Frankenstein

What does it mean to be a bad person? How much of our life is dictated by factors out of our control? How much of our goodness that we bring to this world is decided by other life forms that don't internally know how we operate? Frankenstein delves into the nuances of these questions with frightening clarity. I decided to read this after watching the new film rendition that just came out. I'd have to say, the movie doesn't hold a light to the magnificence of the novel. It simplifies things in a way that's easily digestible but relies heavily on a gore factor that the book can bypass completely without losing any of its dark and hopeless inducing moods. It's truly incomprehensible to understand the grief that both Frankenstein AND the Monster feel due to the decisions they made (and didn't have any choice in making in the case of the Monster), but the book does a MUCH better attempt at describing it to the reader. Knowledge is power, but is the pursuit of power always the best course of action? This simply is the best classic I've read thus far in my life.

Primarily read because: Watched the movie / 1,000,000 ratings challenge.