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Summary: M.Shelly's FRANKENSTEIN
Review: Mary Shelly's Frankenstein was pretty good. Although, many times i found my mind wandering to other things. It was somewhat slow paced, and at times very boring. I felt Mary Shelly left out some things that perhaps should have been discussed in order for the book to be a little more interesting (ie. how the monster actually came to life). Even though the story was short, and unbelieveable i did however like how she made the monster a product of society- everyone hated and feared him, therefore he hated everyone else. He could have been good, and lived a (somewhat) normal life. The story has a deep meaning to it- it just took M. Shelly a long time to bring it out. I would recommend this book if you like science fiction.
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Summary: Book review for Intro to Fiction
Review: Over all I felt that this novel was rather captivating. At all times Shelley is able to hold the reader in suspens and then jump into vivid details about the accounts of the story and the journey of Victor Frankenstein and his creation. I would not consider this to be a horror story as much as it is a drama story with its fair share of action. Shelley also lets the reader gain a personal attachment to each of the characters in the story by enclosing very detailed descriptions of their physical and personal attributes. As the story progresses the reader can begin to sympathise with the characters which creates a rising interest for the duration of the novel. Because this book has many different scopes that can be examined and critiqued, I would highly recomend this book to readers from 7th grade on up through professional levels of literature. One of the best books that I have ever read.
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Summary: A timeless classic
Review: Published in 1818, Mary Shelley's best-selling novel Frankenstein has become famed and celebrated annually as thousands of children dress in various monster garb for Halloween, depicting themselves as Dr. Frankenstein's creation. Although Shelley's story is sometimes slow and explicitly focused on minor details, the work presents many issues that are still being analyzed today in literature and society. This is a testament of the timelessness of this great book. Like other authors of the time, Shelley comments on the innocence of childhood when Frankenstein says, "I feel exquisite pleasure in dwelling on the recollections of childhood, before misfortune had tainted my mind, and changed its bright visions of extensive usefulness into gloomy and narrow reflections upon self." Frankenstein's childhood was something that was precious and dear. This thought has remained popular in current literature. For example, in the television show Ed, the main character has this to say about the early days: "Explain to me why we're always so condescending towards our younger selves. We should be looking back in awe of who we were...all that passion, all that fire, all those dreams. And then it all fades and people say, 'Oh well, that's just part of growing up.' I think that's tragic." The fascination of the idealism of children is still quite popular, not only in modern sitcoms but in blockbuster movies like Big or classic fairy tales like Peter Pan as well. Although Shelley does not fully explore this matter, she addresses an issue that still gains press today. Another theme of Frankenstein is equivalent of the modern day sociological issue of nature versus nurture. The creature begins his life full of love and cannot even conceive of why someone would murder another person. But as he faces constant abandonment and bitterness, the creature turns to acts that he once could not imagine. Placing the blame on his nurture, or lack thereof, the creature exclaims, "I desired love and fellowship, and I was still spurned. Was there no injustice in this? Am I to be thought the only criminal, when all human kind sinned against me?" Shelley's answer to these questions is not all too clear, although the fate and doom of Frankenstein sends a message that the scientist was partially at fault. But the answers that the creature would get in modern times are lucid and concise. A final issue that is still prevalent in society is mankind's attempt to govern the physical world through science. The results of Frankenstein's experiment indicate that Shelley strongly believes that man should not try to play God. Stephen Hawking is currently trying to unify physics, or combine the theory of relativity with the theory of quantum mechanics. Others try to clone life using DNA. Hawking recently said, ""If we find the answer to [cloning or the unification of physics,] it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason - for then we would know the mind of God." Like Frankenstein, scientists are still trying to discover the mystery of life, and Shelley's commentary on this absorption is appropriate even today.
This book is slow at times but in the end worth the read.
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Summary: Not The Frankenstein You Saw On Saturday Morning Television
Review: I believe that people think of Frankenstein as being a horrible monster that tormented towns and people with bolts coming out of his neck. Even I had fallen under these mis-conceptions from watching the old b&w movies on TV as a small child. The movies we watched set us up for that, but after reading the book by Mary Shelley, I was surprised to learn and see things differently. Mary wrote a classic horror story that even though moves at a slow pace for our time (story originally written in the 1800's) still can scare the reader. Were told what we need to know about key characters in the book, but other descriptions such as the what the monster truly looks like are left out. We are allowed to imagine that and because of this, allowed to use what scares us the most in this world to scare ourselves. Even the theme and plot that runs through the book could be looked at, as political or social issues that still plague the world today. When all is said and done, the book Frankenstein is a great book that should be read be everyone that enjoys not only horror books, but also romantic classics.
