Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #169673 in Books
• Published on: 1994-10-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 166 pages

Amazon.com Review
Frankenstein, loved by many decades of readers and praised by such eminent literary critics as Harold Bloom, seems hardly to need a recommendation. If you haven't read it recently, though, you may not remember the sweeping force of the prose, the grotesque, surreal imagery, and the multilayered doppelgänger themes of Mary Shelley's masterpiece. As fantasy writer Jane Yolen writes of this (the reviewer's favorite) edition, "The strong black and whites of the main text [illustrations] are dark and brooding, with unremitting shadows and stark contrasts. But the central conversation with the monster--who owes nothing to the overused movie image … but is rather the novel's charnel-house composite--is where [Barry] Moser's illustrations show their greatest power ... The viewer can all but smell the powerful stench of the monster's breath as its words spill out across the page. Strong book-making for one of the world's strongest and most remarkable books." Includes an illuminating afterword by Joyce Carol Oates.

From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up-Full-color drawings, photographs, and reproductions with extended captions have been added to the unedited text of Shelley's novel, thus placing the work in the context of the era in which it was written. The artwork faithfully represents the text and makes this edition appealing to reluctant readers. Unfortunately, many of the captions provide tangential information that, although interesting, interrupts the flow of the story. However, readers will quickly learn that it is not necessary to read every caption and appreciate this volume for its many quality illustrations.
Michele Snyder, Chappaqua Public Library, NY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 8^-12. Part of the Whole Story series, this is the full text of Mary Shelley's classic gothic story, which was first published in 1818 and has been a wild success ever since. Philippe Munch's illustrations have none of the power of Barry Moser's unforgettable woodcuts that evoke the loneliness of the grotesque outsider (in the Pennyroyal edition published by the University of California Press in 1984). The design here is crowded, and the type is small. However, the many period prints and maps in color and in black and white, with long, detailed captions, do provide the historical setting for the story, its geography, customs, and ideas. Teens enthralled by pop versions of the myth as well as science fiction fans will be interested in going back to the full version of what has been called the first science fiction novel and learning about the circumstances under which it was written by a woman, just 18 years old, 170 years ago. Hazel Rochman

Customer Reviews

More Relevant Today Than When First Written
Modern readers must jump through a number of hoops to enjoy this legendary novel. Written between 1816 and 1818, this is very much a novel of its era, and both language and ideas about plot are quite different from those of today. That aside, and unlike such contemporaries as Jane Austen, author Mary Shelly has never been greatly admired for her literary style, which is often awkward. But perhaps the biggest hurdle is that of our own expectations: while it certainly sent icy chills down the spines of 19th Century readers, FRANKENSTEIN is not a horror novel per se.

While Mary Shelly might have been stylistically weak, her story was not. Nothing like it had been written before, and the concept of a student endowing life upon a humanoid creature cobbled together from charnel house parts was unexpectedly shocking to the reading public. But even more shocking were the ideas that Shelly brought to the story. Having created this thing in his own image, what--if anything--does the creator owe it? And in posing this question, Shelly very deliberately raises her novel to an even more complex level: this is not merely the conflict of man and his creation, but also a questioning of God and his responsibility toward his creation.

In some respects, the book is written like the famous philosophical "dialogues" of the ancient world: a counterpoint of questions and arguments that do battle for the reader's acceptance. More than anything else, FRANKENSTEIN is a novel of ethics and of ideas about ideas, with Mary Shelly's themes arrayed in multiple layers throughout: God, self, society, science; responsibility to self, to society, to the things we bring to society, to the truth; life, integrity, and death--these are the ideas and issues that predominate the book, and any one expecting a horror novel pure and simple is out of luck.

