Too many words not enough story

Need to reread since I haven't read this since high school. ( )

Inspired to finally read (actually listen to a quite good YouTube free audio version) by viewing the film "Mary Shelley." The film's focus is Mary's early life and the genesis of the novel. Explains so much of what she wrote. This is a deeply psychological and philosophical novel that addresses profound ideas, and not at all what popular culture tells us it is. ( )

So I finally got around to reading this pioneer piece of science fiction. It's quite strange what parts of it have entered our cultural memory and what hasn't. And where's the flashes of lightning and the cackles of "It's alive!!"?

Like The Last Man which I previously read, this book includes a lengthy biographical narrative for Victor the protagonist before getting into the story proper. I'm not sure if it was a convention of the time to tell us all about our protagonists' childhoods but it's not very exciting.

One other commonality I noticed with Mary Shelley's works is the ability to just tell when any character is of high birth, just from the fact that they are so much better in every way than the peasants which surround them. I find the unquestioning use of this trope interesting in contrast to Emma by Jane Austen, which was published three years earlier and parodies this idea.

My favourite part was actually the Arctic adventure, which I'd had no idea going in would even be a part of this book. The fact that this book is also a response to the scientific and philosophical ideas of the time is also interesting and adds a new layer to the work. ( )

It's a shame I could never get around to reading this - because this is a masterpiece, in the truest sense of the word.
All of us know the gist, as Frankenstein's monster is a huge part of popular culture - Victor Frankenstein, a committed science student, discovers the secret of 'animation' - the process by which life is injected into a body. He then attempts to create a sentient creature, and does so - but repulsed at his own creation, he deserts the creature. What happens in the novel is simply repercussions for the same.
But what really made the novel work was its maddeningly beautiful prose, and the sheer tragedy of the villain, Frankenstein's monster. Deprived of human affection due to his monstrous appearance, you feel for him, even though your sympathies are strongly tested. But Shelley's command of the language is unparalleled - you can visualize the downfall of both Victor and his creation, and it is just heart-rending to witness.
Another striking thing about the novel is the pacing - it is simultaneously beautiful and wretched to witness. It is an exercise in futility to think of all the 'what-ifs', alluded so casually by Shelley at numerous parts of the novel. In fact, at some point, you just have to stop to take a deep breath, because it is so pulse-pounding.
I was thinking Frankenstein would be another one of those 'classics', solely read because it's on all of those 'best of all time' and 'trope creator' lists. I will gladly admit though, that I have never been more glad to be proven so wrong. ( )