Frankenstein

Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved it and HIGHLY recommend Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Don't wait 65 years to read it, it is surely better than near anything you might read this year. Try Frankenstein instead.

This review is of Frankenstein (Amazon Classics Edition) ebook ($2.99) and companion Whispersync Audiobook ($1.99) narrated by Nico Evers-Swindell, who I hope to comment on later.

I believe the book is a classic in the same class as Robinson Crusoe, and Gulliver's Travels, both books with deep and significant examinations of human behaviors, emotions, ethics, and morals. Frankenstein in the same vein examines the darker side of human ethics, compassion, morality, and our responsibilities to our society and neighbors.

My impression upon completing the novel is that nothing in my experience related to "Frankenstein" had prepared me for what is actually written in the book. After writing 2500 words of draft review, and revisiting several sections of the book I realize I may not have been giving it my full attention at all times. I was regularly surprised at the directions the story took and was gobsmacked when the "dæmond" demanded an audience with Victor Frankenstein, and with the content.


That particular scene — I do not recall being mentioned in all I know about Frankenstein prior to reading the book, yet it is one of the most moving monologues by a character I can recall (less Ayn Rand's longer rants late in Atlas Shrugged). The best I can do by a prospective reader is insist they read the book.

The thing I liked less about Frankenstein is the behavior and thinking of the era it was written. Did folks really spend that much time concerned with the minutia of every mood a person might experience? Some parts of the narrative regarding such things seemed over dramatic. I fail at explaining my impatience. The point is that today's reader may need to suspend disbelief regarding some cultural narrative of the time period.

At its root Frankenstein is a story of Mr. Walton's dreams and efforts to adventure to the north pole. It is written as a story within a story via letters to his sister Mrs. Saville.

Mr. Walton's story is interesting enough. I was moved to contemplation in his view and understanding of his limited education. We all might relate to the desire for a dear friend. A companion who shares our delights, ambitions, and who appreciates our dreams yet remaining a loyal friend despite our frailties and shortcomings. Who doesn't desire a mentor who is sincerely concerned about helping you learn the depth of their knowledge and wisdom? Such are some things Mr. Walton shares in letters to his sister.

By Mr. Walton's fourth letter to his sister many years have passed. He is nearing his dream to reach the north pole despite untold hardships, failures, fatigue, and loneliness (despite a loyal crew on his ship). They are becoming ice bound in the northern seas. The crew gets a glimpse a huge man with a sled on the ice going further north still, stirring fears of being ice bound and also excitement that the journey may still reach success.

Then they pull a wretched soul from a seemingly stray boat that approaches them, likely lost and in mortal danger because of the sea ice. Mr. Walton befriends this man, takes him into his cabin and attempts to restore some health to him. He becomes a friend to Mr. Walton and confesses his many years of study and his vast knowledge which excites Mr. Walton. In addition to nearing his ambitious goals, Mr. Walton has now encountered a soul who might fulfill his desire to learn and have meaningful discussions and companionship.

As the man's health improves, he agrees to tell Mr. Walton of his wretched life story… with conditions. The fourth letter to Mrs Saville leads us into a single person narrative of the autobiography of Victor Frankenstein of Geneva, Switzerland. This is part two of novel, the story between the bookends of Mr. Walton's letters to his sister which, in part, is Mr. Walton's composing Mr. Frankenstein's biography.

Part two is the meat and potatoes of most misguided interpretations of the "Frankenstein story". It is Victor's adventures to study with masters, his brilliant discoveries, his excitement at learning things not yet discovered, his obsessive compulsion to prove his theories which give us the "Mad Scientist" moniker.

The making of a dæmond reaches it conclusion and upon realizing he has animated the creature Victor runs in fright. It is some time before he reluctantly returns to his room and when he does return discovers the dæmond has escaped, not to be heard of or seen in many years.

Victor's autobiography to Mr. Walton continues for years of his life. He travels mostly. The murder of his youngest brother compels Victor to return home to Geneva. This is when the creature and creator collide again and remain in an adversarial relationship until Mr. Walton pulls Victor from the northern sea.

I did write around 5000 words of what happens in the novel, but decided you can get the book and audiobook free, so ought to enjoy it for yourself. (Try Gutenberg, Feedbooks, even Amazon for ebooks, Lit2Go and Librovox for audiobooks. My blog has links.)

I read the book in three sessions over Saturday, April 27, and Sunday, April 28, 2019


My rating guidelines and Amazon's, give "loving it" 5 stars. I would consider this a classic; and one of the best. By Goodreads ratings it deserves 4 stars as I did not think it "amazing" (5 stars). Don Quixote, Robinson Cruose, Gulliver's Travels, & Foundation (by Issac Asimov) are all amazing. This was very close to amazing for many reasons.

Regarding Nico Evers-Swindell's narration: I had no complaints on his narration until I stopped doing mindless chores while listening and started reading the ebook simultaneously. First thing I discovered was the different ebooks on Frankenstein that I have (3) are as if they were written in Greek, then translated to English by assorted translators as every edition of ebook I have is different.

The book Nico Evers-Swindell read was very closely related to the ebook it is supposedly synced to. For the record, while the various books are remarkably different, they do no stray terribly from the book I was reading. I was shocked at how different they were in content though for being the same book.

When Nico neared the end of the book, precisely the last hour and thirty minutes, he went on some kind of dramatics mission that was painful. I believe, for dramatic reasons, he was pausing what seemed like 8-10 seconds between paragraphs. It was maddening. As someone who frequently edits my audiobooks, this kind of nonsense also makes some editing tasks tedious. So while Nico did a good job overall, I did get very frustrated near the end of the book with him.

Afterthought:
This year I committed to reading several "Classics" and I've been amazed at each one I have read, not so much because they were so much more than I had learned about or expected from the book, but because they were so profound about things I just don't routinely see in commercial fiction. Don Quixote was ridiculously hilarious while also being educational -- and some puns of Sancho Panza may be as wise as Confucius sayings. Robinson Crusoe, could serve as a survivalists manual, and also provides deep introspection on how and why we act on our fears. It examines how we come to have beliefs and how they baffle us or benefit us. Gulliver's Travels may have taught me as much about government as any civics book found in public schools. Point being all these classics reach very deep and can be extraordinarily cerebral in addition to being entertaining. Frankenstein turns out to be equally sagacious.

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