The Book Vipers discussion

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Things to consider:
1. Did you like the book?
2. Did you like or dislike the main characters?
3. Do the characters develop?
4. What did you think of the plot and the ending of the story?
5. Do you have any particular favourite quotes or scenes?
6. Would you read anything else by this author?

Growing up in the '60s and '70s with all the vampire/frankenstein/werewolf movies, I never saw a reason to read Shelley's version. What a pleasant surprise!
I enjoyed the book very much. I generally like the writing style of this time period but don't usually go in for Gothic Romance. Shelley's descriptions are vivid and only felt like they were dragging on a couple of times.
I disliked the character of Frankenstein. He was selfish and weak. What a wienie! I felt his decisions were all made from a point of selfish weakness. The monster was really the only character to develop. It seemed a little ridiculous that he learned to speak so well from the little human contact he had. Right up to the end, I felt sorry for him. All he wanted was to be accepted--isn't that what we all want, on some level. And when not accepted by their peer group or society at large, people tend to act out, sometimes in vengeful ways.
I think the plot was true to the time period in which the story was told and the setting in which the idea was initially developed, addressing/questioning science, technology and the supernatural.
My favorite scenes were the descriptions of the physical settings. I stopped reading, googled Mont Blanc and Chamonix, and spent some time looking at images. Shelley did them justice.

I, too, liked this book. For those interested, my review is found at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

With respect, I would have to disagree with my friend Patricia. I thought Shelley developed (is that the right word) the character of Frankenstein fairly well. Man as a whole is Frankenstein. We all desire something better, yet what offers us the authority to create? Science? I think not.

Wouldn't Shelley be someone you'd love to sit and chat with? Brilliant mind. Yet I wonder how much influence Percy Shelley had on his wife. Really enjoyable read!

Although the book was "slow" from time to time, I found myself at a comfortable pace.

I enjoyed this so much more than I was expecting to! Its a book I have always shied away from reading, but I am glad I finally did.
Although I initially disliked Frankenstein's character, finding him weak and a moral coward, particularly after he allowed Justine to die, I did find myself sympathising a little more with him as the book went on, though he never became a character I truly liked. His character did develop, enough for him to regret his creation and shy away from further experimentation, but truly the most sympathetic and developed character in the book was the "monster".
I thought the plot overall was well developed although the pace was a little slow and the writing a little wordy in places, but only to the extent I would expect in a book of this time period.

I finished this today but wasn't very keen. It seemed slow to get going because of the letters as a preface but after that I thought the pace was ok. However I didn't really feel engaged with either Victor or the monster. Victor's reaction when he first brought the monster to life seemed extreme (after all he knew what the body looked like and at that point it hadn't behaved violently) and also not like a scientist. The monster felt unreal in the way it not only learnt to speak in very complex sentences but also read demanding and moralistic literature, yet still murdered innocent victims.

Finished second reading of this today, much better this time around, still annoyed with how soft Frankenstein was. The monster was amazing though, some top-notch revenging.

Can't say I enjoyed the book, Victor was way too much of a whiny prat (but he was well developed, he became more irritating). Everyone around him just seemed fawning and swoony about him. Especially the sailor (little bit of unrequited love there).

Felt sorry for the monster, he had my full support in his acts of revenge.

Not really sure how I felt about this book. I quite liked the writing, and in the main, enjoyed it but somehow it all fell just a bit short. I think in part this was due to the fact that I had seen at least two or three adaptations of the story and was naively expecting it to be much faster moving. Also because I knew the plot I had also visualised it very differently - particulary the 'birth' of the monster. I very rarely read books that I have previously seen adapted on stage or screen and I think this is probably what makes me damn the book with faint praise.

Anna wrote: "Can't say I enjoyed the book, Victor was way too much of a whiny prat (but he was well developed, he became more irritating). Everyone around him just seemed fawning and swoony about him. Especiall..."

Haha you are a brilliantly vengeful woman.