Customer Reviews

Frankenstein

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

A+ for "Frankenstein by Mary Shelley"

A classic in English literature and a classic science fiction novel. We cannot judge a book from this time period based on the standards of today, which is to say we shouldn't judge it on how thrilling it is alone. The strength of this novel comes from the issues of morality that it raises, and from the psychological issues the characters and the plot itself provoke. Not necessarily an easy read for everyone, but something that should be read.

Frankenstein is a great novel. I went into it with all the flawed knowledge that television had told me of the tale. Of course, I was blown away with how the tale really went. I really enjoyed this book, and my friend who read it was also pleasently suprised by just how "awsome" it was.

I will try not to mention any plot give aways, but I feel I need to mention some things. The main characters in the novel are Victor Frankenstein and the "daemon" we all know he has created. My emotions for both these characters constantly varied throughout the book. Both characters were driven by such strong emotions, that I know caused them to make great errors in their judgement.

I just wish Victor had the sense to as calmly as he could sit with the monster and discuss why certain things could not be so, and how even though initially the monster was undeserved of the disgust he recieved, that since he had commited horrible crimes, he did indeed deserve all he had recieved. A rational "person", would likely begin to realize that he was right.

I would highly suggest reading this book.

This book I would not reccomend this book to anyone who found shakespeare hard to understand, lack of imagination, or not a total love for reading. Frankenstein is the gripping romantic tale told through the use of letters of a sailour about a man's creation and how it totally destroyed him. Frankenstein is written with romantic sensitivities so it rests a lot of the weight of the pages on the feelings and forth-commings of the characters. I do not want to ruin the plot for anyone planning on reading but the themes potrayed in this masterpiece of literature is empathy, don't judge a book by its cover, consequences for actions, and to face ones problems and not to avoid them. Great read, I highly reccomend it to any one who has not been blessed with reading it.

One on a list of many that I always wanted to read... Recently finding the time, i picked it up from the library and read it. It was a great read, its written in old/middle english, but not bad enough that you cant tell whats going on. Its a great story, it really is. Forget what you think you know about the story of Frankenstien, read the book !!!

I had to read this book for grade 11 English class and did not enjoy reading it at all. The class discussions were ok, talking about symbolism and the nemesis made some things more clear, but I found that those were really stretched. If you think that a teenager wrote this book, it's hard to believe that she could have planted all these symbols in the text. Seems like people see what they want to see.

I gave this review one star and that single star is quite deserved - the main idea of the books is good. The rest, however, is awful - there are giant plot holes, many things are left unexplained, and the writing is really dull. Even the English teacher admitted that Shelley's writing was bad for crying out loud. (Why was the book on Ontatio's high school curriculum then?)

It's no wonder that the Frankenstein movies are so different from the book - they only take the idea of giving life to inanimate body and the creature escaping. The rest is completely different. I don't think any movie director could have gotten away with such a naive plot full of inconsistencies that are presented in the book.

If you have to read this book for school then I'm sorry.

Modern readers must jump through a number of hoops to enjoy this legendary novel. Written between 1816 and 1818, this is very much a novel of its era, and both language and ideas about plot are quite different from those of today. That aside, and unlike such contemporaries as Jane Austen, author Mary Shelly has never been greatly admired for her literary style, which is often awkward. But perhaps the biggest hurdle is that of our own expectations: while it certainly sent icy chills down the spines of 19th Century readers, FRANKENSTEIN is not a horror novel per se.

While Mary Shelly might have been stylistically weak, her story was not. Nothing like it had been written before, and the concept of a student endowing life upon a humanoid creature cobbled together from charnel house parts was unexpectedly shocking to the reading public. But even more shocking were the ideas that Shelly brought to the story. Having created this thing in his own image, what--if anything--does the creator owe it? And in posing this question, Shelly very deliberately raises her novel to an even more complex level: this is not merely the conflict of man and his creation, but also a questioning of God and his responsibility toward his creation.

In some respects, the book is written like the famous philosophical "dialogues" of the ancient world: a counterpoint of questions and arguments that do battle for the reader's acceptance. More than anything else, FRANKENSTEIN is a novel of ethics and of ideas about ideas, with Mary Shelly's themes arrayed in multiple layers throughout: God, self, society, science; responsibility to self, to society, to the things we bring to society, to the truth; life, integrity, and death--these are the ideas and issues that predominate the book, and any one expecting a horror novel pure and simple is out of luck.

Mary Shelly is a rare example of a writer whose ideas clearly outstrip her literary skill--but whose ideas are so powerful that they transcend her literary limitations and continue to resonate today. And indeed, as science continues to advance, it could not be otherwise so. Mary Shelly could not see into the future of DNA research, laboratory-grown tissues, test-tube babies and the like--but between 1816 and 1818 she wrote a book about the ethical dilemmas that swirl around them. And for all its flaws, FRANKENSTEIN is perhaps even more relevant today than it was over a hundred and fifty years ago.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Forget the horror themes. This book is timeless for all cultures because it forces us to ask the big questions: What is our responsibility as a creator? What is God's responsibility as a creator? What is God's realm? What is Man's realm? If God is us, and we are God - are we evolving or are we going where we shouldn't go? Are there ways that society should/shouldn't use or ignore their knowledge? What do we do when our technology surpasses our humanity? How should humanity proceed with technology? Are we ready to know what we know?

The intrigue is endless, and can be revisited with new groups for discussions over and over.

Shelley was only 18 when she wrote this?! Incredible! The reason for this being a classic is obvious--a stellar story about a mad scientist and his objectives gone awry. I've learned a lot about the time period, as well, despite the few anachronisms throughout. Shelley did a fabuous job with this novel and I hope it remains in its rightful place in the canons of literature.

Word Ninja

This is one of the most misunderstood and underappreciated works of fiction in the English language. EVERYONE should read it- it's very short,very readable, and a really entertaining story. You THINK you know the story from the movies, but it's actually quite different. Frankenstein's monster is not the lumbering lummox the films make him out to be- rather, he is articulate, sensitive, and as soft-hearted as he is embittered. The central philosophical question of the book is whether or not the "monster" (or, as Shelley referes to him, "the fiend") is really human. The question of the creature's humanity is muddled by the fact that he is entirely rational and seems to have a well-defined sense of morality, although his morality might not be shared by all the readers. Some will argue that the creature is indeed human, other's will argue that he is merely a sociopath created out of the remains of formerly human souls and is therefore more or less an organic robot. A lamentably short read, this story will stick with you and will forever change your opinion of the hollywood version of this monster. This edition is dirt cheap, so you can't afford NOT to read it!

First, don't buy this if you expect to read a scary horror story. It's also not exactly science fiction since the details of the monster's creation are left out..

However, this book is still clearly a classic. It's amazing to think it was written 200 years ago by a 19-year-old woman. The themes are as fresh today as they must have been novel when the book was written.

The primary theme, in my opinion, is whether the monster is to be considered a human. This topic is seen in the debate over cloning. Secondly, Shelley puts forth the notion that the monster is inherently kind & caring but is driven to evil by society's obsession with outward appearance.

I agree with other reviewers who say that information is left out. I was puzzled as to how the monster learned to speak so well in such a short amount of time. The issues of food & clothing are also in question. However, looking at the larger themes involved, these details are minimal and do not detract from the story..