September 2021 book of the month club (Poll)

[Boris Diamond]

Been so busy I did not leave a review for this book!

My favorite part was the monster's story. His commentary on the human condition is something I could relate to. His dislike of Victor Frankenstein was something I can understand. I did not like him either. For Victor Frankenstein to create something that was like a new born child and then abandon him to mature in a world that hated and feared him was the height of cruelty. Certainly Mr. Frankenstein paid dearly for this, but it was hard to work up much sympathy for him. Mr. Frankenstein spent too much of the book feeling sorry for himself. The constant self-pity got old.

I'm glad I read it, but my unhappiness with Victor Frankenstein made it an uncomfortable read.

The only movie version I enjoyed was Mel Brook's Young Frankenstein. It was as risqué as other Mel Brooks films, but I thought it had some very funny moments. And it was, of course, very little like the book.

Mia6 - I think what was considered controversial was that the life that Victor Frankenstein created was, at least in some ways superior to man, the life that God created. The monster could survive on little, endure harsher weather and, if I remember correctly, he could climb things the Victor did not think any man could climb. Perhaps he was superior in other ways, too.

 

[verna davies]

Boris Diamond I totally agree with you regarding Victor Frankenstein and his dismissal of the monster. People judged him on his appearance without trying to understand him. In that sense nothing much has changed over the years, people still judge others by their appearance, such a shame we haven't learnt. In the monsters case, he was the creation of someone else and his being was out of his control, so sad.

 

[Danneq]

Wow I'm super late, but I wanted to add in my interpretations.

I don't know if this is true or not, but I remember reading that Mary Shelley's name for the monster was Adam. I like using that instead of "the monster," even though it's not canon. It would make his name Adam Frankenstein, since Victor is his father.

I think it's important to note that, in addition to having spent his whole life facing violent rejections, when the monster starts killing, he is only a couple years old. Astonishingly intelligent and well read, yes, but still little more than baby in terms of his emotional growth. So much power, so much intelligence, but (I argue) with the emotional intelligence of small child. So there he is, facing little William, who has all of the things that he wants, and is also very young and therefore throws a temper tantrum, and so "Adam" does a thing that young children sometimes do, which is to become overwhelmed with his emotions and hit somebody. Only he's not a tiny, weak toddler, he's a ginormous super-human made out of dead adults, and he knows far more about the way that human bodies work, and so William dies. And well, there's no real way to come back from that, is there.

RIP Henry, Victor didn't deserve you.

 

[rubysmama]

Thanks for adding your thoughts, Danneq . Interesting about the speculation that the monster's name was Adam. Also about his emotional level being that of a young child, even though he was the size of an adult. The entire story was really sad, and so different from what I expected, having only seen clips from the movies.

 

[verna davies]

I hadn't thought about him being a child emotionally, good point Danneq . Child's mentality in a strong man's body, dangerous combination.

 

[gilmargl]

I think it's important to note that, in addition to having spent his whole life facing violent rejections, when the monster starts killing, he is only a couple years old. Astonishingly intelligent and well read, yes, but still little more than baby in terms of his emotional growth. So much power, so much intelligence, but (I argue) with the emotional intelligence of small child. So there he is, facing little William, who has all of the things that he wants, and is also very young and therefore throws a temper tantrum, and so "Adam" does a thing that young children sometimes do, which is to become overwhelmed with his emotions and hit somebody. Only he's not a tiny, weak toddler, he's a ginormous super-human made out of dead adults, and he knows far more about the way that human bodies work, and so William dies. And well, there's no real way to come back from that, is there.

What an interesting thought! It reminds me of an incident, which I'd prefer to forget, but it's one of those things which happened!
(Now, you'll have to excuse some terms I may use which are no longer politically correct - I hope I don't accidentally hurt anyone's feelings.)

My daughter's previous employers (both GP's) had a severely handicapped son, I'll call him Adam. As a child, he was beautiful to look at and was able to hobble about. But, he was clumsy, could only say 2 words (Mama and Papa) and understood very little. He was put in an institution but had to return home for holidays. His parents were not only too busy to look after him but were completely out of their depth. My daughter was given time off to "entertain" him. She herself had 2 boys, the younger one I'll call little William, 8 years younger than Adam. Children were afraid of Adam - because of his size, clumsiness, the noises he made and, most of all, his outbusts. On the day in question, I accompanied my daughter (she appreciated support) on a shopping expedition with Adam and my youngest grandson William, barely 3 years old.
We drove to the parking lot where Adam refused to get out of the car (he had no doubt been expecting a trip on a train - which was the best way to keep him happy). His animal-like screams brought us a lot of attention. Little William put his hands over his ears and screamed repeatedly, "Kill him!"
If William (three years old) had had the stature of Adam, and Adam was just a little William, and there were no parent or grandparent to control the issue, who knows what could have happened.

Adam's father died earlier this year - Adam refused to get in a car to take him to the funeral. He must have sensed that something untoward had happened. Although, at the time, we thought it cruel to send a 7-year-old so far away from home, it was probably for the best. Adam was allowed to stay at the institution as an adult - he spends his time pushing wheelbarrows about on the farm, and calling people to lunch (he loves his food) and will be able to stay there till the end of his days.

Hopefully, William has forgotten giving his orders to kill!