RIP III Review: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

I've been thinking about how to review this and have decided I'm going to just jump right in. Who has time to try to be clever and original about a classic when there's a nasty gastrointestinal virus lurking about your household? So here goes...

Main reaction to the book:

Frankenstein is truly a weird little book. This was the first time I'd read it, and I found it complex, complicated and unexpectedly short. But I liked it, and it's going to be something I'll read several times because there were too many themes for me to be able to absorb in one go 'round. The conflict between science and nature, the influence of nature versus nurture, the impact of loneliness and the need for socialization...these are only some of the main themes in the book. And all of the themes I managed to pick out are equally important today as they were when this book was written. I've written about the tragedy at Virginia Tech in previous posts and as I read the novel it kept coming back to mind, so for this reading I suppose the focus was on loneliness, isolation, and failed attempts at communication. Later on my focus could easily change to the prospect of cloned animals already being in our food supply. And later on, something completely different. The possibility is there.

Basic outline (spoiler-free):

It really isn't about the monster at all (who goes unnamed in the story -- apparently we the readers are the ones who have taken the step to give him a name). The plot centers around the creator, Frankenstein, an ambitious, intelligent young man who has devoted himself to the study of natural sciences. He proves himself to be a worthy scholar and throws himself headlong into the discovery of the origins of life, where he finds success. His compulsions and rationalizations in his scientific work are explained to us and then we are drawn into the resulting nightmare along with him. He's not a wholly sympathetic character, though, and so I was unsettled throughout the book, not knowing who really deserved my pity.

An unexpected detail:

The descriptions of natural setting were awesome and added a lot to the unsettling atmosphere of the book. Some of them I've visited fairly recently and some of them are familiar to me through blogging friends, so I felt a deep connection with certain landscapes. Others were completely alien and exotic and thus appropriate for a good RIP read. Throughout the book there were vast changes in setting that I wasn't really prepared for, but felt that they really added to the emotional experience of reading. Sometimes I get annoyed with long, drawn-out descriptions of bushes and shrubs and so forth, but everything worked for me in this case.

Shelley trivia:

• She was in her late teens when she wrote Frankenstein.
• The novel developed out of a "friendly ghost story competition" that was suggested by Lord Byron.
• The inspiration for the novel came from a dream.

Words of advice:

• Shelley's life is at least as interesting as her most known work, and it is definitely worth the time and perhaps expense to seek out a copy that includes at least a short biographical essay. Last year I checked out some random, scruffy, dog-eared, teeny-print copy from the library that was so minimal and ugly that I opened the book once, said, "Ugh" and put it away. I found a sale copy of Frankenstein that included an introduction, footnotes and the like, and that was a good decision on my part.
  
  
• It's not particulary scary or gory, just really unsettling and thought-provoking. I think it's a book that needs to be read towards the end of summer/beginning of autumn; the mood fits this time period rather than closer to Halloween, when I'm ready to get my freak on with scary books. If it's in your pool, read it towards the beginning of the RIP challenge, I think.
  
  
• Be forewarned that it took me a few minutes to figure out when the book actually started. There's a layered narrative thing going on, which to be honest I found confusing and disliked. I'm willing to overlook that in light of the overall benefit of the novel, but just wanted to encourage people to roll with the beginning because it does get better. I remember hitting Chapter 5 and feeling that this was actually the beginning of the book and the previous pages were a little bit of tedious but necessary scene setting. I guess if you really get frustrated you can go ahead to Chapter 5 and then go back to catch up as needed.
  
  
• If you do buy a book with an introduction, read it last. My copy had a great introduction that had huge plot spoilers in the first paragraph, unfortunately. Really, they should put these kinds of things at the end where people can appreciate them better. Harumph.

RIP III Review: Mort by Terry Pratchett

Oh, Mr. Pratchett, where have you been all my life?

Anyone who loves books will understand what it feels like to discover a new series. I've learned to squirrel them away like nuts in winter and take them out at just the right time when they're most needed. I've had Mort in my special literary hidey-hole for some time now and decided that now was the right time! It's definitely going to be a re-read -- once I can find it, that is, as my 17-month old has apparently hidden it away in her special literary hiding place. *looking around...nope, still not in sight*

I guess the best reviews are short ones, so I won't go into too much detail about Pratchett's Discworld novels. They're so full of wit and fun and are at the top of my list of fantasy novels. I saw them once referred to as fluff -- and maybe they are -- but they are the best kind of fluff. Discworld is filled with memorable, quirky characters and just the right amount of new twists on old favorites (dwarfs, wizards, and so forth).

One of the primary characters in Mort is one of my Discworld favorites: Death. He's a rather bony chap, grins a lot, makes odd clattering noises when he walks. Yup, that's right -- he's a skeleton, in robes, with a scythe, carries around hourglasses, the whole bit. The Font Wizards have produced a bit of magical bookery in that he also talks in all caps without seeming angry. As you read his words you can hear bells tolling, but in an oddly cheerful way. I'm sure I'm not explaining it well, but if you see it you'll know what I mean; trust me.

As you can imagine, being Death is not that easy of a job and he decides to take on an apprentice. He chooses Mort*, a gangly fellow who has the best of intentions but just doesn't manage to get the job done correctly. You can imagine the catastrophic results when Death sends him on his first solo job...

I devoured this hilarious book in two days and recommend it to anyone needing a bit of escapist fiction. Don't get me wrong, though -- there are serious questions answered within. Does Death have feelings? Can history be altered? Is it possible to escape Death? Pratchett succeeds in making Death come alive as a character and has written a nice book with a few twists and lots of puns.

Now I'm left with one book less in my hidey-hole...but am eyeing The Colour of Magic or Feet of Clay to fill its spot.

*Mort is the word for death in French and quite possibly other languages, dunno.

RIP Challenge III is here!



Woo hoo - I've been waiting a whole year for this! Last year I completed RIP II, which was my first (and still only) participation in a reading challenge, and had a blast with it. It did wonders for my post-vacation morale and this year's challenge is promising to do the same.

I'm choosing Peril the First, for which I must* read 4 books from any subgenre of scary stories by October 31st. If you're thinking that this kind of thing sounds kind of fun but you don't have the time, you can choose a different peril -- Peril the Third only requires one scary book.

I have been keeping an eye out all year for scary books I want to read, so I'm pretty excited about the pool of books I have to choose from:

The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield
Classic Ghost Stories, edited by John Grafton
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
Dracula, by Bram Stoker
L'homme aux cercles bleus, by Fred Vargas

and even though this isn't technically a scary book

Mort, by Terry Pratchett

Come and join us!

*Yeah, right, you'll really have to twist my arm for this.