The novel begins on a ship sailing north of the Arctic Circle, where the captain spots a figure traveling across the ice on a dog sled. This is Victor Frankenstein's creature, and close behind is Dr. Frankenstein himself. Invited onto the boat, the weak and ill Doctor tells the story of his alchemical studies and eventual construction of a man from inanimate matter.
tes me to heaven, for nothing contributes so much to tranquillize the mind as a steady purpose--a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye. This expedition has been the favourite dream of my early years. I have read with ardour the accounts of the various voyages which have been made in the prospect of arriving at the North Pacific Ocean through the seas which surround the pole. You may remember that a history of all the voyages made for purposes of discovery composed the whole of our good Uncle Thomas' library. My education was neglected, yet I was passionately fond of reading. These volumes were my study day and night, and my familiarity with them increased that regret which I had felt, as a child, on learning that my father's dying injunction had forbidden my uncle to allow me to embark in a seafaring life.
These visions faded when I perused, for the first time, those poets whose effusions entranced my soul and lifted it to heaven. I also became a poet and for one year lived in a paradi
Pretty solid novel, for a 19-year-old girl...
Read it when I was in school. Loved it. Great book.
I have read this book in Gujarati Language. I liked this book.
Amazing work by Mary Shelly.
Did not like it! I thought it will be better than this.
I think it's quite an awesome work. The gaps on how the monster got on to follow Frankenstein, on how he created life and the misunderstanding on what would happen on his wedding night are not as important as the reflexion Mary Shelley creates on the human being. The relationship between creature and creator makes us think about man's relation to God, and the nature of man (is it good, or is it evil?)
I think the story in itself is not the most important thing, but the ideas behind the monster's cottage tale and so many more interesting facts make us think on human life, and how we perceive the world. I think it's a brilliant work.
I would say it's just "ok." It's easy to automatically five-star the popular works from many years ago, but read this while keeping an open mind and without the bias of the centures of culture related to the Frankenstein myth and you may take a different view of it. It has some glaring holes (the "instant" discovery of animation, the way the monster can follow his creator anywhere, the inability of Victor to realize what the monster meant in regards to his wedding night..these things were awkward distractions for me. Mary Shelley had a remarkable command of the language but in the end keep in mind she was just 19 years of age. I find no penetrating commentary on much of anything here, and won't be talked into looking for it because the work has perdured.
This book is more than a horror novel. It's very mythological in scale. Yes it has its scary moments made famous by countless movies, but there is a lot more to that. One recurring theme that impresses me even to this day is the constant fight between master and creation, father and son, and even hints of God and Adam. Who knows if Mary Shelley meant to write this way, but it shows a mark of a talent far too wasted later in her life. Read it for the horror, the tension, the loneliness and guilt.
I first read this book thinking it was "just another story where people scream and fill the screen with blood," but after I had finished it, I realised how amazing our silly childish nightmares can be if translated into such a tale of horror, humanity, fate and justice. Mary Shelley wrote this book when she was just 19, I think, but after finishing it, I couldn't but wonder how brilliant she was. The only thing I regret is that she didn't write more books as taking as that one. I recommend everyone above 13 to read this book, and you'll surely enjoy it as much as I did. If you missed that book, you missed half of the "Horror" definition.
it's outstanding, it's superb, it's brilliant....
