Frankenstein

by Mary Shelley, Guillermo del Toro (Introduction)

Obsessed with creating life, Victor Frankenstein plunders graveyards for the material to fashion a new being, which he shocks into life with electricity. But his botched creature, rejected by Frankenstein and denied human companionship, sets out to destroy his maker and all that he holds dear. This chilling gothic tale, begun when Mary Shelley was just nineteen years old, would become the world’s most famous work of horror fiction, and is now the inspiration of a film adaptation written and directed by Guillermo del Toro and starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, and Mia Goth.

Genres: Classics, Horror, Science Fiction

240 pages, Paperback

Published October 28, 2025

About the author

See Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Reviews

[sofia damer-salas · Rating 4 out of 5]

so interesting reading this after watching the movie, and seeing which choices guillermo del toro made for what to keep or what to change.

one of my favorite moments was reading how mary shelley described the monster discovering how humans communicate their feelings to each other through body language and through words, how a few sounds can have such a ripple effect on another person.

frankenstein is actually such an idiot though. i feel like many things could have been avoided if he just didn’t leave the monster loose in his apartment. towards the beginning, he leaves him there and says “hope he’s not there when i get back!” you idiot!! and lo and behold he’s gone, but at what cost?

definitely wordy and nothing is ever to the point, but i think one reason for this could be the long letters written between family members expressing love and affection, something that the monster goes completely without. i found the part where frankenstein talks about his appreciation for his best friend, henry, particularly compelling.

[Quincy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guillermo’s Frankenstein would make Mary so proud. I love this introduction to the novel, and I love the movie Guillermo made.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Matt Dechaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary Shelley was ahead of her time!! Victor’s chapters were a pain to get through. For The Creature… I simply couldn’t get enough. There’s so much beauty in the way he discovers the world for himself. Del Toro’s adaptation was a masterpiece in my eyes and reading this only solidified my appreciation for this tale and the film.

[Joseph Fertitta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yeah this book is incredible. I haven’t read a “classic” in a bit and I think this may get me back into them. I loved the prose of the book and was also surprised to see how much different Frankenstein is in the book compared to what popular media and movies cut him out to be.

I never knew that this was called the “the modern Prometheus” and though I don’t think it’s 1:1 and think the comparison falls off a hair when comparing the two, it was still a really cool connection.

Overall, this book rocked. It’s a really easy quick read and is a new favorite. HIGHLY recommend. Very philosophical. Can’t wait to see the Del Toro movie!

[Isla ⭐️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

kinda makes me mad that it took me a month to read this, however the fact that I was battling through the end of my first uni semester justifies it lowkey…

Not bad, I appreciate the ways in which the film was accurate to the book. But then at the same time the two were different enough that I didn’t regret watching the movie first which is a rare occurrence

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first book of 2026 is complete. And it was fantastic. I have long shied away from Frankenstein—I had been told that it was long, too philosophical, boring. It wasn't what I was expecting, and I can see why it wouldn't be for everyone, but, oh, reading it was so much fun!

It's the kind of book that sticks with you. We see how Dr. Frankenstein's act of trying to be like God results in abject failure—the creation of something so horrible and the means of ruin for him and everyone he loves. At first, I thought perhaps this book was a commentary on Mary Shelley's view of God—a god who creates creatures and then destroys them—but through the Creature's view himself, we learn that he envies the creatures created by God. God creates a humanity he loves, and gives mankind good things, including spouses and friends. It is a fact of humanity that even the most wicked and despised of people still have those in their circle who admit of love for them (I think of someone like a Hitler here—in spite of everything, he still had friends).

In thinking through the Creature's worldview, I would draw it out further and add that not only does God love his humanity—even after fallenness and depravity entered the world through sin—God pursues those who have utterly rejected him and offers his Son as substitute for them on a cross—all so that He can be in relationship with them. The poor Creature never experiences this kind of love, and the result is a fall into utter depravity.

I don't know how we as the reader are supposed to view the Creature. The narrator, along with Dr. Frankenstein, portray him as a monster. And with his cold-blooded murder of so many, perhaps this is the correct final estimation of him. Yet, as the monster tells his story in the first person, one can't help but feel for him. It was an existence that he never asked for, and the only thing he ever wanted was to love and be loved. In his own words, "Everywhere I see bliss, from which I am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I will again be virtuous."

I found the Creature's meditations of sin particularly insightful: In contemplating committing another murder in order to exact revenge on Dr. Frankenstein, he says, "I knew that I was preparing for myself a deadly torture, but I was the slave, not the master, of an impulse which I detested yet could not disobey." How true is this sentiment when we are tempted to sin! But once the deed was accomplished, he said, "...Then I was not miserable. I had cast off all feeling, subdued all anguish, to riot in the excess of despair. Evil thenceforth became my good. Urged thus far, I had no choice but to adapt my nature to an element which I had willingly chosen." Sin, when indulged in, consumes us until we lose the ability to feel remorse for what we become. The Bible says that we are given over to our sin, which is a good summary of the Creature and his baser impulses.

There's lots to chew on in this book. It is not good for man to be alone, and it is love that rescues us and drives us to conform ourselves to the highest being. Without it, we are nothing more than devils ourselves.

