From the Bookshelf of EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club…

Frankenstein

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Start date: October 1, 2021

Finish date: October 31, 2021

Discussion: CLASSICS READS

Why we're reading this: Group Pick for Classics Read - Oct 2016
Group Catch-Up Read - Oct 2021
[close] Group Pick for Classics Read - Oct 2016
Group Catch-Up Read - Oct 2021

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CLASSICS READS

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What Members Thought

Jun 18, 2013 spoko rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, science, sci-fi

I was bound to like this book, really. I’ve always been engaged with concerns of scientific overreach and the dark side of ambition. That said, I don’t usually like a book with such a clear message to convey. But Shelley did a fine job making this into a real page-turner. It’s not that the outcome is such a mystery, I suppose. But it’s well written, and the arcs of the characters themselves are enough to propel it forward. There are some dry spots with a bit more exposition than necessary (Frank ...more

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Sep 17, 2012 Carrie marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: own, read-my-shelves

*Edit: Writing this here as a reminder for myself. Read this book before the year 2014 is over, preferably within the the next few months (July 31/14)

I've read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: Novelization but not the real book, which I've had on my shelves for years and keep on meaning to get too. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Dec 21, 2015 Sarina rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-and-or-magic, paranormal, translated, my-sci-fi-world, gothic-feel

21 Dec 2015:
Reading a translated version. Heard and read about it in many forms, in many books, but never got the chance to read the work. I do now, finally. :)

UPDATE:
22 Dec 2015:
Finished it. But not satisfied, really. Feel bad for the monster, actually. His creator misunderstood him, and didn't even try to help him. Victor Frankenstein, the scientist was the real monster, in my opinion.
Would have liked to know the key to all this. Would have liked to know more about the monster.
It was an okay ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Apr 19, 2019 Ketutar Jensen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: halloween-25

I'm on monster's side. The little shit deserved to die, and Frankenstein deserved to live without a loved one, just as he condemned his creation to live without love.
And having stood on ice for weeks and knowing that they will certainly be dead unless they return, and then tell them they are cowards and should continue... what an arse! No, I do not consider Frankenstein in any way a good man, or having any noble qualities. He should have blamed himself and sacrificed himself to live with his cr ...more

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Mar 01, 2015 Melissa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

While the way the story is written hasn't aged as well as the ideas behind the story, listening to it read by Christopher Lee (Saruman, Dracula, real-life badass Nazi hunter) was pretty awesome ...more

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Oct 10, 2017 Amy Ellis rated it liked it

Update: Reread again in January 2023 with my high schoolers, and I enjoyed it much more the second time through…so bumping it up a star. I forgot how much death is in this book, but I sympathized with the monster this time around and kind of thought Victor was an idiot. Mostly, I appreciated the craft of writing that young Mary Shelley mastered in this book.

Oct 2017:
I was surprised that I didn't really like this book. It is a classic that has descriptions of bleak landscapes, which I am all ab ...more

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Apr 02, 2014 Susannah rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: listened-to-audiobook, reading-the-classics

I've read at least two novels based on Mary Shelley's creation of the Frankenstein story. Who knew that they would be better than the novel itself? Although the audiobook was very well performed, the book itself was a disappointment. Is the reader actually supposed to be sympathetic to Victor? When he spends all of his time calling his creation a demon and shunning it? The dude made his own bed! With that said, however, kudos to Mary Shelley for making Victor Frankenstein a consistent character. ...more

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Feb 15, 2011 Jen rated it really liked it

Just re-read for my book club. We discussed how odd that the book addresses issues very pertinent to today, much more so than when written. Maniacal ambition, creating life, the human and science.

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