Not much suspense, not any science, and it certainly takes its time to belabor points. But I still enjoyed this book – over 200 years old – and found it surprisingly readable.
Going in I didn’t really have any ideas other than the black and white movies and Young Frankenstein from Mel Brooks. The book takes place in a simpler time, with obviously wealthy and upper class people struggle with big issues of what to study and how they will wile away their time. There are some bigger issues, though, especially on the weight of guilt and the burdens of humanity and what we may owe our “creator”.
The biggest surprise for me was how much of it was focused on travel, and it was sort of like travel writing as it described character’s slow progress through exotic landscapes – from Switzerland to England and towards the North Pole. They name drop India and other eastern countries (calling them oriental), and spend loads of time making social calls and presenting letters of introduction.
But the monster that Frankenstein creates is the focal point of the book and most of the text deals with seeing things from his point of view and contrasting it with “regular” people.
I wish that the writer could have had a bit more surprise – they have the tendency to telegraph future events which is sort of anticlimactic. With some judicious editing it could be enjoyed more I think – and later I understand another version was released that cleaned things up a bit. But I thought reading the original might be more interesting – and it certainly was worth the time.
Next I am reading The Ascent by Adam Plantinga.
