With Guillermo del Toro’s film adaptation of Frankenstein and Maggie Gyllenhaal's debut film The Bride!, it’s clear that this man-made monster is popular again. Often cited as the birth of science fiction and horror genres, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus was written in 1818 during a contest with her husband and other writer friends. Frankenstein represents the hubris of man and monstrous humanity. Since then, our pal Frank (or rather, Dr. Frank’s monster) has spawned countless adaptations, sequels, retellings and blog posts. Here are a few of the recent retellings of this classic tale of science gone too far.
While some may only know the movie by the same name, Poor Things by Alasdair Gray is a modern Scottish classic. Set in the 1880s, it's the story of a young science student who visits the house of his mentor only to find a beautiful reanimated corpse, one with a mind of her own. The book playfully toys with point of view and narration style. Exploring ideas of female autonomy and fate versus free will, this story will delight both the film’s lovers and haters alike.
Ahmed Saadawi’s Frankenstein in Baghdad follows Hadi, a strange man who stitches forgotten body parts together in order for the government to give the bisected bodies a proper burial. But when one of Hadi’s creations comes to life, gaining the moniker “Whatsitsname,” the violence and murder ensues. This dark portrait of an Iraqi village under siege during wartime was an International Booker Prize finalist and won the International Prize of Arabic Fiction.
Magos and her husband Joseph cherished the short time that they were able to spend with their son Santiago before he passed away from a lung disease. Grieving, Magos took a bit of his lung and put it in a jar, where it begins to grow into Monstrilio or “M.” for short. This story follows four characters: Magos, Joseph, their friend Lena and M., as they each collectively discover what it means to be human. Similar to Pet Sematary, Gerardo Sámano Córdova’s debut novel Monstrilio is a tender portrait of familial love and loss in Mexico City.
In 1797, Agnes and her family live in an over-crowded cottage in the small village of Eynhallow on the Orkney Islands. Fed up with her life as a drunkard's housewife, Agnes begins a curiosity with a newcomer to the town, a scientist named Frankenstein. He becomes curious about her as well, but for... different reasons. Eynhallow by Tim McGregor is a slim tome but packs a broody Gothic punch. The audiobook narrated by Angela Hess is especially a treat!
In a society where reanimation is a controversial scientific process and a political talking point, our main character, a reanimated paralegal, falls in love with a lawyer. When his lover's family doesn't know his history, he receives a chance to start over. But does he want to? Chicano Frankenstein deals with themes of assimilation from author (and attorney) Daniel A. Olivas.
Which monstrous read will you pick up next?
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