An essential and exciting classic, expertly read.

The classic science fiction novel, a gothic tale of science run amok. The book tells the tale of the life of Victor Frankenstein, and how he discovers the secrets of life. Filled with scientific fervour, he works to create life in his laboratory, and only pauses to contemplate the ramifications of his creation after it is loose. Terrible events follow.

This is so much more than a cautionary tale of what happens when science is untempered by morality. Rather, we gain an insight into the minds of all involved, including the scientist in his thirst of knowledge and respect, and his creature in its lonesome intelligence. Shelley contemplates what makes a human - and it is not just body parts.

The language of the book, while somewhat floral by today's standards, is easy to understand and very pleasurable.

The book is expertly read by Simon Vance. ?Subtle variations in pitch and intonation differentiate the characters without being irritating, giving the title a slight feeling of dramatisation. The reading is suitably expressive.

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6 people found this helpful

Not what I was expecting

Like most people I thought I knew the story of Frankenstein and his monster. This book had a lot more than I expected, It is beautifully written and well read and is different enough from all the films/movie tropes to keep me entertained.

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Accessible

Well narrated. Good to have the record set straight on this book. Nice to hear the way language was written and spoken. Not impenetrable like Shakespeare, much closer to the current version of the language we use today.

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2 people found this helpful

Frustrating

A cautionary tale of an incredibly irresponsible and infuriatingly self-indulgent and mawkish scientist who creates the 'Monster' and then spends the rest of the book running away from it feeling sorry for himself. Maybe in 1818 when the book was first published, peoples sensitivities would bring them down on the side of the 'tortured' scientist, but listening to in today, I just felt sorry for the monster and cheered him on all the way.

I found myself not giving two hoots for Frankenstein or his fast-diminishing family and felt the scientist at least got everything he deserved. An interesting book that I enjoyed listening to as a 'classic', but in it's own right it was quite frustrating, with it's deeper historical context being sidelined somewhat by my desire to throttle the scientist and insist he grow a back-bone and deal with his creation.

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Wow. It's a classic alright

Fantastic performance by Simon Vance of a deserved classic. The is the Godfather of them all - written by a 18-20 year old young woman. (Took her two years). Stunning and poetic and still disturbing and socially politically astute. What took me so long?

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1 person found this helpful

Surprisingly different from the films.

I have read most of the 'movie' classic horror stories but I had never gotten around to this one. Glad I did as it was quite different from what I expected. Not my favourite of these stories but worth a listen.

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Tedious

I don't want to struggle on any longer. The style of writing is so long -winded, and over-dramatic.
Really not entertaining enough for me.

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a lot of waffle

Nicely read.
It was enlightening to hear the creature's portrayal in the story vs cinema.
My only criticism is that the book waffles a lot. So much of it seems to be a travelog and not a particularly good travelog at that.

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A classic tale narrated with passion

A gothic tale of vengeance and anguished self-analysis. The narrator captures the passion driving the behaviours of both Frankenstein and his creation. I shed a few tears at the end and was left wondering why it provoked such a response considering the actions that took place throughout the book. Very good story and performance.

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Hasn't aged well

While the concepts that the book discusses are very valid today and interesting, I'm afraid I found the style of writing too decorative without adding anything to the tale. This made the story a chore to wade through. I found myself using the dead time in the novel (during overly flowery descriptions of a persons many good qualities) to pick holes in the plot: "yea, I get it, your sister is the most saintly of people, whom you love to distraction... but not enough to write her a letter to stop her worrying about your health".

I also failed to find any of the characters particularly likeable - I'm sure taking to your bed for 2 months after a shock was all the rage back then, but it served to lower my enjoyment even further.

The narration was fine, but I'm not sure the Genevois accent sounds so similar to the Transylvanian one I remember from old horror films.

All in all, I would have preferred to have read a synopsis and left it at that.

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