Synopsis: "Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein when she was only eighteen. 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.
Frankenstein, an instant bestseller and an important ancestor of both the horror and science fiction genres, not only tells a terrifying story, but also raises profound, disturbing questions about the very nature of life and the place of humankind within the cosmos: What does it mean to be human? What responsibilities do we have to each other? How far can we go in tampering with Nature? In our age, filled with news of organ donation genetic engineering, and bio-terrorism, these questions are more relevant than ever."
My Review: I ranked this as my top favorite book after reading it in high school. It was assigned reading and once starting it I could not put it down (I snuck it into my calculus class). It has been some time since I last read it and have considered other books might take the top spot. So this month I decided to re-read it but got the audio version instead. There is now no doubt what so ever that this book will remain my #1 favorite book, especially after listening to the audio book. I don't feel that this is a horror book, to me it is beautiful and an emotional drama. I can't help but become teary eyed and choked up when the creature confronts his creator in the mountains and I must admit that I am totally on the creature's side. This is a classic and really one that everyone should at least try and it could become an instant and forever favorite!
Frankenstein, an instant bestseller and an important ancestor of both the horror and science fiction genres, not only tells a terrifying story, but also raises profound, disturbing questions about the very nature of life and the place of humankind within the cosmos: What does it mean to be human? What responsibilities do we have to each other? How far can we go in tampering with Nature? In our age, filled with news of organ donation genetic engineering, and bio-terrorism, these questions are more relevant than ever."
My Review: I ranked this as my top favorite book after reading it in high school. It was assigned reading and once starting it I could not put it down (I snuck it into my calculus class). It has been some time since I last read it and have considered other books might take the top spot. So this month I decided to re-read it but got the audio version instead. There is now no doubt what so ever that this book will remain my #1 favorite book, especially after listening to the audio book. I don't feel that this is a horror book, to me it is beautiful and an emotional drama. I can't help but become teary eyed and choked up when the creature confronts his creator in the mountains and I must admit that I am totally on the creature's side. This is a classic and really one that everyone should at least try and it could become an instant and forever favorite!
My Rating: This is such a fantastic book, I am surprised I haven't re-read it before now. I cannot help but give this a Four Paw and a Stump Wag rating and almost wish I could go beyond that to a 5 paw!
High School Memories of Frankenstein:
I am pretty sure we read this book in my senior year and I was honestly dreading it a little because I didn't really like horror (I had read The Stand the year before and was forever traumatized). I was so pleasantly surprised, I could not get enough of this book. I do remember sneaking it into my calculus class to read it under my desk (I don't think the teacher said anything because it was a classic, he probably would have gave me detention if it was any other personal reading). After reading so many great books that senior year one of the first college classes I signed up for was Epic Poetry (I guess that should have been a sign to me not to go into sciences but English in some form).
This book was ranked at my top for so long I forgot why it was there until now. It will definitely remain at the top and I will make it a point to re-read it more often. Honestly, even if you aren't into classic novels or books written in this time period give it a shot (and if you find reading the text daunting don't hesitate to download an audio version, it was only 8.5 hours)!
I too remember being so surprised when I read this book in high school. I agree about the emotional drama and being on the monster's side! For sure! I also need a re-read to remember the details. But it makes me crazy how movies have killed this book and morphed to be something else in everyone's mind. Someone really should a do a movie that portrays the book correctly.
ReplyDeleteI hope you find the time to re-read it again soon and let me know if you still enjoyed it just as much. I do really wish that they could make a true to book movie on this one but I just don't know if that quality of actors or producers exist.
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