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    Frankenstein
    Frankenstein
    Frankenstein
    Audiobook9 hours

    Frankenstein

    Written by Mary Shelley

    Narrated by Daniel Philpott, Roger May and Jonathan Oliver

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    About this audiobook

    Frankenstein
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNaxos Audiobooks
    Release dateOct 30, 2011
    ISBN9781843794509
    Author

    Mary Shelley

    Mary Shelley (1797–1851) was born to well-known parents: author and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft and philosopher William Godwin. When Mary was sixteen, she met the young poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, a devotee of her father’s teachings. In 1816, the two of them travelled to Geneva to stay with Lord Byron. One evening, while they shared ghost stories, Lord Byron proposed that they each write a ghost story of their own. Frankenstein was Mary’s contribution. Other works of hers include Mathilda, The Last Man, and The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck. 

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    Reviews for Frankenstein

    4/5

    445 ratings339 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The storyline of this was very surprising! From all the pop culture references to the story, I thought that it was going to be completely different. I also found it quite absorbing. A great read, especially lovely that you can pick it up for free and pop it on your e-reader and then enjoy the whole thing instantly. Magic!
    • 5/5
      I have still not seen any film that does this book justice, and I doubt I ever will.

      What makes this book is not just its thrilling, spine-tingling, dramatic storyline, but the way it is written.

      You feel for both Doctor Frankenstein AND the monster, though maybe sometimes one more than the other and your feelings about them change -going up and down like a rollercoster- at different stages of the book.

      A very terrifying novel that has stood the test of time and I'm sure will for many more years to come.
    • 4/5
      I haven't read this since high school so it felt like I was reading it for the first time. There was so much more here than I remembered, both in plot and in ideas. Well worth a re-read.
    • 3/5
      So i've heard a lot about Frankenstein, we all know the moaning green monstrous man that has bolts in his neck and the top of his head sewed on right? Wrong! This book is nothing like the film, i was completely surprised to find that firstly the monster isn't even called Frankenstein, that was his creator but the monster him self is never referred to by that name, secondly he isn't green and neither is he described as the figure we are all familiar with. Very surprising! Despite the 3/5 i did really enjoy this book, the problem i found was probably more so the time of year that i've read it. Its a very depressing read, all throughout the character is mostly in a state of devastation, regret and in an ill state of mind. His depression got a tiny bit tedious to read when its nearly christmas and supposed to be a happy festive time, because it was pretty much relentless. There wasnt exactly a happy ending either. I read a 1900's version of the book and have to say i really love the elaborate style of writing, whilst it took longer to read i do occasionally enjoy a book that has some age about it. All in all a good read but not one for such a festive time of year
    • 4/5
      To put it simply, the gist of the story is "don't mess with Mother Nature" because playing God is never going to do you any good. Poor Victor Frankenstein learned this lesson the hard way when he creates the "monster" who, because of his feelings of alienation from his "creator" goes about killing all of Victor's closest and dearest friends and relations. A depressing story overall and quite a lengthy lead in, but interesting philosophically on the theme of responsibility of the creator of what he "creates". A classic I'd never read before. On audio, narrated by Simon Vance who did a nice accent for Victor, and a very good monster.
    • 4/5
      Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.
      I have to admit, I was somewhat weary of this book. Despite its short page count, it is very wordy and has long, large paragraphs, and that made the prospect of reading this rather daunting. However, I swallowed my pride and did it, and was greatly rewarded.

      I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.
      Frankenstein and his creature are both so interesting and complex; they're also both so pitiful. So much of their anguish and sorrow could have been avoided if not for human pride. They are both agents of horror and destruction in both action and inaction, and that made for a really interesting story.

      Besides that, it's extremely quotable.

      Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it.
      I was amazed at how Hollywood has continuously gotten the story wrong, so much so that this book felt entirely unique and the twists were effective. I don't know whether I should scorn or love Hollywood for their utter failure to accurately adapt this book into a faithful film. On one hand, this book deserves a great movie. On the other, the plot integrity of a very old book was maintained. The television show Penny Dreadful had a Frankenstein story line that was remarkably close to the source material considering, and the few big changes it made were justified in the larger story.

      I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous.
      The themes in this were amazing! I love complex characters and dark, ambiguous morality in my literature. To be completely honest, I sympathized with Frankenstein way more than the monster, which I hadn't thought I would going into it. I loved both characters though.

