Persephone1821

Invisible Monsters is excellent! I loved it! Diary was good, but I was pretty disappointed about the ending. I don't want to give anything away if anyone was planning on reading either of those books!

Frankenstein is unbelievely tragic yet beautiful. I still find it baffling that Mary Shelley was so young when she wrote it (19 years old I think)! I bought the version under Barnes & Noble Classics and I found it interesting that it relates the book to modern science in the cloning/rebuilding of human tissues etc. I wasn't 100% sure how they meant to relate this notion other than the fact that Frankenstein's monster was made of dead human tissue... but in a way I suppose you argue that our pursuit of regenration of tissue could make us monsters in a certain light... going against the will of nature and all that noise. But I love science and support it so long as it is used responsibly (unlike Frankenstein)... but I digress. The monster is so lonely, I felt so heartbroken for him. And kudos to Frankenstein for finding a very good brain for his monster... I don't think any creature created by science could ever learn so quickly and be able to articulate his thoughts so eloquently. I love how each of us could relate to the monster so well, a monster with human emotions and needs. Horrifying and tragic, the novel is beautiful. How frightening it is to be alone, or how frightening it is to lose control. I love both the monster and Frankenstein. I wish this had been a book taught in one of my high school classes.

I absolutely LOVE the classics! The artistic language in which they are written, despite the myraid of personal writing styles, is beautiful regardless of the story; tragic and happy alike. The language always challenges me to use my imagination to visualize a character, setting, or event.. not to mention to understand some words that are, honestly, foreign to me (Ah! big words! haha). Not only that, but the sort of hidden message or ideas entwined within a work of literature is fascinating to me. For instance, as Victor Hugo was writing his novel Hunchback of Notre Dame during the romantic era.. his emphasis on the personalities and depiction of raw human emotions of each character was something so new in Hugo's time (hence the Romance movement in both art & literature). I don't believe I've ever read any modern book that possessed such attention to detail nor that has made me come away with a feeling of inspiration and awe. Lamens terms... classical literature is just Oh My Gawww!! If anyone knows how I could get free money to go back to school to get a master's degree in literature, let me know!! haha

OMG NEVERMIND... I was browsing through threads and I cannot believe I forgot about Frankenstein by Mary Shelley!! Updated List: 1. Hunback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo 2. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen 3. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley :smile:

I couldn't agree with you more!

1. Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo 2. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen 3. The Portrait of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

That's fair, I suppose I haven't given myself a chance to research and that I could have easily overlooked something (especially since I've only read the novel one time). I'll have to look into it more... just difficult to do so when I have no motivation from the story itself. Haha

I found that The Great Gastby was very well written and fairly engaging.. however, when I finished it I did not feel satisfying. Granted it had a sad ending BUT even when I read tragedies I get a sense that I've learned something or witnessed a new perspective or...something, ANYTHING! Yet with this novel I felt nothing... perhaps that was the intention? In which case, congrats Mr. Fitzgerald! Overall, I cannot see why this is deemed a classic other than the detailed descriptions of the 1920s in America. Perhaps that is because there are no other decent novels that take place in this era? Please correct me if I am wrong!