[Iris Cabaça · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for the first time after watching Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein movie, and it's really interesting to see the changes that he did in his movie and compare them with the original story by Mary Shelley. Also, only a 19 year old girl could have written this book because being a 19 year old girl teenage girl is truly a universal experience that only women can comprehend whether it was in 1818, 1918, 1938, 1998, 2008, 2018 or today. I cried with the end of the book just like I did with the end of the movie, because once you realize the creature only wanted to be loved and have a companion to feel less alone despite his appearance is really relatable and heartbreaking.

[percy · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love frankenstein

[ciagle_czytam Marta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frankenstein
Mary Shelley
Przekład: Paulina Braiter
Ilustracje: John Coulthart
@wydawnictwomateria
#współpracabarterowa

Cóż to była za przyjemność dla oka i dotyku. Piękne wydanie powieści, która nie traci na swej wartości.

#frankenstein to gotycka powieść, która przemawia do wyobraźni czytelnika zarówno treścią, jak i oprawą graficzną. Oryginalna a jednocześnie tak bardzo aktualna, bo traktująca o ludzkich słabościach, złych decyzjach, zaślepieniu i wielkim cierpieniu. Podana pięknym językiem, czytelnym stylem, intensywnością odczuć.
To było moje pierwsze z tą historią i nie ukrywam, że zrobiła na mnie spore wrażenie.

Autorka przedstawia nam różnych bohaterów. Każdy z nich jest przykładem na to, jak pragnienia mogą zaślepić. Do czego może doprowadzić zły wybór i fascynacja a także głód miłości i obecności drugiego człowieka obok.

Victor Frankenstein to młody człowiek, który opętany nauką i potrzebą wejścia w rolę stwórcy, przekracza granice i tworzy z martwej materii, żywą istotę. Nie zdaje sobie sprawy czym to się może skończyć i co uda mu się osiągnąć. Tworzy bohatera, który czuje, który potrafi odczuć każdą emocję zarówno tą dobrą, jak i złą. Dopowadza to do katastrofy.

Nie mogłam się odciąć od tej lektury. Wciągnęła mnie bez reszty.

Polecam.

[Mello Skello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made a resolution to read more this year - and this book was on the list as a reread and because of the new Frankenstein movie that came out not too long ago. I wanted to see what exactly the changes were between the movie and book.

I honestly like both. Both medias are their own form and do well in their execution.

But to the book review -

I’ve always liked this book and it was worth the reread. Victor represents the thought experiment of “would you do anything to get what you want”, and the potential consequences of that - plus some.

Frankenstein’s monster represents so much - but if I was to sum it up in one sentence - I’d say they represent “the effect of trauma upon the psyche and soul”, and the consequences of that.

I relate SO HARD to Frankenstein’s monster. They have to be my favorite. I could go on and on about this book, but I’ll stop here. Point is - this book poses a lot of moral, philosophical, and psychological questions and inquiries in a really interesting story. If you like that kinda stuff, you might like this book.

[Natalie Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

For as old as this book is, and difficult to decipher what’s being said through the old language at times, this was a very good book! Victor’s drive to do something remarkable ultimately led to his downfall. Frankenstein was a creature whose existence should have never been created. I truly felt to him and how lonely and miserable he was. But ultimately, his decision to die to find peace was the best decision. I’m glad to have read it be able to compare it to the Del Toro movie.

[Kathy Jiang · Rating 5 out of 5]

This particular edition I only purchased for the director commentary, which I really enjoyed. But the actual binding and printing of the book is poor. The cover is slightly crooked and so is the text and after reading halfway through the spine’s printing has flaked off in a dozen places. Don’t buy this if you want a pretty, well bound book. Only worth it for GDT’s commentary.

[Ethan Woods]

A cautionary tale about why you shouldn’t bottle things up and bury your head in the sand. Look yourself and your problems in the eye.
The aching desire for friendship oozes out of every seem of this book

[Emily Tosson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. this story is just too good. i almost wish i didn’t see the movie first bc i was just imagining a sad oscar isaac and vengeful jacob elordi the whole time.

i really loved reading this. i also like how guillermo del toro tweaked it from the source material. ugh frankenstein is goooooood

[Ivy · Rating 4 out of 5]

"God in pity made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of your's, more horrid from it's very resemblance."
a very much needed reread with the newest movie. love.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

[Frida Santana · Rating 5 out of 5]

De las mejores relecturas de este año, me emcanta la forma en que las mujeres hablan sobre el amor y lo he conlleva este sentimiento. Una joya, igual que su nueva adaptación.

[Isabella Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

Believe me, Frankenstein, I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not alone, miserably alone?

[Tiffany 🖤 · Rating 5 out of 5]

So that just broke my heart 😔💔

[Pres Goos · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I required kindness and sympathy, but did not believe myself utterly unworthy of it”

[Jacob Breese · Rating 5 out of 5]

I continue to be baffled at how in the hell Mary Shelley wrote this at 18 years old.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jag mindes den som mycket bättre - nu var den såååå långtråkig.

[Alex Dunkelberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a good begginer classic. I originally read it because of the movie on Netflix but absolutely was caught up in Mary Shelly's writing.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

time to rewatch GDT’s Frankenstein for the 3rd time!