      Overall, it's a great book with an awesome story, and everyone should read it.
    • 5/5
      Shelley’s classic is truly a worthwhile read; though lengthy and certainly wordy, the story unravels in such a way that any reader MUST know what happens next.
    • 4/5
      Take the challenge and read Frankenstein and look for contemporary issues, i.e., cloning. As you discover the real monster in the book could that also correlate to the world of today?
    • 3/5
      Any literate individual is familiar with this famous work by Mary Shelley, however, those that have not read it will be surprised by how much the book differs from the theatrical and cinema adaptations. Of course, it is a 19th century work, and as such is written in a style that may be strange to modern readers. Having read Dickens and Dracula (of a similar genre), I was in no way put off by the style, but had one overriding problem with the work: It is irredeemably silly.Some may think it strange that anyone could raise an issue of believability in a story involving a monster constructed of discarded body parts, but that is essentially my problem with the novel. Dracula has a similarly implausible underlying theme, however I didn’t “roll my eyes” while reading it, whereas Frankenstein had some real moments of absurdity. When the existence of an eight foot tall “monster” is not the most unlikely event in a novel, you might have some problems.Which of these events is most unlikely? WARNING, SOME SPOILERS.1. A man constructs and enlivens an eight foot tall being. In the audio book upon which this review is based, there was no explanation of how this was done. Simply, “I set about creating my being and soon accomplished the task.” Really, no explanation whatsoever? And even if he scavenged body parts from morgues and cemeteries, where do you come across torsos and limbs of sufficient length to end up with an eight foot tall being? It reminds me of the Steve Martin skit “How to make a million dollars and never pay taxes”. First, make a million dollars. At least the movie addresses this deficiency.2. Our “monster”, now created, evidently has the mind of a newborn, a completely clean slate, yet in the course of a year, he can not only speak and read (French I presume), but he can fully appreciate Paradise Lost and the writings of Plutarch. This despite the fact that he had no teacher, no primer and no instruction other than listening to the conversation of a family through the walls of their home. In one year, the “monster” developed quite an impressive vocabulary, along with a firm grounding in philosophy, literature, political science and geography. How much easier and more believable would it have been for the author to have the “monster” retain the knowledge possessed by the donor of his brain? Again, the movie wisely avoids imbuing the creature with such superhuman mental and physical abilities (he is an extraordinary athlete in the book).3. The “monster”, in addition to being quite the Renaissance Man, is an accomplished traveler as well, moving seamlessly from Germany to Geneva, Switzerland without discovery. You would think an eight foot tall creature might stand out, even when attempting to avoid discovery. And who does he coincidentally run into upon arriving in Switzerland? His creator’s brother. After dispatching the young boy, who does he coincidentally run into, quite a distance from the scene of the crime? His creator’s childhood friend. Wow, that is some internal tracking device that our “monster” possesses.4. The “monster” cuts a deal with Frankenstein, wherein he promises to relocate to the wilds of South America with his companion. I was curious how the eight foot tall monster and his “bride” expected to make the journey, but after considering all of the above, it came to me; they would swim.5. Anyone impressed with the “monster’s” ability to travel from Germany to Geneva, would surely be blown away by his ability to travel from Geneva to the Orkney Islands of Scotland, to Ireland and back to Geneva without being noticed. More impressively, after the Orkney Island showdown with Frankenstein, the creature then travels to Perth (on the EAST coast of Scotland), murders the doctor’s friend, transports the body to a beach in Ireland (off the WEST coast of Scotland) for the purpose of framing Frankenstein for the murder, somehow knowing that the doctor would become lost at sea in a small skiff and after hundreds of miles of oceanic wandering, ultimately reach land at the very same beach where the body had been deposited the day before.6. Having discovered the ability to give life to the lifeless, did it never occur to Frankenstein to reanimate his loved ones as they are murdered by the creature?These are just a few of the inane plot lines contained in this classic. In truth, the concept of an intelligent, cunning “monster” is intriguing, and were it not for the extreme absurdities repeatedly presented by the author, would have made for an excellent novel. While the cinematic versions of the story eliminate almost all of the above issues (to their credit), they also convert the “monster” into an ignorant, lumbering beast. There would seem to be room for a more faithful cinematic treatment, incorporating the underlying theme of the work without the ridiculous elements cited above.
    • 3/5
      I have thought, but this being a classic piece of literature, I'm not going to write them down for posterity. That never served me well in lit classes, and I don't foresee it going well on the internet.
    • 4/5
      This book was not what I expected at all. I have seen various television and movie productions of Frankenstein, and none of them are accurate to the story at all outside of the creation of a "monster" out of dead human parts. The course of the story was very unexpected, and there is not nearly as much sympathy for the monster as I would have expected going into the book. The intellectual side of me very much enjoyed this book as it brings up many good philosophical questions about the meaning of life. It also even has a hint of science fiction in the sense that it looks the question of how would a creature such as this develop into an intelligent being.

