Will I love Frankenstein?

What does it mean to be human, and what happens to us when we don’t receive unconditional love?

The two main characters in this Gothic novel, a human and a "monster," are presented in such a way that I questioned which main character was more human. There’s a warning of what can happen when we deny the basic human need for unconditional love.

Shelly’s use of a frame story pulled me in from the first page.

I find that Frankenstein transcends eras by posing critical questions about the ways we develop and use new technology.

I first read a comic-book version in elementary school and have returned to Shelly’s novel over the years because it stimulates my critical thinking about technology, particularly the current rise of AI and our response to it. Frankenstein raises a fundamental ethical question about technology in real life: just because humans can create something, should they actually create it?

For me, the novel also creates the opportunity to explore questions about how we engage technology once we choose to invent it.… show more.

I read this during a confusing time—when I was seeking treatment for depression, from age 16 through 24.

Here was the third-most adapted book in history, and yet with each adaptation, the story grew further from the author’s true voice, which was that of an 18-year-old girl. How odd that this could happen, given that Frankenstein revolves around the creature finding his identity.

He only wants to do good, but when he learns how to read, he also learns how to label himself—as separate from God, and separate from man. He believes he must be bad because he’s different. The… show more.

I really wanted to read this classic after seeing so many adaptations through film and television. To think that Shelly was so young when she wrote this is extremely impressive.
Although I did find the pacing somewhat slow at various points, I still found this to be a really enjoyable read and one to tick off my list.

Truly a book for the ages, how could I not recommend this? It is THE iconic book about a constructed being and his consequent travails.

Made by Victor Frankenstein from all sorts of collected detritus, when the monster opens his “yellow, watery eyes,” the scientist flees from him and never looks back. The monster is left to negotiate the world on his own, but much like a newborn baby, he is ignorant and unequipped to do so.

I love how, unlike the popular concept of the monster, he is, in fact, a vegetarian, and at the start, very vulnerable and… show more.

We tend to conceptualize the Frankenstein monster as the creature portrayed by Boris Karloff in the old Universal films. But Mary Shelley’s version of the monster is far more subtle and nuanced. He is intelligent and articulate, and therefore, even more painfully aware of his being viewed by humans as a misfit and a pariah.

Karloff was masterful at evoking sympathy for the monster in the films, but I think Mary Shelley’s monster does so even more powerfully in the novel.

You know the movies, but maybe not Mary Shelley’s novel. Published in 1818 and revised in 1821, it’s a disquieting story of things going very wrong between a negligent parent (Victor von Frankenstein) and his sensitive child (the monster he created).

I identify with both sides of the equation. I also take Shelley's Frankenstein as a rich historical document of Romantic fascination with anatomy and the illicit grave robbery that supplied bodies to the dissecting tables. And “galvanism,” which Giovanni Aldini publicly demonstrated in 1803 by placing electrodes on the corpse of an executed criminal, causing his legs and arms… show more.

I love that this book was the result of a dare! In 1816, eighteen-year-old Mary Shelley and three friends held a contest to see who could write the scariest story. Mary’s story—like her monster—has since taken on a life of its own and today permeates all forms of storytelling.

I find it amusing that my favorite version of the monster is the one Mel Brooks gave us in Young Frankenstein. I wonder what Mary Shelley would think if she knew how much her acceptance of a dare would change storytelling forever.

I like to revisit the original story from time… show more.

The first time I read Mary Shelly's Frankenstein was decades ago, and when I finished reading it, I felt like I'd just read one of the greatest loves stories ever told, and now after reading it a third time I feel exactly the same. Her heart felt writing of a misunderstood creature who is only seeking love and companionship, but is looked upon as a monster because of his physical appearance, shows us that no matter what era we live in, human nature does not change.

"Frankenstein" captivated me with its haunting exploration of ambition, isolation, and the quest for identity with gay themes between the lines. I was moved by the Creature’s yearning for acceptance, making him a tragic, sympathetic figure rather than a simple monster. The story is a powerful reminder of responsibility, empathy, and the human need for connection—even in the face of fear and rejection.