Frankissstein

By: Jeanette Winterson

Narrated by: John Sackville, Perdita Weeks

Length: 7 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's Summary

Since her astonishing debut at 25 with Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Jeanette Winterson has achieved worldwide critical and commercial success as “one of the most daring and inventive writers of our time” (Elle). Her new novel, Frankissstein, is an audacious love story that weaves together disparate lives into an exploration of transhumanism, artificial intelligence, and queer love.

Lake Geneva, 1816. Nineteen-year-old Mary Shelley is inspired to write a story about a scientist who creates a new life-form. In Brexit Britain, a young transgender doctor called Ry is falling in love with Victor Stein, a celebrated professor leading the public debate around AI and carrying out some experiments of his own in a vast underground network of tunnels. Meanwhile, Ron Lord, just divorced and living with his mom again, is set to make his fortune launching a new generation of sex dolls for lonely men everywhere. Across the Atlantic, in Phoenix, Arizona, a cryogenics facility houses dozens of bodies of men and women who are medically and legally dead...but waiting to return to life.

What will happen when homo sapiens is no longer the smartest being on the planet? In fiercely intelligent prose, Jeanette Winterson shows us how much closer we are to that future than we realize. Funny and furious, bold, and clear-sighted, Frankissstein is a love story about life itself.

©2019 Jeanette Winterson (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

TW: SA, anti-trans bigotry, anti-gay bigotry

SPOILERS There's a truly horrifying r*pe scene in this book, which is made even more disgusting by the fact that it's an audiobook, so it's not like you can scan pages to figure out when it's over. I was listening to this while driving home and it was *extremely* upsetting. I'm afraid to finish the book because I can't pick it up where I left it off, and I can't imagine the ending of the book giving me any closure whatsoever. Either the rest of the book will be about the SA or, worse, there will be no resolution to it at all. It really pisses me off that people can't tell a story about a trans man without someone r*ping him. This did not have to get all "Boys Don't Cry", but it does. I kinda liked the historical-fiction bits of this book, but the "modern day" parts were lacking so much. The main character Ry is as unlikeable as the support character, Victor: douchebag-the-science-guy. The romance in this book is absolutely cringey. Victor is constantly telling Ry that "he's not gay" - which would be a huge slap in the face to any *actual* trans person, a complete invalidation of his identity - Ry is just like, yeah I know, it's fine. Ry is constantly falling into tropes that I hate in cis-women, and let me tell you, putting them in a trans man only makes them worse. The parts that seem to be trying to pull apart the machine intelligence/monster/undead are okay I guess? I didn't really think anything here was new, and it didn't really resonate with me. This book is: poetic, interesting, gross, monsterous, and like Frankenstein's monster, cobbled together from a bunch of different pieces that really don't belong together. I do NOT recommend it.

Perdita Weeks Owns My Heart

The story itself was good and thought provoking, but a bit lyrical in some places for my taste. I would also second the several reviews claiming transphobia, but would clarify that there are several characters who are transphobic while the message itself is pretty progressive (IMO, I don't speak for trans people). The best part of this book was Ms. Weeks' performance. I could listen to her read the ingredients off a milk carton for eternity and would be totally enthralled.

highly recommend this fantastic(al) book!

Ohhhhh, where to start. First, I enjoy anything Jeanette Winterson writes. I first encountered her in The Passion, which is a fantastic book about Venice, Napoleon Bonaparte and magic. Second, I read Dracula and Frankenstein every October (my self-nominated Month of Horror) so this book provided a lovely and new read for my Month of Horror. Aside from the loving homage to Frankenstein, this book creatively blends history with the present, creator and created with descendants, and throws in an eloquent love story to boot. Ms. Winterson is a genius and I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in a fantastic(al) read. Brilliant!

Great Story Great Listen

Facinating book. Narrators were excellent! Thought-provoking, well written story: a classical theme with current relevance.

expected something else

great performance, I just expected the story to be different. it was entertaining at times, this book is just not my cup of tea. it's very philosophical and analytical but not a story like I expected. others may enjoy this book though.

Absolutely Brilliant

A fascinating, well researched, well written novel that raises all the questions of the original.

My favorite author does it again

Great story, great actors. I really enjoyed the Ry character, both in the story development and the acting.

deed BBC ack

awesome, topic, timely and thought provoking, usual poetical language, thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of the book