      I am glad I read this and am surprised that it took me so long to get to it. Recommended for all.
    • 2/5
      This was a tough one for me to get through. Not only was it completely lacking in horror, it was fairly dry of emotion in general. Oh, they were feeling emotion, all right - most of the book is breathlessly melodramatic correspondence and conversation between various characters - but very little of it made its way off the page to me. It didn't help that Victor Frankenstein was an emo-riddled, maudlin, whining, constantly fainting idiot. (Were men really like this in the late 18th century? The guy gets the vapors for months at a time.) Much of the plot of the book hinges on him doing foolish things, keeping impossible secrets, and continually failing to grasp the situation; I couldn't help but wonder how differently the book might have turned out if someone had grabbed Frankenstein by the collar halfway through Act II and said "He just told you, in so many words, that HE IS GOING TO KILL EVERYONE YOU LOVE, and he means it!" We might have been spared 150 pages of Victor's family and friends being picked off one by one like counselors at Camp Crystal Lake. Nothing kills my suspension of disbelief faster than a plot that only works if the characters keep doing stupid things.

      I was also frustrated with Shelley's pre-Victorian squeamishness about action and violence. I'm not a bloodthirsty reader (I don't think!), but I got really tired of Frankenstein arriving on the scene to find yet another person dead "with the monster's hand print on [his/her] neck." Maybe it's my desensitized 20th/21st century sensibilities, but I come from the generation that grew up on Stephen King; I can handle someone dying onstage, and if you want me to feel terror, you'll probably need them to die onstage. In addition, Shelley glosses over the actual creation and animation of the monster so quickly that I had to flip back and make sure I hadn't accidentally skipped a page. Everything popular culture associates with Frankenstein's monster - stitching, bolt neck, Igor, even electricity - it's all been added after the fact. It's shocking how sparsely described he is, especially in light of how exhaustively described everything else is (but more on that later).

      The one saving grace of the book was the monster himself - he was the only character with a believable motivation and conflict, and the story he tells of his short life is truly sad and moving. To me, the conversations between Frankenstein and his creation are the most readable parts of the book.

      In spite of all these things, I would have given this book three stars for its significance and influence, except for one simple fact: it was a chore for me to read. I admit I haven't read very much pre-Victorian literature, but the language was like a wet blanket thrown over the story. Mary Shelley takes five sentences to convey what a modern writer would get across in two, and Mary's sentences too often look like this 48-word jawbreaker: My father observed with pain the alteration perceptible in my disposition and habits and endeavoured by arguments deduced from the feelings of his serene conscience and guiltless life to inspire me with fortitude and awaken in me the courage to dispel the dark cloud which brooded over me. Sure, I understood what she meant, but it's so needlessly wordy that any feeling is squeezed out. It made the book boring and annoying when it could have been pretty entertaining. Another jarring problem is that everyone in this story talks EXACTLY THE SAME: everyone from the supposedly spottily self-educated ship's captain, to the very well-educated Frankenstein and his family, to a house full of peasants, to the monster who only learned to talk a year ago, speaks and writes with the same eloquent vocabulary and deeply nested compound/complex sentences. It made for a suffocating, dreary read, and not in a good way.