Mary Shelly is a rare example of a writer whose ideas clearly outstrip her literary skill--but whose ideas are so powerful that they transcend her literary limitations and continue to resonate today. And indeed, as science continues to advance, it could not be otherwise so. Mary Shelly could not see into the future of DNA research, laboratory-grown tissues, test-tube babies and the like--but between 1816 and 1818 she wrote a book about the ethical dilemmas that swirl around them. And for all its flaws, FRANKENSTEIN is perhaps even more relevant today than it was over a hundred and fifty years ago.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

A complex, poignant examination of human nature
Those who know Frankenstein only from movies and television may well be surprised to read the original book by Mary Shelley. Indeed, one may well look back to the cover to see if the book is in fact Frankenstein because the first pages consist of messages from an R. Walton to his sister concerning his expedition to the northern polar regions. Victor Frankenstein appears as a wretched creature stranded on an ice floe beside the ship. After he is rescued and recovers somewhat, he tells his incredible story to Walton, who in turn preserves the story in writing. Frankenstein reminisces about his happy childhood, particularly the close relationship between himself and his "cousin" Elizabeth, and then explains how his interest in discredited natural philosophy led him to create a living man of his own design. The creature is a hideous, misshapen, giant of a man who so disgusted Frankenstein upon his awakening that he fled his laboratory and residence. The creation process, it should be noted, in no way involved an elaborate machine powered by lightning such as is portrayed in the movies; in fact, beyond the fact that chemicals are involved, we are told nothing of the process. For two years, Frankenstein goes about life with a clinging sense of guilt and nervousness, hoping the creature has perished. When his little brother is murdered, though, he returns home and soon discovers that it was the monster who committed the deed. In an isolated mountainous area, the monster appears before him and explains his actions. Although the creature does nothing more than grunt in the movies, the original Frankenstein was possessed of great eloquence and intelligence, and he tells a moving story about his attempts to make a connection with a society that is revolted at the sight of him. He describes living in a small hovel at the back of a small house for many months, watching the interaction of the family inside, learning how to speak their language and eventually even learning how to read. When he eventually tries to interact with the family, he is assaulted and runs away, and it is at this point that his virtuous and peaceful nature begins to become inflamed into a torrent of hatred for mankind. When he rescues a girl from drowning, he is rewarded with a bullet in his shoulder. Each time he performs a good deed, mankind runs from him in disgust or attempts to harm him. Living in total isolation and loneliness, his one purpose in life eventually becomes tormenting his creator, and many terrible misfortunes ensue for Frankenstein, who himself eventually becomes dedicated to the sole purpose of destroying his tormentor.

Both Frankenstein and his monster are tragic figures. The complete alienation of the creature makes him a very sympathetic character in many respects, and he does perform many kind deeds for humans early on. Frankenstein is an utterly pitiable character utterly destroyed by his mad decision to create the monster; he burdens his soul with responsibility for every crime the monster commits, and his inability to tell anyone his secret for so long destroys him in body, mind, and soul; everyone and everything he cares for is taken from him by his horrible creation. His tendency to bemoan his fate at every turn of the narrative can get rather tiresome, but one cannot question the depth of his turmoil. Both creator and created seem to be mirror images of each other in important ways, their fates clearly tied to one another, each soul deserving both blame and pity. There is much about human nature, both good and bad, revealed in the monster's life as well as Frankenstein's; the novel is a far cry from horror for the sake of horror. This is actually a very complex, compelling story full of human pathos; it is unfortunate that modern media have turned Frankenstein's creature into a simple, heartless, mentally deficient monster for the sake of scares and laughs.

Man is not God
Forget the Frankenstein from the movies and come read the real story of a man, Dr. Victor Frankenstein, who is a brilliant scientist with an obsession: play to be God, creating a living human being all by himself. God punishes him: when the creature wakes up to life, he turns out to be a horrible monster. Frankenstein is terrified and rejects his creation.

And here's where the Gothic tale becomes a true literary work of art. What follows is the tragedy of a creature created by the arrogance and ambition of one man, an ugly yet fully human being. The monster is not good nor bad: he's just plain human. What he needs is affection, love and understanding. But his ugliness and clumsiness provoke that no one is willing to approach him: he scares the hell out of everybody. First, he is sad; then, he is enraged. Here's where the real monster is created: by the hatred and frivolity of other humans.

A true Gothic masterpiece, this novel is unforgettable for its message, its depth, and especially for its environment and mood. It is all dark, all cold, all terrifying and all moving. The true monsters are the others, not Frankenstein's creature. But his wanderings around the world are wonderful horror literature. Don't miss this great book written in one night by Mary Wollstonecraft, the young wife of poet Percy Shelley. It is the fortunate result of a bet made by several attendants to a vacation by a lake in Switzerland, Lord Byron included.