Saturday 1 September 2012

#105. FRANKENSTEIN By Mary Shelley

Published : 1818
Pages : 196
Overall Mark : 8/10

Brilliant, driven Victor Frankenstein has at last realised his greatest ambition. The scientist has succeeded in creating intelligent life. But when his creature first stirs, Frankenstein realises he has made a monster. And, abandoned by its maker and shunned by everyone who sees it, the Doctor’s creation sets out to destroy him and all that he holds dear.

MARY SHELLEY (1797-1851)
Daughter of radical writers William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft. A novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, she also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, She was just nineteen years old when she wrote what many critics argue is the first true science fiction novel, Frankenstein.

VERDICT
This classic gothic horror is a classic for a reason. It has a timeless appeal and an unusually modern feel to its writing that is sadly absent in many of its contemporaries. Though nothing like the movie adaptations from over the years, with the book having an intelligent monster that is simply feared by society for his looks and not his actions, this is an enjoyable look at how people judge by looks alone and don't think about the good or bad nature of the person inside, with the doctor being the true monster of this book.