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Summary: Finally, a classic novel that keeps your attention
Review: Finally, a classic novel that keeps your attention from beginning to end. I think what makes this novel so great is that it is so different then what you originally perceive the story to be about. It's nothing like any of the movies that Hollywood has created over the years. As you read, you find yourself completely in tune with everything that Victor Frankenstein feels. Sometimes it seems as if the story starts to just drag on, but just at the right moment, something new happens that grabs your attention and rekindles your interest! While writing this novel, Mary Shelly left out what seems to be some very important details. This, at first, may seem frustrating! But as you read on, you realize that it only gets the you to use your imagination to create parts the parts of the story that are missing. This actually seems to make the story a little more dramatic and scary then it would have been if Shelly had filled in all the blanks for you. There are some very interesting things going on in this book if you read between the lines. While reading, you must ask your self various questions about why Victor decides to create the monster and is there a connection to this and the death of his mother? I won't spoil any more for those of you who have not read this book yet. All in all, I was very impressed with this book and really enjoyed reading it. It is by no means, hard to follow or understand. I believe that anyone who reads this book, will enjoy it!
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Summary: A great reading, retaining the essence of the story
Review: I bought this recording so that I could introduce my seniors to the Romantics and I really am pleased. The actors who portray the main characters all do an excellent job bringing to life a book that could very well be hampered by the limitations of audio. Also, it was nice to show my students that their concept of Frankenstein is decidedly not the real story. The recording does a wonderful job of reflecting the major philosophical statements that Mary Shelley wanted to express to the reader. If you are going to share this with a class, it would be a good idea to connect the ideas of education, as well as the Promethian connection. Not only does the story make a connection between Frankenstein and the daemon's education, it provides a connection between Shelley's education and that of the daemon's. I feel that one of the strong points of the book is the feminine interpretation of education (not necessarily a feminist viewpoint of education). It is important to expose high school students to women writers who express strong ideas and transcend diaries and letters to their daughters. That said, I have two minor complaints: 1: The audio level is not evenly balanced. I found myself turning up the volume to allow my students to hear the important dialogue and turning it down because the voices were instantly too loud. Alone this would not be a problem, but in groups it certainly was. 2. While the music fit the mood of the story, there wasn't enough of it for my taste. I would have liked a bit more to punctuate some important moments. If you want to listen to this alone, while sitting quietly, this is a wonderful experience. However, if you want to have a group to listen, be prepared for volume problems. Essentially this is a really good abridgment and reading, but the sound is a bit troublesome.
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Summary: old school thriller
Review: Overall, this book was great. It's the type of thriller that would scare you, had we not been desensitized as a society by gore and guts on TV and in movies. Its not the Frankenstein you see in the media like Eddie Munster with the things sticking out of his neck and the lightning storm and the mad scientist creating the monster. It is a genuine, old-fashioned horror story. The best part is, Shelley does not give you a detailed description of the creation of her imagination. She lets each person's imagination create its own "monster." You can make it as scary or as innocent as you want. That's the beauty of what Shelley does in this novel. You can read into the scenes and story as a whole as much as you want to. You can also argue that the book is not a horror story at all. There are many different points of view concerning the intent of the novel. How it is interpreted is left entirely up to each individual reader. The only downfall I found in the novel was the pace that it held throughout the story. I had to adjust my thinking towards the time at which it was written. It does not have the speed that a modern novel has and you have to adjust somewhat to get through the slower parts. As a whole, I highly recommend this classic for anyone who enjoys letting his or her imagination create the story.
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Summary: Mary Shelley was not Percy Shelley
Review: Mary Shelley's charactorization was... lacking. None of the charactors had their own "voice". This actually made it confusing to follow at times, as the protaganist, his love, and his creation all have sections where they are telling the narative... and it is often difficult to tell who is talking! While I'm glad I read the original, I probably will not re-read it.
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Summary: Frankenstein = worst book ever
Review: if you want to read this book, you will need knowledge of five words; reverence, countenence; ardour; odious; benevolence. sure, there are good points to be made in this book. Like, nature being all theraputic and how man can alienate himself from man. The abscure way that mary shelley brings these points across to the reader, is repetitive and inane. This book could easily be 50 pages long, it would be a great read on the crapper, but since it is not 50 pages, just read the cliffs notes, otherwise youre wasting your time. This book is totally sketch.
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Summary: frankenstein stinks
Review: ok this book does not deserve the title of a horror story its not scary in the leat bit. so all y'all who think this book will send chills up your spine IT WONT! READ DRACULA ITS WY BETTER!frankenstein isjust plain sad and depressing
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