The Friday 56 (224) & Book Beginnings: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Obsessed with creating life itself, 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. Mary Shelley's chilling Gothic tale was conceived when she was only eighteen, living with her lover Percy Shelley near Byron's villa on Lake Geneva. It would become the world's most famous work of horror fiction, and remains a devastating exploration of the limits of human creativity.

Beginning: "You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings."

56: "Oh! No mortal could support the horror of that countenance."

Comments: I'm glad to have this classic off my TBR list. Frankenstein was just as good as I thought it would be. What are you reading this week?

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Title: Frankenstein
Series: n/a
Author: Mary Shelley
Source/Format: Purchased; Paperback
More Details: Science Fiction; Horror; Classic
Publisher/Publication Date: First published January 1, 1818

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Obsessed with creating life itself, 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. Mary Shelley's chilling Gothic tale was conceived when she was only eighteen, living with her lover Percy Shelley near Byron's villa on Lake Geneva. It would become the world's most famous work of horror fiction, and remains a devastating exploration of the limits of human creativity.

Frankenstein is one of those classic novels that I’ve known about, never got around to reading (for way too long), but have seen numerous adaptations and consumed media inspired by its story. After saying I’ve wanted to read it for years, I finally picked up the Signet Classics omnibus, which also contained Dracula and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

The framing of Victor Frankenstein’s story is like a cautionary tale for Captain Walton: the joy he once felt during childhood and early adulthood to the bitter anger and long-sought vengeance that consumed what remained of his life. There was something so melancholic about his perspective, and the feeling persisted all the way to the conclusion. After all, it was his scientific inclinations and ambition that were not only the early and compelling driving forces in the narrative, but also the whole cause of the majority of the book. And even though the exact methods Frankenstein used to create the creature were left purposely vague, they were implied.

Frankenstein is considered one of the earliest science fiction novels, and I see where that assertion came from. The story was a tragedy that leaned into the horror of its plot, and it does everything its synopsis promises. For lack of better words, I understand the hype.