Like many people, despite frequently encountering references to, books and movies about Frankenstein, I had never until now read the original novel. Written by Mary Shelley at the urging (a contest of sorts) of Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, it was first published anonymously in 1818 when the author was only 20.

Oh my! How many exclamation points are needed to tell this story! To be fair, it is written in a style common for the period, and quite melodramatically. For me, the prose tends to be a little too purplish.
I had not known that the story starts not with Victor Frankenstein but with letters between Captain Walton, who is exploring the Arctic, and his sister. The captain saw a large figure racing across the ice with a sled team, and later, another man with the one remaining dog on his team. The man, Victor Frankenstein, is rescued although we never learn what happens to the remaining dog. Frankenstein tells his story to Walton.

Surprising to me, there is very little about the creation of the monster – poof – it's done. There was quite a bit about how Frankenstein felt about his horrible task, how it repulsed him yet he continued. I would have enjoyed the story more if I'd been able to like Frankenstein in any way. He created a monster only to abandon it when he saw what he created, he hid his complicity from everyone, even when an innocent girl was accused of one of the monster's crimes, and he whined...a lot. It seems that for a good part of the model, he was more concerned with his own sorrows, his own illnesses and state of mind, more than he cared about the monster's victims. Of course, this was also a cautionary tale about progress (as well as other moral issues), a weighty issue during the early industrial revolution.

This classic is a quick read, and I'm glad I read it, but it's not ever going to be one of my favorites. ( )

a good book tended to drag on a bit in some places very opposite from the movie perception of frakenstein ( )

Superb. A glimpse into the heart of true loneliness and suffering. I was deeply moved by this novel, and I look forward to reading it again one day. ( )

Excellent book. Not at all like the common image of frankenstein's monster. Getting literary, frankenstein and the monster represent the transition into modernity fabulously. The writing is beautiful. ( )

Although the change in pace and language from my usual diet of modern fiction took a bit of getting used to, I really enjoyed this. Shelley's descriptions of Frankenstein's descent into miserable madness and also that of the wretched and lonely existence of his creation are incredibly emotive. From the beginning I was sucked into the tale of Frankenstein's journey from naive young student through to the raving and hysterical individual he is towards the end of the book. When the story-telling his handed over to the monster itself, is when it becomes truly heart-breaking. The idea of an indivdual rejected by society purely because of his appearance has, I think great relevance still today. This is a true cautionary tale - perhaps we should all be careful what we wish for, and mindful of our selfish desires. ( )