“I’m f**ing done this sh*t!” I hollered happily when I read the last sentence of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
I struggled through every word of this novel just so I could knock off another classic on my Back to the Classics Challenge 2012 reading list.
The good parts: there is much about Mary Shelley’s classic that is wonderful. Shelley begins the story with letters from a brother, Walton, to his sister. He seeks adventure, triumph, honour, comradeship as he ventures on an expedition towards the North Pole. He finds Victor Frankenstein and we hear the story of his upbringing in Switzerland, his intense study in Germany and finally his obsession with creating life, which ends with the creation of a monster. Shelley moves the plot seamlessly between Walton’s letters to Victor’s narrative and finally, to the monster’s narrative of his experiences after he escapes Victor’s home in Germany. Each story leads to another a story, to another story – every so often, the spell is broken with Victor’s present admonitions towards his monster, but Shelley adeptly dives back into the tale.
She expertly creates a sense of foreboding, mystery and anxiety. Tension runs through the narrative – a must for any horror piece. Her characters are typical of the time, at times a little too perfect, and of course so very innocent which makes the monster more evil. The birth of a man – from innocent, to a learned individual is chronicled. As he learns about humanity, Shelley sharply criticizes civilized society. Prejudice deters true understanding of those around us, and at times, she elicits compassion for the monster, for he did not ask to be created.
The not-so-good: this novel is too long for its plot, far too descriptive and overly dramatized. It reflects the writing style of the time, but if felt unnecessarily emotional. Too many passages that went off on tangents, though relevant in the creation of atmosphere, were completely unnecessary.
I need to connect to characters in some way in order to truly love a book. I did not connect to one character in this novel – I didn’t care about Frankenstein, his family, or the monster and I found Walton rather whimpy. The conclusion of the novel left much to be desired too. At no point did any feeling other than annoyance rise out of me towards any character.
Ultimately, if you like horror fiction, and don’t mind long-winded (beautifully written) passages that do not progress the plot – but give great insight into humanity – and, don’t need to connect to the characters, then you’ll probably enjoy this novel a lot more than I did. I’m interested in hearing from those who just love this book…my only question is, why?
Oh dear! I quite like this book and I’m studying it with some school pupils at the moment. We are studying the graphic novel adaptation though because they are a little young for the full text which, as you say, holds some overly complicated descriptive sequences!
LikeLike
Perhaps it is better suited to graphic novel format – it will get to the point. And, the novel does offer some sweeping, panoramic views…good visuals for setting. How are the students reacting?
LikeLike
They’re enjoying it so far but the book is really a backdrop to prepare for their exams!! Ha! Poor things!
LikeLike
Good luck!
LikeLike
I’ve read the book myself a few years back and I have to agree with you on most parts. It is a great story but definitely long winded which did cause me to struggle. Glad I read it though and would recommend it!
LikeLike
I know what you mean…I can see why it’s a classic, but it just wasn’t for me. Thanks for reading & commenting!
LikeLike
Of all the characters, I liked Frankenstein least. I actually pitied and liked the monster more. Like you said, he never asked to be created, but Frankenstein completely threw his hands up and took no responsibility for what he had done. I hated that he was so disgusted by what he saw: HE did it. I felt bad for the monster when all he wanted was a friend and everyone ran away from him. I thought it was interesting how he learned to read/write. I thought he was very clever. I really did not like Frankenstein at all…
LikeLike
I agree with you. It was really difficult to feel anything meaningful for these characters. Thanks for sharing.
LikeLike
I didn’t love this book, but I think I liked it more than you did 🙂
I didn’t like Frankenstein at all – in fact I think that he was the real monster, not the man he had created.
LikeLike
I agree – Frankenstein was not a likeable character.
LikeLike