      I haven't read any of Mary Shelley's other work, but at this point in her career I simply don't think she was a very good writer. I know that much is made of the fact that she was 19 when she wrote this, but I think it shows: she has an outstanding vocabulary, but just doesn't know when to scale it back and let her story breathe.
    • 3/5
      I actually read this in e-book format, and I've only read the unedited version; the version with Shelley's edits is included. My initial reaction is surprise at how much the 1930s movie got right, and disappointment at how much Branagh's version got wrong. This was the perfect winter for reading this book with the final chase in the arctic. I am left wondering if MWS was inspired by period explorations to include that. I was surprised by the framing epistolary narration, and by the first person narration, and there are many layers: the creature narrates his own story to Frankenstein, who then narrates this to Walton, who records it all in letters. There are also inset stories, like the story of the cottagers, which is contained within the creature's narration. I am unsympathetic to Frankenstein: it is all his fault. (And how stupid could he be to leave his wife alone on the wedding night. Idgit.) This is a story of abandonment and rejection. He abandons the monster immediately and the monster is rejected by society. I find this interesting given the context of MWS's personal history at the time. One of my favorite sections is when the creature learns to speak by emulating the cottagers and then teaches himself to read. I love the choice of the 3 books he learns from: Plutarch's "Lives", "Paradise Lost," and "Sorrows of Werter." There are, of course, echoes of Milton's Paradise Lost at times.
    • 4/5
      I liked the monster better than Frankenstein. Frankenstein was such a whiny, solipsistic dork. All he does he go on and on about himself and how put upon he is by everything. Well jerk, maybe you shouldn't have created life and then ran away! Or next time make one that's prettier. Idiot.
    • 4/5
      Good, entertaining read.A lot different from the movies. More nuanced and thoughtful.
    • 3/5
      Fascinating. Having finally read this classic novel for the first time, I found it interesting how the actual novel differs significantly from the popular culture renditions of it. Frankenstein's monster is a much more complex figure than the typical portrayal allows him to be. I certainly sympathize with the monster's feelings - driven by the horror others felt when seeing his appearance - but many of his actions were also horrifying as well. Frankenstein I felt much less sympathy for, mostly because he created a new being and then left the creature to fend for himself in an unfamiliar world. He fails to take full responsibility for his actions until his own friends and family begin to suffer consequences. Overall, a good read and very different from the modern films and TV shows on Frankenstein.
    • 5/5
      This book is considered the first Science Fiction Novel by many people. And, while it has many Science Fiction trademarks (new technology, etc), its more a story about the horrors of creating life. There is a reason its alternate title is "The Modern Prometheus".First off - Frankenstein is not a story about monster creating evil scientists with hunchbacked assistants or pitchfork carrying peasants. That is all in movies, and unfortunately, its what most people think of when they think Frankenstein.Yes, there is a scientist. But he doesn't have an assistant, or a castle, or even strange looking machinery. The book doesn't say exactly how Victor Frankenstein created his monster, or even what the monster looked like, except that it is gruesome, grotesque, and scary. This book is really about justice. The monster is angry at being left alone in the world by his creator, unable to be part of human society due to his extreme stature and ugliness. The monster ruins Frankenstein's perfect life, by taking away all that is important to him. This is story about cause and effect, about responsibility to one's creations - even if it was created in a fit of hubris, and the result is so horrifying that the creator runs away.Highly recommended for everyone, although I did read this a long time ago as a teenager - and the message was lost on me.
    • 4/5
      Title: FrankensteinAuthor: Mary ShelleyGenre: Horror# of pages: 222Start date:End date:Borrowed/bought: boughtMy rating of the book, F- [worst] to A [best]: BDescription of the book: Victor Frankenstein grew up in the picturesque Geneva and later Ingolstadt. Frankenstein toils away to create a creature and the moment it comes alive he runs away out of fear.Review: Again, another classic book- very gothic horror- atmospheric with all of the descriptions of nature in juxtapose with the horror of the creature that was created. I really, truly did not understand Victor's sudden pure hatred for his creature. I think I would have enjoyed the read a bit better had I mentally made myself slow down when reading it. It did have a very ghost story feel to it. This would have been fun to read around a campfire!
    • 1/5
      I really did not like this book.I thought that it was just way too depressing and blown out of proportion and I hated the style of writing, with the story within a story within a story deal. I just didn't think it was all that great. I think that there were other ways that that could've been done. Mary Shelley must not have had a happy life to write a story like this.
    • 5/5
      Deeper and darker than I would ever have imagined. A case study in misery. I'm a sucker for any book that leads me to the Arctic.
    • 5/5
      Considered by many to be the first science fiction novel.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed reading Frankenstein. It is less profound than many of the other classics, but it is still enjoyable. The morals presented may now have some real life implications, due to our new found ability to clone. Overall, I would recommend reading it.
    • 3/5
      A surprise for me. I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book as much as it turned out I did. This is not because of the story - which did have some surprises in it for me - but because of the strength of the writing. The quality of the writing is very good. Frankenstein makes a monster that he cannot then control. The monster ruins his life. I'm still thinking about it but many biblial parallels and with Paradise Lost. Surprisingly good novel - and who knew Frankenstein's monster spoke French? There was probably a joke there for Shelley, but who knows.
    • 5/5
      Forget everything you know about Frankenstein. This monster is more human than anyone he encounters. Long on emotion and short on action, read the real story.
    • 3/5
      There are parts of the book that are very strong, vivid, and exciting, no doubt, but there were also parts that fell a bit flat for me. Don't get me wrong, it is a classic and I'm very glad that I read it. I just do not consider it a favorite. Yet, the descriptive passages about Frankenstein's monster are truly brilliant writing, as is the way that Mary Shelley manages to convince the reader to feel sympathy for the monster by the end, while also having readers be well aware of just how true the story is to the nature of mankind itself. Therein lies the true strength of the tale, and establishes why it is as famous as it is, even as some other elements were not as strong as it seemed they could be. It's definitely one that everyone should check out, even if they don't love it.
    • 1/5
      I had to read this for my high school humanities class. This book is overrated. Just because it's a classic doesn't make it good. Neither does the fact that it was by a woman. I won't blasphemize by saying that movies are better (actually, I will), but they are. The dialouge is lengthy and not realistic, even for the times. It is obvious that Mary Shelly does not feel any sympathy for the monster at all, which makes the novel six hundred percent less interesting. She says nothing of the actual horror, only the reactions to such. Save yourself some time and skip this.
    • 4/5
      This is one of those classics that everyone knows about but that few ever actually read. The actual content of the book is so different from what people believe they know about it that I can't help but think someone (probably long dead by now, and safe from prosecution) has played an elaborate prank on the world, for reasons which will likely remain forever lost to the gentle perturbations of passing time.The story has a nested, tripartite, epistolary structure, being presented as a collection of letters by a young polar explorer named Robert Walton to his sister in England. Within this is nestled the story of the eponymous Dr. Frankenstein, who is found by the explorer and his crew on the pack ice. And comfortably holstered in Dr. Frankenstein's tale is the narrative of the life of Frankenstein's Monster, who relates his story to Frankenstein in the Alps, prior to Walton's discovery of Frankenstein near the North Pole.Mary Shelley was a Romantic, and, like most Romantics, was rather prolix and agitated. The novel maintains a fairly constant emotional tone, leaving the reader feeling a bit drained after only a few pages. All 3 of the narrative voices seem to be constantly on the edge of some unbearable sensation. Sometimes it's joy, but for the vast majority of the work it's despondency, so it's best taken in small doses.It might be easy to take this famous story for granted, but the reader should remember what a novel blend of ideas this was for the time. It's influence has been so thorough that it can be difficult to detect it's presence, but it can be readily perceived in the works of H.P. Lovecraft.
    • 4/5
      It is morally outstanding, but the book does not give your heart a race for the next page; but it moves you to tears.
    • 4/5
      This novel tears me up every time I read it--not because it is frightening, but because I find Frankenstein's monster so terribly heartbreathing and Frankenstein himself so terribly selfish. Certainly the ultimate gothic novel, although a bit heavy-handed at times.
    • 5/5
      The Basics

