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WoGF Review: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Neringa Terleckaite’s (Zoori): My passion for reading comes from my parents. The very first SF book I read was the Desert by Colin Wilson of Spider-world series. Since then I am convinced that spiders are mind-readers, however, all means of communication have failed so far. SF is a way of escapism for me, as well as a celebration of human imagination combined with its universal themes. WoGF is a great encouragement to discover new worlds, and tell others about them.
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel written by Mary Shelley.
I believe that starting my WoGF readings with Frankenstein by Mary Shelley has been a logical choice in terms of chronology of the genre: this book is considered one of the first modern science fiction novels. It has also been practical, since that was the only unread SF/F woman writer in my personal collection (until I learnt of WoGF). Starting my WoGF reviews with a world’s classic horror story is challenging. Who has not heard of Frankenstein or seen one of its many adaptations in popular culture? The name has become part of the English dictionary meaning “a person who creates something that brings about his ruin” contrary to the common confusion of the name with the actual monster. However, how many actually know it was written by a woman author? Or that it was first published anonymously in 1818?
It is a story of Victor Frankenstein, a young, bright and ambitious scientist, who creates a living being in his laboratory. Only after witnessing the awakening of the monster does he realize the madness and horror behind this act, and escapes his creation only to become haunted by it. Gradually not only his sanity but also his personal life gets ripped to pieces by the consequences of such action, in the end turning into a deadly chase. The question is: who is the actual monster?
