Frankenstein

This is one of those books that had been on my TBR for literal ages. I bought this on a flea market when I was studying English, because it used to be on the assigned reading list, but they removed it before I took the course on the romantic period. When one of my bookish friends organised a readalong for this book, it felt like the right time to pick it up. I’m really glad I did, because I really liked the book and definitely recommend it!

I absolutely understand why this novel is one of the greatest gothic novels of all time. Is it as scary as I thought it would be? Maybe not, but I think this one is very strong psychologically and that gives the creepy/gothic vibes.
The novel consists of letters and prose text and is told from the perspective of the doctor and the monster. It took me a while to figure out the switch in perspective in the second part of the book, which is why I was very confused at first. After figuring it out, however, I couldn’t stop reading. I found it very intriguing to experience life from the perspective of the monster, since he does not at all feel like a monster. He feels unwanted and unloved, when he really wants to try and have a nice life. He feels abandoned by the doctor and shows this by taking revenge, which is not ethical, but understandable.
The doctor might be intelligent, but really he is pathetic. Create something and flee from it? Having your creation kill others and not stopping him? I like how his conscience is tested in the novel and you can actually feel the switch from haugtiness to guilt after he has realised the consequences of his actions. This is really subtle and well-written.

The style of writing was a bit more difficult than standard English, but I would definitely say that it is not too difficult if you’re at least and average speaker of English. It’s not necessary to understand each and every word to be able to follow the plot.