Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Narrated by George Guidall
Reviewed by: Sarah Baker, Library Volunteer
Genre: Classic, Horror
Suggested Age: Teens and Adults
What is this Book About? The classic tale of the dangers of science gone wrong, the hubris of man, and of what love and longing can drive someone to. Victor Frankenstein’s studies were diverse, but they allowed him to gain the insight into the creation of life. But his creation frightens him, and he abandons it, falling into a months’ long illness. Alone in the world, the creature wanders – lost, no memories or language, scared, but also scary. As time passes the creature learns, but it also realizes that it is feared and will never be accepted. He contrives a meeting between himself and Victor, demanding a mate. Victor finds himself unable to comply and a new cycle of violence and revenge begins. As the book draws to a close, you wonder who will survive and for how long.
My Review: People get worked up about the whole “Frankenstein Monster” thing. “You’re thinking of Frankenstein’s monster,” they say if you call the creature Frankenstein. But there are two monsters in this book, and one is named Frankenstein. Reading this sets Victor Frankenstein in two lights. On the one hand, he is intelligent enough to discover a secret that has eluded mankind for centuries. This is in part due to his extremely varied educational background. On the other hand, he shirks his responsibilities–A lot. He buries himself in work and ignores his family to the point they send someone to check on him. He ignores the horror of what he’s doing until the work is complete, then spurns the creature. He falls into some kind of fit followed by a long illness, and upon recovery, goes back to being a carefree man. Then the creature shows up and he hems and haws about EVERYTHING. When the creature presses him to create a mate, he puts off the task as long as possible, starts the work, then destroys it halfway through. At every sudden turn or death of a loved one, he goes into his fits and falls ill. And he doesn’t seem to be able to even decide if he wants to kill the creature.
The creature is a fascinating study of nature vs nurture. What might he have been if shown kindness? A blank slate at his rebirth, and with the ability to learn, he could have become, well, anything. But because he was shunned, feared, and even hunted, it turned him bitter and violent. Was that a natural part of his make-up? Or did circumstances drive him to it? We’ll never really know.
I went with the audio version of the book because gothic novels are a bit…well, they’re overly flowery and sometimes densely worded. There, I said it. They are products of their time, and they don’t always translate well into today’s use of language. But listening to it made the language less frustrating. It truly became a tale being told to you, transforming you into the sea captain hearing it from Victor. And George Guidall is a wonderful narrator with an impressive body of work. Great vocal range, excellent pronunciations, and the ability to switch from lighthearted to serious with ease.
There’s an important component to this book that gets noted but never really gets the impact or credit it should, and that is the author. Mary Shelley was only nineteen when she wrote this. In one stroke, she not only created the genre of science fiction, she also brought us the first creation story that did not involve divine involvement. (She was also pretty hardcore, and Goth on a level most of us can never reach. Check out her Wikipedia page or a biography like Mary Shelley : the strange, true tale of Frankenstein’s creator for more info.)
Three Words That Describe This Book: Gothic, Innovative,
Give it a Try if You Like: Pennydreadful, the Frankenstein movies, Victor LaValle’s Destroyer
Rating: 4/5
About FDL Reads
FDL Reads is a series of weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library.
