Frankenstein: the 1818 Text by Mary Shelley - Restarting March 1st 2022

[Jamie]

On October 10t Maddy and I will be starting Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Summary: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.

[Jamie]

Hey Maddy, I will be starting this tonight but just a heads up I will be reading this a bit slowly over the next several days. I have 2 library books out I thought would renew but didn't so I have to finish them. So if I am not saying much or reading it fast that is why. Hope to talk about the book itself over the weekend. :)

[Jamie]

Just finished reading the beginning. The righting style is so different than what I am used to these day that I had so slow down to take it in.
Also, I was looking at the back of my copy. Apparently there are different versions. Mine is the 1818 text version. I guess the other is a 1831 version. According to the back they are different. My copy claims to be 'wittier' tan the 1831 version....
So if we mention something that doesn't align to the other person at some point I guess that is why. Not sure what version you have and not sure how big a difference it will make...

[Jamie]

Yeah, the letters threw me off at first to. I was all "who is this guy?"

[Jamie]

You are way ahead of me. I oopsed. Went to visit the grandparents the past two days and forgot the book. Just got back and have a serious read date tomorrohiw morning.

Thoughts on chapter 1: (view spoiler)[it still amazes me how common marrying one's ward was in those days. Not just the age difference but that their were children you cared for... (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 2: (view spoiler)[ sad about the mother but I can't blame her for wanting to check on a sick child. (hide spoiler)]

[Jamie]

Well, apparently my comment the other day was not published...Weird. Anyways I was responding to your post about being 25% done (view spoiler)[I agree that after all he did he would just bail like that. Was it the pain-filled noise he made? The black lips? (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 7: (view spoiler)[So sad about the younger brother. Love how his mind instantly goes to his creation even though his home was far away and he was only with his creation a very short time... (hide spoiler)]

[Jamie]

Done through Volume 2, Chapter 3 (view spoiler)[His creation's speech is most impressive! I did not expect that. (hide spoiler)]

[Jamie]

Okay so finished this weekend. Here is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Rachel]

Irene have you started this yet? :)

[Irene]

No I haven't, sorry! :) But, I've received the book and can start whenever! :D Really need to start it tomorrow, at the latest :D Did you start it yet? :D

[Rachel]

No I haven't, I wanted to wait till you got the book :) I can start tomorrow though

[Irene]

Oh, that's so nice of you - and it actually did arrive three days later than I expected! Tomorrow then :D Yay! Very excited. Hoping it'll be a halloween-ish read :D

[Irene]

I'm starting it now. So excited! :D

[Irene]

Finished reading the letters in vol. 1. I really like the writing style so far, it's very poetic! And quite easy to understand as well :)
(view spoiler)[I'm curious towards this stranger. Who is he? Frankenstein? (hide spoiler)]
I don't really know the story, so I'm very interested to find out what it's all about! :D

[Irene]

Really taking my time with this one. I really like the writing style!

[Abi]

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Reading from the 23rd of January 2016

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[Sarah Elizabeth]

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Date changed. Restarting October 5th 2018. Happy Reading ☺

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[Ashleigh]

Letters I to IV l; Chapter 1

(view spoiler)[So happy to finally be reading this book. Struggling with the language so I'm not flying through it like I would normally fly through a book, but I'm loving the writing and the atmosphere.

I was so confused in the beginning with the letters. I was like who is the guy, is it Victor using a different name and then I remembered there was a Captain who relates Victor's story. Excited to get into the story and see how he goes from being the child in his first chapter to the 'mad scientist' to the man with the Captain right now. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashleigh]

Chapters 2-3

(view spoiler)[So I think we've seen the first few sparks of Victor's ambition igniting. We've got his sister almost dying, then his mother dying, combined with his growing interest in science. Things are only gonna go wrong from here on.. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashleigh]

Chapters 4-6

(view spoiler)[So Frankenstein has created the 'monster'? This is my first time reading this book and based on pop culture references, I envisioned a long process in building the monster which would include stealing body parts from cemeteries and labs, and a hunched back assistant. But the actual creation was a little underwhelming. There's been more time explaining his illness than there was on the actual creation! (hide spoiler)]

[Ashleigh]

Chapter 7

(view spoiler)[Now we're starting to get into the thrilling part of the book. Did the 'monster' really kill poor William??? If so, will he be targeting anyone else?? (hide spoiler)]

[Ashleigh]

Chapters 8-10

(view spoiler)[I have to say, when there isn't any action in this book, I'm kinda bored. The writing is beautiful, don't get me wrong, but it's a little over the top in my opinion. Really struggling with this book.

