Guns and Guts

Book Review: Frankenstein

November 10th, 2008

Frankenstein
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Penguin Classics (May 6, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0141439475
ISBN-13: 978-0141439471

Amazon Link

This is the second book I have read in my list of 100 Best Novels.

Frankenstein may well be the best book I have ever read. It is truly an awesome work. Mary Shelley created a masterpiece. If you have not read this book, I would urge you to do so. Having seen many movies on the subject, one would think that a good grasp of the subject matter would have existed in my brain. Nothing could have been further from the truth. The movies have nothing to do with the real story. The monster in the movies is a grotesque simplification of Viktor Frankenstein’s cunning creature.

This brings up an important point. Viktor Frankenstein is Frankenstein, not the creature. The creature has no name beyond possibly, wretch or daemon. Popular culture has confused this point since nearly the original release of the book apparently.

This is a horror novel of course. The story is horrifying, but some of the horror has worn with age. Certainly this book would have scared the pants off its nineteenth century readers. The effect, if pondered properly, is still there. It is a personal horror story. Viktor’s story is horrific for him. If the reader can empathize with his situation, and realize just how bad this poor soul’s journey was, the story will definitely seem horrifying. Modern media makes the genre seem as if it is only about blood and guts. You will not find this in Frankenstein, it is much more of a psychologically scary book.

The horror aspect of the book actually is a lot deeper than that. You feel the horror of the poor, evil monster as well. His disgusting machinations almost seem justifiable at times. The creature is quite a grand character. He has superhuman strength, can survive where mere humans would perish, and is extremely intelligent. This is not the dumb atomoton of Boris Karloff. He is, however, a disgustingly scary looking monster, and is despised by all who seem him.

While the rueful stories of both Frankenstein and the abomination he created are sad, the most horrifying aspect for the original readers had to be the idea of the creation itself. The entire book is a warning from Shelley to be careful with trying to play God. Poor Frankenstein’s lesson has been remembered since she wrote the story, and has become a cliché for scientifically-induced nightmares of which well-meaning scientists lose control. She wrote the book during the industrial revolution, so such a creation would not be out of the realm of possibility for her readers. Her fear of change to come would have been shared by much of her audience.

We should heed her warning now more than ever. As our technology advances further and further, we must be careful not to destroy ourselves through sheer arrogance. Surely, the scientists at Los Alamos must have thought of Viktor’s creature when they unleashed the bomb for the first time in the New Mexico desert.

Some have said that the warning is unfounded and that knowledge at any cost is worthwhile. Those that feel this way may need to read Frankenstein again. Viktor’s unquenchable thirst for knowledge blinded him to the possible consequences of his actions. Once he actually succeeded, the results of his quest were unbearable and he failed to control his creation.

The original book was released anonymously in 1818. When it was discovered that Shelley was the author after the second release in 1823, some saw this as the final horrible aspect of the book. How could a nineteen year-old girl craft such a gruesome and disgusting tale?! They were beside themselves, and thought she was obviously mentally ill. My thoughts on that topic are simple. She was a genius, and an exquisite wordsmith. Unfortunately for her she never recaptured the magic. <em>Frankenstein</em> was her finest work.

The book itself flows perfectly, and the language contained within it is beautiful. It is much more formal than our modern language, while still being very accessible. The conversations that the characters have leave me wanting to converse in such a way. The book is not overly long, but it did take me some time to finish - a little more time than I thought it would. This could be pinned on the fact that I enjoyed every page. There was no rush to get through the material, until the last twenty pages or so. The need to see how the story turns out was there for sure.

Overall I now see why this is a classic story. It was completely wonderful, and I will read it again.

Categories: Books | Tags: horror, novel, reading list