This Penguin Classic is performed by Colin Salmon known for his starring roles in Resident Evil and Alien Vs Predator. He is also known for his role as Charles Robinson alongside Pierce Brosnan's James Bond. This definitive recording includes an Introduction by Maurice Hindle, read by Peter Noble. A terrifying vision of scientific progress without moral limits, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein leads the reader on an unsettling journey from the sublime beauty of the Swiss alps to the desolate waste of the arctic circle. This Penguin Classics edition is edited with an introduction and notes by Maurice Hindle. Obsessed with the idea of creating life itself, Victor Frankenstein plunders graveyards for the material with which to fashion a new being, shocking his creation to life with electricity.
I thought this was going to be a more detailed version of the pop culture bit we always see: "it's alive!" etc. but that action doesn't even take place "on screen"; the story is much more about what a creator (parent, or god) owes those they create. I enjoyed it much more than I expected, and thought the writing was excellent.
Por capricho Victor Frankenstein teceu os fios da vida. O destino o conduziu por caminhos tortuosos, até este ponto, vaidades e acaso… Por capricho Victor Frankenstein esmagou a criatura sob o peso de seu desdém. Assim começa a tragédia do criador e da criatura. A figura de Frankenstein é marcada por um lamento constante, sua tragédia reside em sua incapacidade de agir até ser tarde demais. Seu pecado o persegue, ele é incapaz de confessá-lo ou dar cabo dele. Vemos um personagem ser consumido passivamente. Já a criatura, órfã de seu criador, vaga solitária como um animal pelos bosques enquanto desenvolve aos poucos seus gostos, experimenta pela primeira vez a fome e a comida, o frio e o calor, a solidão… e apenas isso. O monstro, como é chamado, isolado, ama platonicamente tudo o que é de mais humano. Negado em seus afetos, o ressentimento cresce, ele se vê como …
Por capricho Victor Frankenstein teceu os fios da vida. O destino o conduziu por caminhos tortuosos, até este ponto, vaidades e acaso… Por capricho Victor Frankenstein esmagou a criatura sob o peso de seu desdém. Assim começa a tragédia do criador e da criatura. A figura de Frankenstein é marcada por um lamento constante, sua tragédia reside em sua incapacidade de agir até ser tarde demais. Seu pecado o persegue, ele é incapaz de confessá-lo ou dar cabo dele. Vemos um personagem ser consumido passivamente. Já a criatura, órfã de seu criador, vaga solitária como um animal pelos bosques enquanto desenvolve aos poucos seus gostos, experimenta pela primeira vez a fome e a comida, o frio e o calor, a solidão… e apenas isso. O monstro, como é chamado, isolado, ama platonicamente tudo o que é de mais humano. Negado em seus afetos, o ressentimento cresce, ele se vê como Werther, Adão e Satã.
Abordando temas como a ambição, os limites da ciência, a busca pela identidade e o significado da vida, a solidão e o isolamento. A obra de Mary Shelley nos faz refletir sobre a natureza do monstro, se ele é produto de sua criação ou se a sociedade é responsável por moldá-lo.
I wasn't expecting to like this book anywhere near as much as I ended up doing! The story as told in the book is much more interesting than the limited image of it that's got in to popular culture, and this was my first encounter with the whole thing. It's so much more about deeply flawed Victor Frankenstein (TLDR: our reading group kept using the term "main character syndrome") than about the mad science process. And while the creature is far from likeable, his portrayal has genuine pathos, even though most of what we hear about him is secondhand through the recounting of someone who hates him.
There are several impressively strong resonances to the modern world, between the general lack of ethics in tech and the current wave of "AI" hype. And of course big self-centred men who think that extreme success in one sphere gives them licence to …
I wasn't expecting to like this book anywhere near as much as I ended up doing! The story as told in the book is much more interesting than the limited image of it that's got in to popular culture, and this was my first encounter with the whole thing. It's so much more about deeply flawed Victor Frankenstein (TLDR: our reading group kept using the term "main character syndrome") than about the mad science process. And while the creature is far from likeable, his portrayal has genuine pathos, even though most of what we hear about him is secondhand through the recounting of someone who hates him.
There are several impressively strong resonances to the modern world, between the general lack of ethics in tech and the current wave of "AI" hype. And of course big self-centred men who think that extreme success in one sphere gives them licence to behave as badly as they like in others.