Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

The latest book I`ve finished, this is one of the "literary classics" as it nears his 200th birthday (it was first published in 1818).

Now, there are some things you must know about the real story of Frankenstein, or "The Modern Prometheus" as it was actually called.

* There is no "von" in Victor Frankenstein's name
* The Creature is not a stiff walking, mumbling automaton
* There was no "hit by lightning, it's alive, aliiiive" moment

No, this is a completely different story from the ones we saw in popular movies

Plot

The book starts with Captain Walton, who is writing letters back home on an artic expedition, as he encounters a man in bad condition.  Nursing him to a bit of health, he states his name as Victor Frankestein, and tells his tale.
A tale of a man who was intrested in reanimating dead creatures, and to that end actually succeeded.  However, he realised it to be wrong, but the creature escaped before he could kill it.  The creature went into hiding into the mountains, where it learned to read and talk, but soon realises that because of it`s horrible appearance, he would never know happiness.
It starts killing people close to Victor, in order to force him to make a female version for itself, but when he kills both his best friend and his beloved, Victor stops the project and goes to hunt for the Creature all the way to the North Pole.
When he succumbs to his injuries, unable to catch it, Captain Walton discovers the Creature mourning over the body of his creator, where it repents for his sins and leaves, never to be seen again.

Opinion

Truly one of "literary greats", this is a far better story then that of the mad scientist and his monstrous supertrooper.  This is a story of a being turned to evil because of it`s unearthy creation and appearance.  A tale with actually a very current day message, as it was the discrimination of the creature, even by it`s own maker, that made it evil, not being evil by nature.

Rating: 8 / 10