What if man could create life? It’s question that has been asked for centuries but Frankenstein by Mary Shelley was one of the first books in literature to look at the repercussions of doing such a thing.

The story of Frankenstein is well known. Victor Frankenstein decides to create life but when his Creature starts to think on his own, violence and death plague Victor and his loved ones. Victor is determined to get rid of the vile creature, but can he do it before he loses everything he holds dear?

Frankenstein is one of those pieces of literature that has had such an impact on society and has had so many variations of the story told that the true meaning of Ms. Shelley’s work can sometimes get lost. As a result, while I knew the general idea of what the story was, I went into the book not quite sure what to expect.

The book is a quick read, under 300 pages, and though the book bares the trademarks of a classic book, i.e. long paragraphs, very descriptive language that borders on being too long, and very little dialogue, it is an excellent story with a strong message to the reader and to society. What is even more astounding about the book is that the idea for it came to Ms. Shelley one night during a dream and while she must have tightened the story and added to it when she sat down to write it, the fact that she had this idea is just unbelievable.

Though this is an easy story to get through, I do wish we might have had more character development with some of the characters. While Victor and the Creature are flushed out, the supporting characters like Henry and Elizabeth could have used some more intention. However, in my experience with classic novels, that seems to have been the norm unfortunately.

Nonetheless, Frankenstein is a classic for a reason and it’s because its message is as relevant today as it was over two hundred years ago. If you are looking to get into reading classic novels, Ms. Shelley’s timeless novel is an excellent place to get started.

4 out of 5 stars