By Mary Shelley
4 Stars
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a novel that follows Victor Frankenstein, an eager young man fascinated by nature and the possibility of artificially creating human life. He attempts to assemble a perfect being, carefully selecting a combination of the most favourable human traits. However, once his goal is achieved, he ends up abandoning his own creation due to its grotesque appearance. This tragic story dives into intriguing themes such as loss, revenge, and the dangers of nature.
Overall, this novel is beautifully written and conveys complex emotions such as anger and grief extremely well. The main characters, Frankenstein and his creature, are well described and likable. Another positive aspect of Frankenstein is the gothic atmosphere that leaves the reader anxious to see what happens next. Mary Shelley’s amazing descriptive writing style enhances this atmosphere, creating an even more tense environment. However, one problem with this novel is the number of unnecessary chapters. Frankenstein is a very slow-paced story and takes a long time to establish the setting and the characters’ backstories, which may not be for everyone. Several chapters in the story are repetitive and do not add very much to the plot, meaning that if they were removed, one would still perfectly understand what is going on. Due to this, Frankenstein is a great read for those who enjoy slow, gothic literature with fleshed-out settings and characters, or anyone who needs a break from the fast-paced world of modern writing. On the other hand, fans of action-filled stories with lots of events will likely not be engaged in this novel.
In conclusion, Frankenstein is a deep novel that explores serious themes and emotions, which is incredibly well written and employs lots of descriptive writing to make for a slow-paced experience and fleshed-out characters.
Reviewed by Katherine
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