| Frankenstein (Penguin Classics) | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 40 reviews)
Sales Rank: 22214
Category: Book
Author: Mary Shelley
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Studio: Penguin Classics
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
Label: Penguin Classics
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0141439475
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.7
EAN: 9780141439471
ASIN: 0141439475
Publication Date: May 2003
Release Date: May 6, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Edited by Maurice Hindle.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 35 more reviews...
 Not what I remembered... turns out there are 2 versions September 13, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Short Summary: Victor Frankenstein is young, intelligent, and quite full of himself. He discovers through his studies the methods of creating life, and does so. The creature he creates is of enormous size and strength and is hideous to behold. Terrified of what he has made, he flees, leaving the creature to fend for itself.
I just finished re-reading this book, it has been over 10 years since I read it the last time. My memory of the book was a tremendous feeling of sadness and compassion for the creature that Frankenstein created. In this re-reading I was shocked at the change in my feelings toward the characters. Though everything seemed the same it evoked an entirely different set of emotions in me. After doing a bit of poking about the internet I discovered that there are two versions of the story that Shelley wrote, one the first one, which is the one I just read, is much harsher, the creature is much less amiable, and Victor is much less forgivable. The second version she wrote, which I understand was written about 10-15 years later, evokes more sympathy for Victor and his creation.
Both are almost identical, starting with the gentleman on the ship in the Northern Ice who meets Victor. Victor relates his tale to the young seamen, this tale often becomes a tale within a tale within a tale as we shift points of view, always related to the young sailor through the stories of Victor. As I read this book I found myself thinking that this may be one of the few books that manages to encompass all 5 versions of Conflict, Man vs Man, Man vs Self, Man vs Nature, and Man vs God. Shelley's prose can at times be difficult, not to read, but to focus on because of the style and time frame it was written in. It is very easy to find yourself skimming, which you do not want to do.
The story is one of love and loss, creation and our relationship with our creator, the faults of man attempting to become God, and the cruelty that lies with our society to that which we perceive as ugly, frightening or hideous. When Victory abandons the monster he leaves him to learn of the cruelty of our society and to react to it as inappropriately as he does. This tale is NOT what you watched on TV, it is not found in the movie you watched. This is a story that can only be found in this book.
Did I love it? Not really, in the version I just read, Victor is a whiner, who considers himself a genius though he stands aside while his family and friends are killed. The monster, though more understandable, is also a contemptible character as he murders one after the other with little to no remorse. Yes it is well written and filled with interesting comparisons, warnings, and meaning... but as for a fun filled entertaining read, the characters were a bit to whiny and non-committal for me to really have anyone to root for. Still, they were full characters, completely rounded and interesting even though they were pathetic. The story is so filled with meaning that you could discuss it for days. And the concept of the feminine in this book is very interesting to read... I recommend this book, but I won't say that it ranks above Dracula in my mind.
 Frankenstein August 18, 2008
Mary Shelly says it like no one else. I thought Tolstoy had the most profound writing talent before reading this book.
Usually I read to kill time but this book had me make the time. In my 52 years, this has been the book that I couldn't wait to get back to. I'm deeply impressed and so happy that I chose this timeless classic.
4-1/2 stars for a classic the movies messed up August 4, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Did the people who made the Frankenstein movie even read this book? All of the things that I associated with Frankenstein are creations of the movie alone. No Igor, no lightning striking the body, no grave-robbing (not directly referred to anyway), no mountain laboratory, no villagers attacking the castle to burn it to the ground. Just a young college student seized with a fever to see what he is capable of creating. What he creates is a monster so terrible to look upon, that he is disgusted and horrified and flees from it. The creature is not yet a monster and only wants to be loved and cared for by its creator. But as it is attacked and maligned purely on the basis of its horrific appearance, it becomes a monster and strikes out to destroy everything its creator loves. It's a real tragedy told almost entirely as a narrative without action. It was a tough read in spots, but well worth it. I'm a big classic horror movie fan, but after reading this and Dracula, I'm a bit appalled at how far they strayed from the original.
Frakenstein July 10, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
An incredible book that I only wish I had read earlier in my life. Once I started the book I had difficulty putting it back down except to do the things that I was obliged to do. I loved the book completely, but I am still after finishing it unsure what my thoughts and feelings are towards Victor Frakenstein or his monster. I want to feel compassion for the monster in his only desire for love and to not be alone but at the same time I fear that if I had met him in the city that I would scream in fear and desire to kill him myself. As far as Victor, he is someone who at times I felt sorry for and other times I wanted to hate him more so than the monster for his crazy ambitions to do such a thing and then to abhor and desire the death of his creation. A great book that I would recommend to anyone.
This edition allows Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin-Shelley to shine June 28, 2008
I first read Frankenstein my freshman year of high school. When asked about it, long after I stopped carrying about the novel with too many complexities for even a bright 14 year old to understand, I would simply say "I know that Mary Shelley is [radical feminist] Mary Wollstonecraft's daughter, but you would never know it from Frankenstein."
I reread the novel for my Goth Lit class freshman year of college when I was better able to understand the intricacies of the text. For the first time, I did see saw Mary Wollstonecraft's daughter. Numerous reviewers before me have expounded upon the "Man trying to usurp God with Reckless Science" themes of the novel, concentrating on the Reckless Science (so like what we see paralleled today) while ignoring the phallo-centric characteristics of the science that Victor Frankenstein practices.
The man's science relentlessly pursues and forcibly unveils a decidedly feminine and reluctant Nature, and manages to bypass the feminine entirely with the creation of monster that came simply from the work of a man. Frankenstein houses a genuine fear of female sexuality (just looks at the dream he has following his monster's creation, in which his beloved, while in his embrace, becomes the corpse of his dead mother).
I know my argument might seem shoddy here, but Hindle (the editor) puts together a wonderful introduction that, among other things, connects Frankenstein's science to his maleness.
The are many editions of Frankenstein. I feel that this one stands out because of its fine scholarship.
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