Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Part of BBC’s “100 Stories that shaped the World” list, I thought it would be fun to keep track of all the works I have read that are listed.
Frankenstein was required reading for three of my courses; once during my undergraduate years and twice during my graduate program. I read it twice and went through the text the third time just skim reading it to remind myself of anything I may have forgotten.
Truth be told, reading Frankenstein the first time had me on the edge of my seat, I was invested in the story and just waiting for the wow-factor to kick in. It never really came and I realized that what motivated me to continue reading was the constant anticipation of something extra to happen on the next page until reaching the end of the story. It was a let down. Add that to the constant desire of university professors to study it, making their students read mountains of research papers, all stating the same points quickly turns one’s desire and interest to learn into sheer boredom and eye rolling.
Depending on the edition, the introduction may vary from the one I recently had to read, but generally speaking I would skip it altogether.
After extensively studying it (or suffering through it), I’m ready to put this book away for good. I have learned everything I can and want from the story itself and the many, many, many scholarly articles that were assigned along with it.
