Hi welcome back to my channel. My name is Kat and today I am doing my favorite Frankenstein
retellings. So I recently realized that I have read 10 Frankenstein retellings
which seems like the perfect number for a video. As well as perfect for me to keep track because I
like to read them every year so if I do a video this year then in future years I can do update
videos. And this is also just a good thing for me to remember all of the ones that I've read. So I'm
going to count down and go from 10 to 1. So let's start off with number 10 which is Frankenstein in
Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi, translated by Jonathan Wright. So this is a novel about Iraq written by
an Iraqi author. And we are following Hadi who is living in war-torn Baghdad. And he collects
body parts of people who have been blown apart in order for him to stitch them together into a
body because the only way that they'll be given a proper burial by the government is if they are in
a complete body. It's very gruesome and it does have Frankenstein themes. However, the reason that
this is number 10 is because I remember it having a lot of sexist elements which is not my jam. So
that's why it's number 10. Number nine is My Name is Monster by Katie Hale. This one I had super high
super high anticipation for. In fact, I thought I would love it so much that
my husband and I spent I think two months reading it out loud to each other before bed.
And we're following a woman who was in one of the seed vaults when basically this huge nuclear bomb
went off and everyone on earth died. She has been known as "Monster" because she thinks that
she doesn't have emotions and she can't really understand other people. So when she gets out of
the seed vault and everyone is gone, um she is kind of scavenging and making a life for herself. That
is, until one day, when she stumbles upon a young girl and she wants to be "Mother." So the reason
why this is number nine is because I really don't think this has anything to do with Frankenstein.
I'm mad because it was blurbed as "like Frankenstein" but it absolutely was not
like Frankenstein. It didn't have any similar themes. It didn't have any motifs or exact
instances that are reinterpreted. So that's why it is number nine. It was a good story as a dystopian
but I really wish it had not been blurbed as "like Frankenstein." Number eight is Frankenstein
by Junji Ito. So this is a retelling through Junji Ito's lens. This is also illustrated and the
thing about this is that the illustrations are creepy, I will definitely give it that.
They're very very creepy which is fine but it's not exactly my cup of tea. Like I like maybe
different types of illustration styles personally. As well as, I think Ito relies a lot on his
illustration and he does not develop characters well at all. So that is why it is number eight.
Number seven is Deeplight by Frances Hardinge. This is a mashup of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
and Frankenstein and it definitely definitely definitely deserves that blurb mashup because
it is like that. So we're in a world where there's a lot of seafaring and trade and there are a
lot of submarines, submersibles, bathyspheres, sailors... There's a lot of ocean themes happening. But this
world is one where ocean gods used to exist and then about 14 years ago there was a civil war
and they basically killed each other. However, one day when one boy goes down and is drowning, his
friend swims down to help him and happens to pick up something from the deep that maybe he shouldn't
have. So this one was very interesting and it definitely did have Frankenstein themes. Absolutely.
However, I think it was a little weak on characterization. So that's why it's number seven.
Number six on this list is Frankissstein by Jeanette Winterson. This is following kind of
three timelines. One is where a transgender doctor named Ry is following falling in love with Victor
Frankenstein. One is a cryogenics facility that is talking about bringing people back to life
after they are frozen. And one is a sex bot convention. So this is very interesting. I remember
some of the stories... some of the threads are stronger than others. However, I couldn't really put
this book down and it was very weird and bizarre, one of the more creative retellings in my opinion.
And that is why it gets number six. Number five is another graphic illustration retelling.
This is Gris Grimly's Frankenstein. So Gris Grimly's style of illustration is
just so perfect for Frankenstein. I cannot iterate that enough. It's very kind of
angular with like little curlicues and stuff and it just looks very old-time Victorian gothic.
And his take on the characters and his development and characterization is a lot stronger than Junji
Ito's. So if you are looking for an illustrated novel that kind of sticks to the original story
pretty closely, I would definitely recommend Gris Grimly over Junji Ito. But I have to say that my
all-time favorite graphic illustrated version is Victor LaValle's Destroyer. So this is also
a reimagining but it kind of uses the original tale as inspiration. And we're set in modern times
instead of back when the original was set. So this is following a modern day descendant of
Victor Frankenstein who is a black scientist at the top of her field and she is wanting to
use a combination of Frankenstein's methods and nanobots to bring her dead son back to
life. And we are also following the 200-year-old monster who is trying to track her down.
So this is great and the illustration style is exactly up my alley. It is so so good. The colors
are absolutely amazing and I cannot wait to read the next one. And this is definitely my number one
recommendation for Frankenstein graphic novels. Number three on this list is Salt Slow by Julia Armfield.
This might seem weird because this is a short story collection. But one of the short
stories is a retelling of Frankenstein and it deals with women and the pizza man and that's
all I'm going to say about that. But the reason that this collection is so high on the top of
my retellings list is because all the stories in here are amazing this is one of my top two short
story collections of all time. I highly recommend it. It deals a lot with the feminine point of view
as well as very dark tones and talking about different things we do in society and of course
one of the stories is Frankenstein retelling. Number two is The Machine by James Smythe. This was
one that I recently read and was completely blown away by. To be honest, when I started it I thought
it was going to be bad because it was slow and it was a lot of tell not show... but then! but then!
but then! but then! It got so so interesting. So this is following Beth who is in a dystopian UK. There's
been a big war. Her husband comes back and he has PTSD and the government says if he uses this black box
he can put the bad memories in the box and they can be replaced by good memories. However, there is
always a catch and her husband becomes catatonic. So she decides she's going to track down the
illegal black boxes and put the memories back in her husband herself. What could possibly go wrong?
This was so good and also so many of the elements that were in the original Frankenstein
are also in this... conversation of science versus religion, man versus nature, man versus woman,
what is truly a monster, memories, war, violence, adolescence versus adulthood. This was
so good and a complete surprise to me. Like I was completely shocked and delighted. And my current
all-time favorite Frankenstein retelling is The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by
Kiersten White. This is a retelling of Frankenstein through Elizabeth's perspective. And it is so so so good.
So she is a complete total badass who wants to use her power and her station in life to improve her
life and she is not going to let Victor get away from her. As well as, this has a very pleasing
alternative ending to Frankenstein which I love more than the original for many reasons
(but I'm not going to spoil anything). But this is my absolute favorite retelling of Frankenstein.
So that finishes up my top 10 current Frankenstein retellings. Let me know what you think down below.
Also, please please please recommend some to me if you have them. I have a few ideas for next year but
I always love to read Frankenstein retellings and put them on my future TBR list. So without
further ado, I'm going to give you lots of love in the comments below and I will see you later. Bye~