I'm amazed that the monster can not only speak, but speak as elegantly as Frankenstein himself. How???

(hide spoiler)]

[Ashleigh]

Finished

(view spoiler)[Rated it 2 stars. Was bored through a lot of this book. Didn't like some of the action was glossed over, and a lot of description was put into things that weren't necessary (in my opinion) to the plot.

For example, the multiple chapters detailing the monster learning to talk and to read, and meeting the family (and then we've got their backstory), it just bored me.

Disappointed in this book, but at least I can say I've read it..

(hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

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Date changed. Restarting August 5th 2019. Happy Reading ☺

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[Dr. Andy]

25% (view spoiler)[Victor is totally a ravenclaw gone wrong. I feel bad for Elizabeth and Henry. They were best friends and then Victor leaves and is like yeah bye botches. He’s already made the monster too! Like damn that’s not how real science works lol (hide spoiler)]

50% (view spoiler)[so the monster has started killing people. Poor Justine she didn’t deserve to die for Victors crimes. I’ve kind of lost the trail of the story now tho. I’m really confused as to who Safi is and why she’s in the story but whatever. (hide spoiler)]

75% (view spoiler)[I am seriously so ducking lost. And I don’t really care about this anymore. I don’t know what’s happening and I just want this to be over. It seemed like the narration switched to the monster but idk anymore and I don’t give a damn either. (hide spoiler)]

Finished (view spoiler)[ Ugh this wasn't my cup of tea. I was so confused by the end I didn't even care. I'm glad it's over at least. Elizabeth didn't deserve her fate (hide spoiler)]

[Danique]

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Date changed. Restarting March 1st 2022. Happy Reading ☺

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
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[Danique]

Chapter 1/15%
(view spoiler)[I'm not sure if you're also reading the 1818 edition, but the intro was already great. It gave some insight into Mary's life, and the feminist both her and her mother were. Loved that! Walton's letters to his sister Margeret were interesting, his boasting about himself makes him seem like a dislikeable person lol. Ahhh so that was an introduction to the actual book; is the sledge guy the one who made Frankenstein, or is he Frankenstein by any chance? Can't freaking wait! (hide spoiler)]

[Danique]

Chapter VII/33%
(view spoiler)[Okay I'm not completely sure from whose perspective we're now reading; is this Walton or the sled dude? Ah, it's Victor, so I'm guessing the sled dude. So he just discovered that he can bring things to life. I feel so bad for the 'monster' lmao, Victor is immediately just disgusted by him :( Clerval really is a great friend by the way. I wonder what Victor's illness is, it seems to have something to do with anxiety, but is he just so scared that it made him ill? Idk?

Oh no William has been murdered! Definitely by the ‘monster’. I’m not sure why I’m giggling? The 'creepiness' is for some reason really funny to me. Ahw Justine has been apprehended as the murderer. Also, I definitely thought that Elizabeth was his lover and not his niece :') (hide spoiler)]

[Danique]

Volume 3/ 59%
(view spoiler)[Damn Justine is convicted! That’s terrible. Elizabeth is a great person though. Alright so now the monster is going to tell his story. Poor thing. Aw his story is so cute!! The way he was helping that family was lovely. I did wonder how he could speak, but it all makes sense now. Felix's backstory is so cool, I'm really enjoying the little family, although it might be a bit random lol.

I feel so bad for him and the way the family reacted, he turned into a monster then. I still kinda feel like the old dude would've pleaded for him, and they would've all seen reason and come back; but because he set the cabin aflame, there's no chance of that happening, because they'll now definitely see him as a monster :(( ahw he just wants a girlfriend haha. It definitely doesn't seem like Frankenstein's gonna make her though, can't wait. (hide spoiler)]

[Danique]

Finished
(view spoiler)[Ew so he is meant to marry Elizabeth lmao, I forgot the whole 'marrying your cousin' wasn't that weird back then.

Noooo Frankenstein was doing so well and now he tore apart the creature! My oh my now the monster's really mad, damn. Noooo Clerval is dead!! And Frankenstein spend 3 months in prison for his murder damn. Holy crap Elizabeth is dead now too. And his father now too!!

So now we've come full circle; how he came to the vessel. So cool. Holy crap alright, so first Frankenstein dies, then the monster comes into the vessel and tells Walton that the monster's going to die too, and then he just leaves? Damn, basically everyone dies in this story. But I really liked it for some reason! (hide spoiler)]