What do you think?
Rate this book
Преображение
Тя е рожба на любовта и светлината. - Пърси Биш Шели
Прямо и мощно е словото на Мери Шели. - Уолтър Скот
Мери Шели ни най-малко не е призвана да обрисува околното й общество. По душевна наклонност тя е обърната всецяло към идеалното. Лекота на инвенциите, майсторско слово, възвишеност и копнеж към съвършенство са нейните отличителни белези. Разказите й предлагат вълнуващи сюжети, развлекателност на повествованието, но и честно отражение на духа, ограничен в енергиите си от обстоятелствата, на по природа възторжен и жаждащ; а героите й, макар и извисени над обичайната плоскост на човечеството, никога не престъпват границите на самото човечество. - Ричард Гарнет
"Преображение" е шедьовър на готическата литература. - Клара Келар Бел
МЕРИ ШЕЛИ (1797 - 1851) дължи световната си слава на романа "Франкенщайн", но е авторка и на още множество романи, разкази, новели, есета и студии, някои от които по нищо не отстъпват на всепризнатия й шедьовър. Необикновено начетена за жена от своето време, дъщеря на свободомислещите писатели Уилям Годуин и Мери Улстънкрафт и съпруга на великия Пърси Биш Шели, тя е традиционна и модерна, интригуваща и нравствена, съчетавайки в творчеството си страховитите фантазии на готическата литература, философска дълбочина и сетивността на романтизма.
Прямо и мощно е словото на Мери Шели. - Уолтър Скот
Мери Шели ни най-малко не е призвана да обрисува околното й общество. По душевна наклонност тя е обърната всецяло към идеалното. Лекота на инвенциите, майсторско слово, възвишеност и копнеж към съвършенство са нейните отличителни белези. Разказите й предлагат вълнуващи сюжети, развлекателност на повествованието, но и честно отражение на духа, ограничен в енергиите си от обстоятелствата, на по природа възторжен и жаждащ; а героите й, макар и извисени над обичайната плоскост на човечеството, никога не престъпват границите на самото човечество. - Ричард Гарнет
"Преображение" е шедьовър на готическата литература. - Клара Келар Бел
МЕРИ ШЕЛИ (1797 - 1851) дължи световната си слава на романа "Франкенщайн", но е авторка и на още множество романи, разкази, новели, есета и студии, някои от които по нищо не отстъпват на всепризнатия й шедьовър. Необикновено начетена за жена от своето време, дъщеря на свободомислещите писатели Уилям Годуин и Мери Улстънкрафт и съпруга на великия Пърси Биш Шели, тя е традиционна и модерна, интригуваща и нравствена, съчетавайки в творчеството си страховитите фантазии на готическата литература, философска дълбочина и сетивността на романтизма.
128 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2008
29 people are currently reading
2,515 people want to read
About the author
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
1,731books7,684followersMary Shelley (née Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, often known as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley) was an English novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, travel writer, and editor of the works of her husband, Romantic poet and philosopher . She was the daughter of the political philosopher and the writer, philosopher, and feminist .
Mary Shelley was taken seriously as a writer in her own lifetime, though reviewers often missed the political edge to her novels. After her death, however, she was chiefly remembered only as the wife of Percy Bysshe Shelley and as the author of Frankenstein. It was not until 1989, when Emily Sunstein published her prizewinning biography Mary Shelley: Romance and Reality, that a full-length scholarly biography analyzing all of Shelley's letters, journals, and works within their historical context was published.
The well-meaning attempts of Mary Shelley's son and daughter-in-law to "Victorianise" her memory through the censoring of letters and biographical material contributed to a perception of Mary Shelley as a more conventional, less reformist figure than her works suggest. Her own timid omissions from Percy Shelley's works and her quiet avoidance of public controversy in the later years of her life added to this impression.
The eclipse of Mary Shelley's reputation as a novelist and biographer meant that, until the last thirty years, most of her works remained out of print, obstructing a larger view of her achievement. She was seen as a one-novel author, if that. In recent decades, however, the republication of almost all her writings has stimulated a new recognition of its value. Her voracious reading habits and intensive study, revealed in her journals and letters and reflected in her works, is now better appreciated. Shelley's recognition of herself as an author has also been recognized; after Percy's death, she wrote about her authorial ambitions: "I think that I can maintain myself, and there is something inspiriting in the idea". Scholars now consider Mary Shelley to be a major Romantic figure, significant for her literary achievement and her political voice as a woman and a liberal.
