100. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (Science Fiction) 244 p.
Sci-fi Classics Challenge
Course reading: The Novel
Whew! I really had to force myself to finish this. It’s been a long time since I read this, but not long enough—I remembered it well enough that there was no suspense whatsoever, but not well enough to skim any of it. Still, it’s done, and I must admit that it’s an interesting book to study in an English course, even though I didn’t get much pleasure from reading it.
I don’t want to discourage anyone from reading it, however. Frankenstein is a classic, and deservedly so. It’s quite a fascinating tale, and very different from the expectations I had based on what I’d heard about the story. The most important thing, which many people know but often forget, is that Frankenstein is the scientist, not the monster—the being Frankenstein creates has no name, and although the being gets the chance to tell his own story, the book revolves very much around Victor Frankenstein himself.
Probably my least favourite element of the novel was Frankenstein’s personality, in particular an aspect he shares with the being: they’re both such drama queens! Frankenstein moans constantly about how wretched he is, while the being can’t shut up about his own wickedness and despair. I also found that there were so many coincidences in the text that they intruded on the narrative.
I did enjoy the book to a certain extent, and I’m glad read it—but I’ll be equally glad never to read it again.
Books read: 100/100 (100%)
Pages read: 29,634/30,000 (99%)
