A Monster’s Notes

By Laurie Sheck
Alfred A. Knopf, $30.00, 530 pages

A former finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Sheck is an established poet who has written a genre-bending work. She stitches together a magical conglomeration of fiction, poetry, philosophy, and facts to bring new life to Mary Shelley’s unnamed monster from Frankenstein. Re-working classics has become a trend recently, and some readers may avoid this novel for fear the monster may be butchered (in a literary sense). However, the monster’s voice is compelling and draws the reader into the mystery of his existence that continues into post-9/11 NYC. He tells of meeting young Mary at the grave of her mother, where he keeps himself hidden while he reads to her as she grieves. As Mary matures and endures further traumas in her young life, she captures the monster in her fiction, lashing out at him in her hurt. Sheck mirrors some of Shelley’s structure by having letters between characters play a key role in the narrative. Other sections consist of “notes” the monster writes as he struggles to understand why he was created. His observations lead the reader to consider modern day philosophical issues, most obviously genetic engineering. Even readers with only a cursory knowledge of Frankenstein will gain much from this powerful, challenging read.

Reviewed by Deb Jurmu