Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus

Great reading

This is yet another excellent reading of "Frankenstein." There are actually several really good performances of this book on Audible. Simon Vance tends to emphasize the lyrical Romanticism of the prose. Others have other strengths: George Guidall emphasizes the brooding tragedy; the three-reader version from Blackstone highlights the unusual structure of the narrative; and Flo Gibson gives what I think is the only available recording of the shorter 1818 version of the text. (Most use the 1831 revision.) I seem to be collecting versions of this book without realizing it. Vance's reading is lively and clearly differentiates the three major voices in the book (Walton, Frankenstein, and the Creature).

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Frankenstein

The book is so much more than the movies or the stage productions. Isn't that true 99% of the time? Simon Vance brings Dr. Frankenstein and his monster to life. Great reading of a great book.

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Frankenstein

Wow. Wished I would have read this much earlier in my life. Excellent over all in the writing and the narrator. No complaints and really enjoyed it.

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Great read of a great book:

This being the first time I have read/listen to this book I was amazed. This is not the modern day Frankenstein I was brought up with. This was a lot more then I expected. It was simply great! What added to the wonder of my experiences was the awesome narration of Simon Vance. I have listened to Mr. Vance’s narration in past and have found him to be very enjoyable but, this narration takes the prize. You won’t be disappointed with this book or the narrator.

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He did the Monster Mash!!!

Where does Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is one of the best. The story is compelling and depending on how deep you decided to go into, it could get very complicated.

What other book might you compare Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus to and why?

Dracula.

What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?

Another brilliant performance by Simon Vance.

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I know why it's a classic!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus?

I found myself conflicted. I strongly disliked the monster because of his cruel nature. But I felt bad for him as well. I enjoyed the story from his point of view. A memorable moment was how his beloved "protectors" reacted to him.

What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?

All around great! Did a good job of sounding different when portraying Dr. Frankenstein vs. the monster. Sounded very gruff as the monster. Which fit perfectly.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When the a falsely accused girl is put to death. It signified how Dr. Frankenstein's world was spiraling out of control for me.

Any additional comments?

I was hesitant to listen to this book. I thought I'd be bored. I like zombie and vampire stories to pass my time. However, this story is truly interesting! I enjoyed it to the point of being a little disappointed it had to end. This was nice change from my typical genre of books. I will be reading many more classics now!

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Exceptional writing and fantastic narration.

Classic, superb, and brimming with themes. A must read for High School aged young adults as well as adults. Chilling and agonizing in its narrative.

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So much more to the beast than a B Movie has been

It is hard to believe Shelley wrote this cornerstone of the horror and sci fi genres at the age of 19. The beast she creates is Far more intriguing than the B movie fodder the Frankenstein monster evolved into. Prometheus retold for sure but a tale of utter loneliness and regret as well.

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Great listen!

This book is a classic and one of my all time favorites. Simon Vance adds so much more to the story with his rich, scary voice.

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Not the movie monster, a wordy, worthy classic

Some books are classics because they were the first of their type, not because their literary value is really that great. Frankenstein is an entertaining enough book with a kernel of a story — Doctor Victor Frankenstein, overcome with hubris, figures out how to animate life from dead body parts — and creates a wrathful creature. There are also a number of interesting philosophical questions which Mary Shelley partially addresses through the medium of her characters' long, long soliloquies.

"You, who call Frankenstein your friend, seem to have a knowledge of my crimes and his misfortunes. But in the detail which he gave you of them he could not sum up the hours and months of misery which I endured wasting in impotent passions. For while I destroyed his hopes, I did not satisfy my own desires. They were forever ardent and craving; still I desired love and fellowship, and I was still spurned. Was there no injustice in this? Am I to be thought the only criminal, when all humankind sinned against me? Why do you not hate Felix, who drove his friend from his door with contumely? Why do you not execrate the rustic who sought to destroy the saviour of his child? Nay, these are virtuous and immaculate beings! I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on. Even now my blood boils at the recollection of this injustice."

Frankenstein's nameless monster is much more interesting than in the movies - he's more of reanimated superman than a shambling zombie, possessed of extraordinary eloquence. Every time he meets someone, he gives a long discursive speech, usually a self-justifying one. The monster is unfairly persecuted, denied the friendship it genuinely desires, and then betrayed by its creator. However, it also commits murders whenever it's aggrieved, then swears that it would never have done so if only people weren't so mean to it. So, you feel sorry for the creature, but it's hardly an innocent. Ultimately it's left to the reader to decide who is more responsible and who is the greater villain: Frankenstein or his monster?

That said, Frankenstein is really not a very well-developed novel; the characters all act in foolish, contrived manners, and none of them have any depth (the monster probably has the most complicated personality). The plot kind of plows along with foreshadowing a ten-year-old could see, and the prose is very, very purple even by 19th century standards. It's very much the sort of story you'd expect a clever, talented teenager with a vivid imagination to write, which is what Shelley was. Because she didn't have a lot of competition in 1818, especially in this genre, she got published.

Do I think this was a bad book? Well, I was never bored, and it is a classic. And it does make you think about how much the monster is to blame for its behavior. (I think Shelley's intended message, that Doctor Frankenstein's hubris brought about all the destruction, is a bit washed out by the more compelling question of free will.) I would recommend anyone to read the original story, but rather like Dracula, it can be a bit of a slog at times. I would recommend trying the audio version, as I did: a good narrator (like Simon Vance) can pull off the long, wordy monologues without sounding as stiff and absurd as they seem in print.

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