Curtis’s Reviews > Frankenstein > Status Update
Curtis
is on page 128 of 261
Resurrection scene odd in its simplicity; monster just comes to life, F. runs & sleeps, runs again, comes back & doesn't question when monster's gone. Almost funny. Indicative of his evasion of responsibility. Interlude chapter incl. letter from home about woman w/ postpartum depression; more motherhood parallels. Nature, friends ground F. again, until both interrupted by monster in great horror scene of sighting him
— Oct 06, 2026 07:08AM
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Curtis
is finished
Bleak atmosphere smothers; nihilistic end. Scanty characterization of monster's victims dulls some of its impact potential. F's not smart to the end, not getting monster's intent is others, not him. Resolution touching and poignant but unflinching. Despite length, feels like novella for its simplicity. Examines how prejudice begets itself & marginalized prej. is response to priveleged oppression. Better on 2nd read!
— Oct 10, 2026 06:01PM
Curtis
is on page 219 of 261
Deal has some issues; wonder how much Shelley sees it, especially about assumption that monster 2 will fall in love with monster 1. In-built selfishness of inflicting this fate on another. Monster has his own prejudices; punishing all humanity for the fauls of the few he's encountered. Good look at how prejudice breeds prejudice among marginalized. F & monster's fates/outlooks becoming more similar. Intense bleakness
— Oct 09, 2026 11:37AM
Curtis
is on page 190 of 261
Packed section begins w/ monster's murders & vision of monster in dead of night; great horror set-piece. Natural retreats become turbulent as F hikes in wintry mountain landscape & meets monster. Backstory longest section in book, highly memorable, but overlong, gets convoluted, & monster's deal hampered by his murders, which make it hard for F to agree. Thematically rich, existential, atmospheric. Best part so far.
— Oct 08, 2026 07:04AM
Curtis
is on page 112 of 261
Slow burn full of foreshadowing, from importance of affection in F's life to respect of nature being likened to piety, to Greek refs linking to old themes of fate/destiny vs hubris. Minimal dramatization of revival scene as its not the point; best to enter book as if it's just a mystery to discover F's tragic past. Love references to motherhood & F losing sense of self while experimenting. Noticing more w/ re-read!
— Oct 02, 2026 10:00AM
Curtis
is finished
I'm torn between 3 and 4 stars on this one. Lots of brilliant themes and beautiful prose, but there were a few too many long, tedious sections and I disagree with the anti-enlightenment reactionism. I think Moby Dick did a much better job with romanticism. Still definitely worth the read!
— Nov 04, 2020 08:53PM
Curtis
is on page 202 of 261
The monster's story was beautiful and philosophical, packed with enough poignant allusions to make Herman Melville blush. But after that section I found things got kind of... flat again. I found my attention drifting off a fair bit. There's a lot of brilliance here but the tedium of some sections put me off.
— Nov 02, 2020 09:23PM
Curtis
is on page 144 of 261
Things are definitely picking up, and I was able to latch on to the core romanticism of the book. Frankenstein's monster is a pretty interesting character, especially with the angel/demon & life/death subtexts.
— Oct 29, 2020 09:17PM
Curtis
is on page 80 of 261
I don't know how I'm gonna do with this one--it's fairly rich thematically but oh man it's pretty dull. Not sure if I need to know all the minutiae of how Frankenstein's family is doing in lengthy 'howdy-do' letters! In contrast, Dracula started incredibly strong and sucked me in from the opening pages. Hopefully Frankenstein picks up.
— Oct 25, 2020 09:38PM