Mary Shelley was taken seriously as a writer in her own lifetime, though reviewers often missed the political edge to her novels. After her death, however, she was chiefly remembered only as the wife of Percy Bysshe Shelley and as the author of Frankenstein. It was not until 1989, when Emily Sunstein published her prizewinning biography Mary Shelley: Romance and Reality, that a full-length scholarly biography analyzing all of Shelley's letters, journals, and works within their historical context was published.
The well-meaning attempts of Mary Shelley's son and daughter-in-law to "Victorianise" her memory through the censoring of letters and biographical material contributed to a perception of Mary Shelley as a more conventional, less reformist figure than her works suggest. Her own timid omissions from Percy Shelley's works and her quiet avoidance of public controversy in the later years of her life added to this impression.
The eclipse of Mary Shelley's reputation as a novelist and biographer meant that, until the last thirty years, most of her works remained out of print, obstructing a larger view of her achievement. She was seen as a one-novel author, if that. In recent decades, however, the republication of almost all her writings has stimulated a new recognition of its value. Her voracious reading habits and intensive study, revealed in her journals and letters and reflected in her works, is now better appreciated. Shelley's recognition of herself as an author has also been recognized; after Percy's death, she wrote about her authorial ambitions: "I think that I can maintain myself, and there is something inspiriting in the idea". Scholars now consider Mary Shelley to be a major Romantic figure, significant for her literary achievement and her political voice as a woman and a liberal.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews
November 15, 2020
El romanticismo de Mary Shelley es maravilloso. En este cuento confluyen el amor, el orgullo y el titanismo byroniano en un amante dispuesto a todo por lograr el corazón de Juliet. También contiene la temática del doble. Es profundamente agradable leer a Mary Shelley...
December 19, 2021
Tre racconti:
- “Metamorfosi �(Transformation 1831) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- "Il mortale immortale" (The Mortal Immortal) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- "Il malocchio" (The Evil Eye) ⭐⭐�
Tre declinazioni in cui il soprannaturale s’insinua nella vita degli uomini.
Mary Shelley ai miei occhi si riconferma maestra nel dipingere le atmosfere e gli animi umani sconvolti da eventi più che insoliti.
Dall’arrogante sete di vendetta di cui rimane vittima Guido protagonista del primo racconto, attraverso il gesto impulsivo di Winzy che pagherà con una tormentosa eternità fino al personaggio di Dmitri che, nell’ultimo racconto, traslato in altre terre (Albania) e in altre situazioni concentra forse l’essenza degli altri due (peccato che abbia trovato più contorta la narrazione).
I primi due racconti sono narrati in prima persona dagli stessi protagonisti bisognosi di lasciare testimonianza delle loro avventura:
� Ho sentito dire che quando a un essere umano è occorsa una qualsivoglia avventura strana, soprannaturale, negromantica, quell’essere umano, per quanto desideroso di occultarla possa essere, si sente in certi periodi lacerato, per così dire, da un terremoto intellettuale, ed è costretto a denudare le profondità più intime del suo spirito con qualcun altro.�
L’ultimo racconto, invece, è frutto del narratore onnisciente, quasi un modo di prendere distanza dagli eventi seguendoli con un occhio esterno.
Le storie macabre portano alla luce questioni essenziali:
il valore del proprio corpo, del tempo e della propria identità.
Possiamo perdere tutto e un gesto compiuto in un attimo può essere la condanna di sempre.
"«Vieni, vieni, non aver paura, amico», disse lo sciagurato: «sono bonario quando sono contento; e anche se sembri un po� afflitto, nel tuo corpo ben proporzionato e nel tuo bel viso c’� qualcosa che mi piace. Tu hai vissuto un naufragio terrestre - io, uno marino. Forse potrò calmare la tempesta delle tue fortune così come ho calmato la mia. Vogliamo essere amici?»"
