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Frankenstein

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Start date: October 1, 2013

Finish date: October 31, 2013

Discussion: Past Reads

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What Members Thought

Dec 19, 2012 Lauren rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1305

There are many disadvantages to living in our modern society (to say nothing of the advantages) but among those disadvantages is the bleeding over of literature plots into popular culture. Some things have had the suspense sucked right out of them, such as The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and others have been completely twisted like this one.

If you are looking for a creepy Halloween horror tale this is not the right choice. There are some rather scary things about Frankenstein but th ...more

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Jun 12, 2012 Rosie rated it liked it

Shelves: read-2012

This was one of the books that I have to read for my A2 English Literature course. I’ve looked at parts of it before and seen many different versions of the film so I was quite looking forward to reading it. It’s one of the books that everyone is told to read. I must admit, this book took a lot longer to read than it should of done. Being under 200 pages I had aimed to finish it within a couple of days however it just didn’t grab me to begin with.

I loved the way it was written, it wasn’t complic This was one of the books that I have to read for my A2 English Literature course. I’ve looked at parts of it before and seen many different versions of the film so I was quite looking forward to reading it. It’s one of the books that everyone is told to read. I must admit, this book took a lot longer to read than it should of done. Being under 200 pages I had aimed to finish it within a couple of days however it just didn’t grab me to begin with.

I loved the way it was written, it wasn’t complicated and it told you everything that was going on in a situation to make it feel as though you were there with Frankenstein. I have mixed feelings about the book after it’s first reading. At first I was a little thrown by the letters however it was quick to figure out what was going on. It also didn’t help that I had seen many different films of this before, none of which are anything really like the book. Once you can get past that it is a very good read. The mixture of narrative is also one of the books charms, even though one of the narrators has a fairly brief appearance you do grow attached to them.

Throughout the book you are intrigued by Victor Frankenstein’s story and you want to know how it ends, for him and for everyone else involved. When I was reading the book it did hold my attention and I was very much into it, however when I had put it down I did struggle to pick it back up again. For now I’m going to put that down to it being a text that I have to read rather than me reading it for leisure. It wasn’t Frankenstein’s story that I found the most interesting but the story of the creature. Even though the creature does disappear for what seems quite a while in the book when he returns you’re quickly told all about his toils and what he’s been doing in the meantime.

The creature was the character that I felt the most sympathy for. I think many people when they pick it up they don’t expect to feel anything other than disgust and hatred for the monster however after hearing his tale and seeing his desperation you can’t help it. I do feel that what happens over the course of this short novel is Frankenstein’s fault and even though you do feel a degree of sympathy for him you can’t help but be angry that it is because of him that he is in this situation. I don’t think that this was Shelley’s original intention however I am reading this book in a different time to which she wrote it so it’s hard to get the same message across after all these years.

Overall I wish that I had picked up this book more often and quicker rather than leaving it for weeks on end. Reading it a second time round I feel will be easier and I will enjoy it more than I did this time round. I would advise anyone that has seen any of the films to forget them whilst you’re reading the book as it may confuse you at times, but this is definitely not a book you should avoid like I did! ...more

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