Alex Roussinov Roussinov itibaren Chandan Chowra, West Bengal 736165, India
I loved the character development in this one. The ending was *such* a cliffhanger, though!
It's been fifty years since I had read Frankenstein, and, now—after a recent second reading—I am pleased to know that the pleasures of that first reading have been revived. Once again--just as it was in my teens--I was thrilled by the first glimpse of the immense figure of the monster, driving his sled across the arctic ice, and marveled at the artful use of narrative frames within frame, each subsequent frame leading us closer to the heart of the novel, until we hear the alienated yet articulate voice of the creature himself. In addition, I admired the equally artful way the novel moves backward through the same frames until we again reach the arctic landscape which is the scene of the novel's beginning...and its end. This time through, I was particularly struck with how Mary must have been influenced by the novels of her father. The relentless hounding of one man by another who feels his life has been poisoned by that man's irresponsible curiosity is a theme taken straight out of Godwin's Caleb Williams and the cautionary account of a monomaniac who gradually deprives himself of the satisfactions of family, friends and love in pursuit of an intellectual ideal is reminiscent of the alchemist of St. Leon. Her prose also is like her father's mark in her ability to make delicate philosophical distinctions and express abstract ideas, but she is a much better writer than he: her sentences are more elegant and disciplined, and her descriptive details more aptly chosen and her scenes more effectively realized. The conclusion of the novel seems hasty and incomplete, but perhaps that is because the concept of Frankenstein is so revolutionary that no conclusion could have seemed satisfactory. At any rate, this fine novel has given birth to a host of descendants, and—unlike Victor Frankenstein—is a worthy parent of its many diverse creations.
SPOILER ALERT I loved this book just as much as I did the first. PC Cast never fails to draw me into a good book. In this installment, as much as I hate Rhiannon, I did feel quite sorry for her - especially when in Shannon's dream sleep she saw the ascension and Rhiannon getting raped by the guy with the horse head. It also made me cringe severely at the thought of ClanFintan sleeping with Rhiannon in his centaur form... And her getting pregnant & getting Bres to conduct an abortion on her.. Seriously grossed me out with the description in that scene, but I managed to read on. I do really pity Rhiannon and her daughter but I'm sure she will eventual learn her ways. I also quite Sad that Clint died, he sacrificed himself for Shannon, and that proves he really did love her. I have just started to read the 3rd book - cant hardly put them down!
** spoiler alert ** What can I say about this book? I mean, I suck at writing reviews, so I won't try for a proper one and just give you some thoughts. This book is not for everyone I think. For me.. well I like it.. but not enough for four stars. During a big part of the book, nothing much happened. You're given memories, things that happened in the past to Kath. Her memories of being at Hailsham, and some things that came after. Now I don't mind flashbacks, but sometimes, this book gives you a flashback of the protagonist remembering something, described into detail. A flashback in a flashback in a flasback. Or maybe not that bad, but sometimes it kept me wondering when we'd get back to the past. And I love books where someone tells you their memoires. But this book, that was a bit too much of a good thing. It's only because of the last, say, quarter of the book that it's left an impression on me. And be assured, this book has gotten me thinking, and stuck with me ever since I finished the last page. Not so much as for what happened, but because of how the characters deal with it. They're told from childhood on they're made to make "donations" later in life, this is their purpose. Well fine.. but you'd expect them to struggle with this, put up a fight somehow. But they just accept it, in fact, they become proud of it. Proud to give as many donations as they can, proud to actually start becoming a donor. Even when they will eventually die from this, they're happy with that, they've "completed". I mean, wow. Just the casual and proud way these donors talk about this, and consider themselves above people like them but not donors yet.. it gets to you. It shows you that, in a way you can make people proud of anything. So I liked this book, but because the endless reminiscing can get a little boring, and if not for the ending, I wouldn't have like this book much.