Thoughts 
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Dover Publications 1994 (orig pub’d 1831), 166 pages (or 9 CDs)
Genre: Classic? Horror?! Challenge: RIP V.
I was listening to the audio* of this but it was due back to the library before I made it even 2/3 of the way. I returned it. I was having trouble focusing on it anyway or I was laughing at all the “WRETCHEDNESS!!!”-esses so floweryly** expressed.
I still own the book so maybe, someday, I’ll pick it up again. I have this funny feeling that in a class with the right teacher, this would be a fascinating look at ‘humanity.’
DNF = Did Not Finish.
* If you missed my bad poetry review that I wrote awhile back, you didn’t really miss anything.
** What? Don’t like floweryly? flowerily? oh well. It seems to be the best word I could invent that fit.
HIdeinWhitetoSkipLine
Flowery writing is probably best read, not listened to.
Yes, it was a bit distracting! I would hear a phrase like ‘the astonishment which I had first experienced gave place to delight and rapture’ and I would think to myself, ‘delight and rapture?!’ and then miss the next 5 minutes rethinking the phrase…
Well, you know how I felt about this one, so I applaud your decision to not finish.
yes, Jill, thank you. I DO appreciate your review because I was SO confused at first! Did you see Marie’s comment below?
I might not have read if if I hadn´t been a teacher, but as it is, I found several aspects to like, e.g. the theme of men playing Gods (or women?) by giving life to a creature
With the right introduction to WHY this book is important would have been very helpful to put me in a different more-ready state of mind.
I haven’t read this one, and I’m not really sure I want to. Especially after your DNF review!
I must say that if I had realized it was intended as some kind of morality tale rather than an entertaining monster story, I probably would have been more ready for it. I started so confused. And as Kathy the BermudaOnion says, reading this is probably better than listening. Listening might be better as a RE-read.
When I tried to read this I found it was too different from the popular culture notions of Frankenstein for me to get into it- it just wasn’t what I expected. Oh well!
YES! This is EXACTLY what I had a problem with!!! but you expressed it better than I could think up myself.
Sorry you didn’t make it through. I really enjoyed Frankenstein, but then again, I DID read it with a class and that might have made all the difference in the world.
Amanda, I do think I came into it with the WRONG expectations. I can see why it is a classic and maybe now that I know it isn’t just an entertaining monster story, I could be compelled to try it again. Maybe annotated next time?
It’s hard to get in the mood for the idea of humanity as wretched when you have a new puppy around.
LOL! True.
(PS Did you go read my poem?!)
Well of course I’d already read the poem. I try to show up more than I open my mouth.
Good advice.
Well, I for one, will not argue with your decision to not renew it. I still have to say that I’m glad you started it though–’cause I still love your poem!
Thanks Debi! You are the coolest.
When I read this last year for Dueling Monsters, I got a copy that had the two versions of Frankenstein…the earlier version was written by Mary Shelley herself; and then the second edition was edited and influenced by her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley. He should have left it alone — it’s more flowery than the original was!
Valerie! I can’t find any ref to whether or not mine was the edited and enhanced(?) version or the orig. VERY interesting. I’m glad I own the book – and I love the cover. Maybe someday I will really sit and read the whole thing. I was amazed how long it was for a 160 page book.