      Victor Frankenstein has a strange fascination with medicine and magic. He believes the two can be combined to overcome our human limitations. Like death and the creation of new life. When he is mocked for his beliefs, he decides to take matters into his own hands and prove his theories. In the process, he begins down a path toward his own destruction.

      My Thoughts

      What more can be said about this book that hasn’t already been said and by wiser folks than me? It’s a classic with good reason. Shelley created tropes, characters, and cliches that are still in use today. She created an entire genre from scratch. Imagine a science fiction story, the tale of a monster, or a fusion of science fiction and horror, and then imagine not having it (or at least not having it in the incarnation you may know or love) if Shelley hadn’t had this grim inspiration. The world feels more empty just thinking it.

      Maybe someone would’ve figured out the art of telling a story like this eventually, but I wonder if they would’ve done it in such a beautiful way with such rich language. I realize the language might hold some readers back, but I want to encourage anyone intimidated by Shelley’s writing to push through anyway. Enjoy the words and the way they’re written. Stephen King, to paraphrase, once said you should read books for the great writing, and you should read other books for the story, but when you find a book with great writing and a wonderful story, cherish that book. I cherish this book, because it has an abundance of both.

      The story itself spans years and continents in a short space, and for that, it moves with a deepening sense of suspense. It’s dark and tragic, and the complicated characters reflect this. I’ve heard it said that Victor is the villain and the creature an anti-hero. For my interpretation (since that’s all I had to give with so many voices already speaking on this topic), they were both the heroes of their own story, both wrecked by the other, making them also villains. As much as I sympathized with the creature, I can’t justify everything he did. And as much as Victor had his faults and his terrible mistakes, I felt for him when he expressed guilt to the point of being unable to share his dark secrets.

      There’s more to be said. With something that stood the test of time like this has, there would be. But the most I can say is that I appreciate this book, I enjoyed it immensely, and I feel better for having read it.

      Final Rating

      5/5