Monday, November 19, 2012

Book Review: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

O, my fevered mind... well almost! The thoughts that come to you while listening to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein courtesy of Blackstone Audio and via my local library's Overdrive site. This book was excellently narrated by Simon TemplemanAnthony Heald, and Stefan Rudnicki.

What thoughts? Firstly, the ambivalent nature of the creature. It seems to me that he did not have to be as he ended up. At any point in the narrative, it could have turned up differently. In many ways, he was more human than his Creator. I am sure I am not the first to notice the analogies with religion in this novel. Was Mary Shelley conflicted in her own faith? I am sure I could find writing to say she was. (After all, she was living in sin for years. She probably had her own issues with the faith of the time.)

Victor created this creature and then abandoned it. It disgusted him and rather than taking the responsibility and destroy the creature, he turned his back. I suppose you could say that God turned His back on us when He ejected us from the Garden of Eden. (Though I don't really think that's true. God has always kept in contact with us. And wants us to return to Him.) Victor just wanted the Creature to be gone. 

The Creature, you end up feeling sorry for. He could've been different at any point. What if Victor had been there through his "childhood" and education? What if mankind hadn't been repelled by him? What if Victor had created the female and let him go?

Also, while our own (and Victor's) Creator takes responsibility for us, Victor never really does. He never allows any blame for the Creature's actions or even its Creation. He seems to believe that the Creation was a good thing. That it was just the extent of Man's intelligence and desire for more knowledge. Somehow ethics doesn't come into it. In the end, he doesn't seem to think his actions affect his soul or where he goes after death. 

The denouement of the novel occurs between September 9-12. This got me thinking of Al Qaeda. After all, in a way, they are our government's Frankenstein Monster. We funded them, we armed them, and then turned our backs. They became bitter and wanted revenge against us. They attacked us. Is there a relevance? Or do I just think this way because of the date. Who knows?

An additional comment: it had been a while since I read the actual book so I guess I forgot the actual ending, which had been replaced by the ending in the Kenneth Branagh production of Frankenstein. Sad, but true.

I am going to give this 4 stars on Good Reads - I loved the beauty of the language and the very Gothic feel. Oh, for the days, that people wrote letters as long as this. Or even diary entries this vivid and exacting. Sadly, I do not keep a diary. I wish I did. But, I can barely write a blog posting with regularity.

(This book was the October read for the Classic Science Fiction Book Club)

Friday, November 9, 2012

Why the double standard??

 I used to be a big supporter of Israel. I felt (1) God promised them the land and (2) after the Holocaust, I felt they needed a place where they could live in peace away from the persecution. But over the last few years, I realized just what a double standard we use for Israel.

Think about it. Take any news item about Israel's behavior. Replace the name Israel with - say - Russia or China or Venezuela - what would our reaction be? Wouldn't we condemn their actions? Wouldn't we call them human rights violations? It is very troubling. I feel we share in the guilt of the deaths in Gaza. We empower Israel. Yes, Israel needs support. But it should be tough love.

Noam Chomsky: The Soul-Crushing Cruelties Perpetrated by America's Number 1 Ally | Alternet