Read for: RIP IV Challenge
Few people need an introduction to Mary Shelley's classic monster novel, Frankenstein. Although I am very familar with the film adaptations of the novel, I had yet to read it.
Frankenstein is not what I expected. Far from the mad scientist films that have become popular myth, the novel begins by following Dr Frankenstein to the Arctic, in order to gain justice, to right a wrong. The story then returns to his youth, following Frankenstein's progression from young man to a university student, and ultimately to his foolish, arrogant experiments in cheating death. The being Frankenstein then creates follows him, causing him despair and pain as it tries to understand its place in the world and what has been done to it.
Sadly, because I was already familar with the premise, the novel held little shock value for me. Way ahead of its time, and controversially written by a very young woman, Frankenstein is still a ground-breaking work and deliciously gothic in its prose and atmosphere. However, several sections felt overly elaborate, with Shelley spending far too much time on building scenes, dialogue and describing her protagonist's state of mind. It felt to me like a young inexperienced author, with a wealth of imagination, but still growing into her skill as a novelist. I am not familar with Shelley's later work, but am curious as to how much she improved as an author!
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Thursday, January 21, 2010
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
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12 comments:
I would be interested in which version you read. I read the first edition(1818). It is slightly important because the next two were her revisions after seeing several theatre productions of it. I like the first uninfluenced raw piece.
I agree that I was completely surprised by it and way before its time. It was nothing I really wanted to read but is one of my favorites now.
Sorry I got all excited that someone else has read it. I recently wrote a research paper on it.
I do agree with your assessment.
:-)
Very nice review, and completely agree with it!
For me, I love the imagination that it took to write this novel. And, the fact that this is rather an unwomanly (for lack of a better word) subject to tackele.
Reading this book without knowing the author, I would never have guessed it was written by a woman.
Great review. I have heard that this one is different than people expect- that's kind of refreshing. I like that it's psychological, too. That's really nice :-)
I loved Frankenstein! You should check out Mary Wollstonecraft she is Mary Shelly's mother and wrote the very controversial book, "A vindication to the rights of women" its one of the first feminist non-fiction pieces! It's cool to see where Shelly got some of her ideas from. What a family!
I love this book because it illustrates the interplay between religion/society and science.
I believe that a series of experiments had recently been carried out that involved running electricity through dead animal parts in order to animate them and it caused huge uproar. Many people claimed that scientists were trying to play God. That's possibly some of the inspiration behind this book.
One wonders what they'd say about cloning!
Love it xx
I read Frankenstein in a college course and loved it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I've never gotten around to reading Frankenstein, although it's such a classic! Maybe one day...
Emidy
www.uneparole.blogspot.com
This is one of those books that I really should have read by now, but haven't yet. I don't know if I will like it.
Ive been avidly reading about the reviews you post. I think it was my college course that got me close to literature and eventually got me to read Frankenstein. One book that I admired and felt had a fruitful conclusion. The fact that people like Mary Shelley, George Eliot, Jane Austen and for that matter even Emily Dickinson. The kind of literature churned out by them was far ahead of their times.
Sadly Mary Shelley Just wrote one Novel and thats where the saga ended. I always believed if she would have had some more writing to her name, Jane Austen could be written off for sure.
Great review, I havent read this one yet. I know what you mean though, already being familiar with the storyline does take away from the story a bit. Theres no room for surprises.
http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/
junebug - Unfortunately my copy is packed away because I'm moving house. But I'm guessing that I read the later work. And we should always get excited about the books we love! Thank you!
nishitak - I agree, Shelley's imagination was astounding. If only I could be that creative!
Aarti - It is very different from what I expected, but would have been very difficult to follow the text exactly on film.
NE Avery - I have read about Wollstonecraft before, but she was a very fascinating woman, ahead of her time.
Sproglet - Thanks for that, I've read about some similar Russian experiments in the 1930s(?) but would be interested to look up more on these. The way people thought back then is just so very very different to today.
acdc080109 - Glad you enjoyed it!
Emidy - I would recommend it, with an open mind!
Kailana - I felt exactly the same way. Although I didn't love it, I am certainly glad that I have read it.
hackaday - Thanks for stopping by!
Amu - Thank you! Ahh, I too am a fan of the great Emily Dickinson, but I have not yet read George Eliot.
Naida - I think you might like the story, as although it is familiar, it is handled very differently in the novel. There is a lot more about Frankenstein himself.
I actually had a hard time with this one. Admittedly though I didn't get very far into it. Only just past the letters in the very beginning. I think that's what did me in. I have a hard time when an author uses letters as a way of communicating some much needed storyline and then lays out things that would already be obvious to the receiver of the letter.
Example: "I commenced by inuring my body to hardship. I accompanied whale-fishers on several expeditions to the North-Sea..."
So, if it's his sister he's writing these letters to, the same sister which he has admitted knows what his heart desires, then why on Earth would he be telling her things like that he'd been whaling in the North Seas? Wouldn't she have already known that?
When I come across that type of plot-lining I get bored. I'm smart, and I'm well read, I think I can figure a few things out on my own.
But then again, I never finished it because I was so annoyed... maybe I should have. ;)
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