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: At once a Gothic thriller, a passionate romance, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of science, Frankenstein tells the story of committed science student Victor Frankenstein. Obsessed with discovering the cause of generation and life and bestowing animation upon lifeless matter, Frankenstein assembles a human being from stolen body parts but; upon bringing it to life, he recoils in horror at the creature's hideousness. Tormented by isolation and loneliness, the once-innocent creature turns to evil and unleashes a campaign of murderous revenge against his creator, Frankenstein.
Review: I usually put the recommendation at the end, but I want to say this now: EVERYONE should read this book.
Frankenstein, as Frankenstein's monster is commonly mislabeled, is nothing like the costumes children wear during Halloween. Unlike other great works such as Romeo and Juliet, pop culture's version of the story has been warped beyond recognition.
Are there problems with living in solitude when people are social beings by nature? How much does appearance affect how accepted people are in society? What does revenge truly accomplish? These are only a few question this book has strove to answer.
I couldn't help but compare Frankenstein's monster with other "monsters" such as Wicked's Elphaba and the Beast in Beauty and the Beast. Although the monster does not marry a beauty nor run away with a scarecrow, he faces the same rejection from society due to his unusual appearance just as Elphaba faces scorn from her classmates because of her green skin. Although the monster is compassionate, people are quick to shut him out of their lives because of his scary image similarly to how Glinda is loved over Elphaba despite Elphaba's "strange" appearance. With so many labelling the monster a "wretch" and "vile being," he needs someone to love him to prevent him convincing himself that he IS what people call him. The Beast is only "saved" when someone (Beauty) sees past his beastly looks to his true personality, and Frankenstein's monster REALLY needed to have at least one person on his side...
In the end, the reader can feel pity for both the monster and Victor Frankenstein, although perhaps for different reasons. Victor is incredibly self-centered yet his intentions were not innately evil which prevents the reader from completely hating him. Yet in the same turn neither character can be truly loved by the reader due to their actions/decisions.
A very interesting read and one of my favorite classics.
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