Frankly, it's a great book.
Written: Oct 12 '06 (Updated Oct 12 '06)
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Pros: One of the earliest science fiction novels, and still one of the best
Cons: Idiosyncratic writing style and archaic language may put some off
The Bottom Line: A true classic among science fiction literature - in literature in general, come to that.
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| captaind's Full Review: Frankenstein: Or, the Modern Prometheus Books |
When people think of Frankenstein, the first thing they probably think of is a monster rampaging through a horror movie. That image is probably why reading the book never really appealed to me; however the reason I read it in the end, and the reason I ended up enjoying it so much, is because in reality it is one of the first examples of the science fiction genre. To be fair I haven’t actually seen any of the films (not the whole way through anyway), but from what I have seen of them they seem to have little in common with the book apart from the most basic aspects of its premise.
Subtitled ”The Modern Prometheus” because of its parallels with the story of Prometheus, who angered the Gods by stealing fire and giving it to mankind, it is a cautionary tale – despite its age, perhaps still the cautionary tale about the dangers of experimental science. Doctor Frankenstein is not an evil man, nor does he have bad motives – simply a curiosity at what he can achieve without first pausing to consider the results and effects of his work. His ideas lead him to do admittedly weird things like scavenging graveyards at night for body parts, because he is attempting to do what only God had previously done – to create life. Starting with a body made from various bits of corpses sewn together (why he didn’t just take one is beyond me, but maybe reanimating a single dead body wouldn’t feel much like creating life), he will attempt to use science – or as it was more commonly called then, “natural philosophy” – to make the creature live.
Having found out just how difficult getting the thing to life was, he will then discover something even more difficult – finding out what to do with the creature he has created. Will the creator turn his back on the creation, help it – or feel impelled to destroy it?
Mary Shelley’s writing style is very different from what you would expect to read today, though it’s very different from any style I remember reading from any era. The sentences are very long and complex, punctuated by many commas, which frequently appear in the lest expected of places. Quite a bit of the language used is quite archaic, and sources referenced that are obscure or obsolete today, which means that having an edition with an index or glossary of terms is a good idea. However despite the occasional difficult to understand word and idiosyncratic style of prose, I found it to be eminently readable and, once I had got into the plot, utterly compelling.
It starts out with a series of letter and then launches into the narrative in earnest. The letters work as a kind of slow build-up, giving you some vague idea of what is about to unfold and build your expectation without giving away too many details. Various characters come into the story but it’s Dr Frankenstein that we get to view in detail, and his creation – a project started with the best of intentions, but not fulfilling those because of corruption caused by society around them and, of course, the dangers of playing around with things wedon’t yet fully understand.
Overall Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus is a book well worth reading. The style might be difficult for some to get used to, but I would think no-one would be so completely put off by it that it spoils the story for them. It’s a giant among early science fiction novels, and perhaps one of the most important in a way because it takes a subject that would have traditionally been dealt with as a gothic horror with supernatural influences and gives it a thoroughly scientific treatment. The exploration of Dr Frankenstein’s character is fascinating, as is the way the progressive storyline following his “monster” becoming alive. The only thing I have against the book is that Frankenstein’s creation didn’t have a bit more time to live and breath in the book, but I think that was partly done deliberately to show the short-lived nature of some scientific experiments that seem to hold so much promise.
A fascinating book, and probably not at all what you would expect (if you go by the films). It's perhaps even more pertinent to our society today than ever before, what with experimental genetic modification, cloning, stem cell research and the like. Considering it was written in 1818, that's quite an amazing thing to say!
This is an entry to both Pestyside’s “Banned Books Write Off” (though I may be outside the official entry dates!) –
Click Here for details – and MSMorvay’s fourth annual “Resurrecting the Oldies Write Off” – see her profile page for a list of entries (to all 4 write offs). I’m not quite sure who banned Frankenstein or why, but it does indeed seem to have been banned!
Another sci-fi classic that was banned at one time is Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.
Recommended:
Yes
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