September 1, 2019
"LA TRANSFORMACIÓN" de Mary Shelley
Bueno la historia trata de Guido, un joven genovés muy atractivo y millonario que sin embargo en el transcurso de su vida se arruinará debido a gastos y disipaciones, algo por entonces quizás muy frecuente entre la aristocracia antigua, pues este cuento está ambientado en el siglo XV. París será la fuente de perdición para este joven (los escritores ingleses siempre con su tema contra Francia). Guido nos cuenta cómo el orgullo fue una fuerza que nunca pudo resistir a lo largo de su vida, por lo menos así lo dice, siempre el "hacer lo que quiera" fue su impulso y tótem para más bien arruinar su vida, claro, en realidad, eso oculta todos los vicios y demás conductas injustificables, pero por lo menos Guido pretende al parecer que esa "libertad" fue la que siempre lo llevó a no esperar nada de nadie y no obedecer a los consejos más prudentes de sus allegados. Sin embargo esto no es lo principal en esta trama ya que en un momento el protagonista se hallará ante un ser sobrenatural que aparte de inspirarle un miedo terrible le propondrá un buen trato.
Interesante y fácil de leer.
Bueno la historia trata de Guido, un joven genovés muy atractivo y millonario que sin embargo en el transcurso de su vida se arruinará debido a gastos y disipaciones, algo por entonces quizás muy frecuente entre la aristocracia antigua, pues este cuento está ambientado en el siglo XV. París será la fuente de perdición para este joven (los escritores ingleses siempre con su tema contra Francia). Guido nos cuenta cómo el orgullo fue una fuerza que nunca pudo resistir a lo largo de su vida, por lo menos así lo dice, siempre el "hacer lo que quiera" fue su impulso y tótem para más bien arruinar su vida, claro, en realidad, eso oculta todos los vicios y demás conductas injustificables, pero por lo menos Guido pretende al parecer que esa "libertad" fue la que siempre lo llevó a no esperar nada de nadie y no obedecer a los consejos más prudentes de sus allegados. Sin embargo esto no es lo principal en esta trama ya que en un momento el protagonista se hallará ante un ser sobrenatural que aparte de inspirarle un miedo terrible le propondrá un buen trato.
Interesante y fácil de leer.
October 27, 2024
I spotted the slim Alma 101 edition of Mary Shelley's Transformation and Other Stories in the library. I was unaware of these tales beforehand, and thus wrestled the tiny book out from the very packed-full shelf accordingly. I adore Frankenstein, and have been so keen to pick up more of Shelley's work for years, but rarely find it.
The three stories collected here are great. They are science-fiction-esque; normally, this is a genre which I do not enjoy, but Shelley does it so well. Her tales are highly inventive and clever, and were nowhere near as creepy as I was expecting. Engrossing, beautifully written, and so well formed, Transformation would be an excellent choice for anyone to pick up.
The three stories collected here are great. They are science-fiction-esque; normally, this is a genre which I do not enjoy, but Shelley does it so well. Her tales are highly inventive and clever, and were nowhere near as creepy as I was expecting. Engrossing, beautifully written, and so well formed, Transformation would be an excellent choice for anyone to pick up.
July 15, 2021
I’ve been trying to find more of Mary Shelley’s stories and this collection was excellent. If there is one thing we can say about it is that she had a wild and quirky imagination. All three stories are well developed and have some interesting plot twists.
”He encontrado una cana. ¡Estúpido! ¿Me lamento por ello? Así es.�
Si alguien sabe de alguna buena biografía de Mary Shelley, coméntenla. Entre más les daba vueltas a las tres historias de esta pequeña colección mas me abrumaba que todas trataran con la perdida de algo. Y aunque las tres entran en el género de ciencia ficción o fantasía, en realidad lo que mas resalta son las emociones contradictorias de los personajes ya que pasamos mas tiempo en sus cabezas que fuera de ellas.
El Mortal Inmortal siendo mi favorito también es el mas existencial, ligeramente depresivo incluso. Sobre alguien que ha vivido mucho y ha llevado una miserable existencia como textualmente dice la historia. En verdad ocupo una biografía de MS ya de ya
Lo que me llevo de esta colección es como la autora crea toda una atmosfera para la soledad de sus personajes. Se que tiene más escritos por ahí y aunque sean algo difíciles de encontrar de a poco en poco los iré adquiriendo.
”He encontrado una cana. ¡Estúpido! ¿Me lamento por ello? Así es.�
Si alguien sabe de alguna buena biografía de Mary Shelley, coméntenla. Entre más les daba vueltas a las tres historias de esta pequeña colección mas me abrumaba que todas trataran con la perdida de algo. Y aunque las tres entran en el género de ciencia ficción o fantasía, en realidad lo que mas resalta son las emociones contradictorias de los personajes ya que pasamos mas tiempo en sus cabezas que fuera de ellas.
