Frankenstein [Kindle Edition]

Achtung. Hierbei gilt zu beachten, dass es sich offenbar nicht um 1818 veröffentliche OriginalVersion handelt, sondern um die 1831 überarbeitete Version handelt.

"Frankenstein" is a typical novel from the romantic period. The story is based on the conflict of a scientist with the results of his work. But Frankenstein is far more than that: It is the story of two individuals (Frankenstein and his "monster") and their acceptance and behavior in society, and of course, the novel contains a lot of latent psychological information (what would Freud have said about that?). However, it is typical for the age of romanticism that the feelings and thoughts of the individuum are at the center of the plot (see e.g. the works by Byron or by the German authors Eichendorff and Novalis). This holds as well for the music composed during that time (Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, ...). Mary Shelley describes in great detail the innermost feelings of Frankenstein and his "wretch" and how they changed from one minute to the other, and what made them change their moods, and why and how, and who was around etc. This actually - because presented through the entire book - makes the reading of the highly interesting story rather tedious. Story: 5 stars, Fun: 1 star

This book is absolutely amazing. The only thing I didn't like is how she made the book third person (its really told by the sailor Robert Walton, and not Victor Frankenstein, which people seem to misunderstand.) Besides that, the book is very well paced, and I found it very easy to understand. For you readers out there who said they had diffuculty in understanding the book you should pick up Cliff Notes or go to sparknotes.com to help you aid your understanding of this book, instead of declaring its "garbage" because you have failed to understand this brilliant womans messsage. Anyways the book is about how the monster represents a modern Adam and how mankind in general faces the dilemma of how to cope with our existence. This book left me heart-broken and in tears at the end. I felt horribly sorry for the monster who was more human this his juvenile and ignorant (yes, despite all the masters brilliance, he was ignorant) creator Victor Frankenstein. Definitely read this, the book is exquisite :)

Unlike The Scarlet Letter, which some may find difficult to partake of, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein comes eas to any reader while maintaining the feel of a magnificent work of art. Shelley's story of a man set upon creating a being of his own is undaunting and horrifying, suspenseful and emotional. There is no doubt that this novel has received many praises by countless amounts of people, praises for its incorporation of naturistic and societal themes, the emotions of Victor Frankenstein and his creation, and a storyline that never stops moving. One will not soon forget its words after reading it, which marks this novel as a great literary achievement.

Zugegebermaßen mag das Buch stellenweise etwas langatmig erscheinen, aber gelesen haben sollte man das Buch wenigstens einmal im Leben. Eine kleine Hürde ist das alte Englisch, was manchmal zu Verständnisproblemen führen kann. Es ist ein sehr bewegendes Buch und regt zum Nachdenken an. Man erlebt ein Wechselbad der Gefühle, soll man Frankenstein und seine Kreatur verabscheuen oder sie bemitleiden? Wer Horror, Action und Romantik sucht ist mit diesem Klassiker gut bedient.

We all know the monster, stitched together from dead body parts, with a screw through its neck; its image has penetrated popular culture like few others have - it is a true classic. So what can one say?

Frankenstein or the new Prometheus is a fascinating read. First of all, it is totally romantic - full of descriptions of nature and the effect on the protagonists minds. It is filled to the brim with introspect, monologues about feelings and such fare, so whoever can't endure this old-fashioned style might be put off a bit. It also excels (which, as far as I know is typical for Mary Shelley) in the description of subtle nuances in the relation between the novels characters. So it is quite far from the monster mash that some might expect - but for me it was chilling to the bone. The slow build up of the main story, which is ingeniously warped in multiple layers of narrative, the fragile relation between creator and his creation that slowly turns to ultimate doom and above all the powerful vision of a force of nature set free among humankind by the naivete of a young, technically ingenious mind for me conjured up images and thoughts that are there to stay.

The book works on so many levels. As a commentary about parenthood (and the relation of the sexes), as dark omens of the then coming industrial age, of the balance between power and wisdom, the effects of loneliness, the inner workings of human society. Most of the truly great novels offer us a new perspective on human nature - on ourselves. This one does for sure. And for sure it is a really great novel.

Victor grew up reading the works of Paracelsus, Agrippa, and Albertus Magnus, the alchemists of the time. Toss in a little natural philosophy (sciences) and you have the making of a monster. Or at least a being that after being spurned for looking ugly becomes ugly. So for revenge the creature decides unless Victor makes another (female this time) creature, that Victor will also suffer the loss of friends and relatives. What is victor to do? Bow to the wishes and needs of his creation? Or challenge it to the death? What would you do?

Although the concept of the monster is good, and the conflicts of the story well thought out, Shelly suffers from the writing style of the time. Many people do not finish the book as the language is stilted and verbose for example when was the last time you said, “Little did I then expect the calamity that was in a few moments to overwhelm me and extinguish in horror and despair all fear of ignominy of death.”
Much of the book seems like travel log filler. More time describing the surroundings of Europe than the reason for traveling or just traveling. Many writers use traveling to reflect time passing or the character growing in stature or knowledge. In this story they just travel a lot.

This book is definitely worth plodding through for moviegoers. The record needs to be set strait. First shock is that the creator is named Victor Frankenstein; the creature is just “monster” not Frankenstein. And it is Victor that is backwards which added in him doing the impossible by not knowing any better. The monster is well read in “Sorrows of a Young Werther,” “Paradise Lost,” and Plutarch’s “Lives....” The debate (mixed with a few murders) rages on as to whether the monster was doing evil because of his nature or because he was spurned? Lesen Sie weiter... ›