El Mortal Inmortal siendo mi favorito también es el mas existencial, ligeramente depresivo incluso. Sobre alguien que ha vivido mucho y ha llevado una miserable existencia como textualmente dice la historia. En verdad ocupo una biografía de MS ya de ya
Lo que me llevo de esta colección es como la autora crea toda una atmosfera para la soledad de sus personajes. Se que tiene más escritos por ahí y aunque sean algo difíciles de encontrar de a poco en poco los iré adquiriendo.
November 25, 2023
" أيها الترقُّب، كم أنت شيء مخيف عندما يُشعِلك الخوف أكثر من الرجاء!
كيف تلتفُّ من حول القلب وتُعذِّب خفقاته!
كيف تُسدِّد إلى أنحاء الجسد الضعيفة آلامًا غير معروفة تُهشِّمنا تارةً مثل الزجاج المكسو، ويمنحنا العدم قوة جديدة تارةً أخرى، لكنها قوة لا تستطيع فعل شيء "
قصة عن الغرور والكبرياء فالعناد الذي يؤجج الغضب والرغبة في الانتقام.
جويدو شاب ثري وسيم جامح ومغرور على الرغم من حبه لجولييت الجميلة الطيبة إلا أنه ينساق وراء أهواءه ويفقد إرثه من أبيه كاملا تنفيذا لرغباته وعندما يعود ليطالب بخطيبته يفاجيء بطلبات والدها الكريم فقط أراد له أن يتوب ويستقيم في حياته ولكنه أبى فلن يستطيع أحد ترويضه هو حر متمرد عنيد، لذا يعقد مع الشيطان صفقة تحوُّل.
وتتم الصفقة وتحوُّل حياته كلها وتكشف له أخطاءه الجسيمة.
"إلا أنني كلما تأملتُ الماضي، اعتقدتُ في الغالب أنها ربما كانت رُوحًا خيرة، لا روحًا شريرة، أرسلها ملاكي الحارس ليُريَني حماقة الغرور وشقاءه "
استمتعوا�
دمتم قراء... ❤❤�
February 11, 2021
Di Mary Shelley avevo letto solo Frankenstein; e molto colpevolmente, perché è davvero un'autrice da scoprire anche nelle altre sue opere. Di questi tre racconti ho apprezzato particolarmente i primi due, con le loro atmosfere gotiche e cupe. Il terzo non ha uno stile molto diverso ma nonostante la brevità ha così tanti personaggi che diventa un po' confusionario. Ottima questa edizione col testo originale a fronte.
July 24, 2017
This is a good little book: just three stories collected together, but they're all interesting.
The first two are in the Gothic tradition: the title story, Transformation is a story of the squandering of youth's potential, of decadence and selfishness. A morality tale, but not overbearingly so. The scene of Guido on the desolate shore, meeting with the dwarf cast up from the stormy sea is very effective.
The second story, The Mortal Immortal tells of the growing loneliness and despair felt by Winzy (who considers himself to be a young immortal, being only 323 years old) as all that he knows and loves passes away. This is a take on the Sorcerer's Apprentice motif and the most tragic in tone of the three stories.
The last story, The Evil Eye, is not Gothic, but would, I'm sure, have been received as rather exotic at the time of its original publication (1829). Set in Albania and Greece, this is a tale of sibling rivalry, vengeance and treachery, piracy, banditry and abduction. The unlikely coincidences are forgiveable in such an engagingly-told story.
I liked the way Shelley switched the focus on characters as you're not at first sure where your sympathies should lie. I think it's good when authors skew your expectations and don't immediately give you everything on a plate.
The first two are in the Gothic tradition: the title story, Transformation is a story of the squandering of youth's potential, of decadence and selfishness. A morality tale, but not overbearingly so. The scene of Guido on the desolate shore, meeting with the dwarf cast up from the stormy sea is very effective.
The second story, The Mortal Immortal tells of the growing loneliness and despair felt by Winzy (who considers himself to be a young immortal, being only 323 years old) as all that he knows and loves passes away. This is a take on the Sorcerer's Apprentice motif and the most tragic in tone of the three stories.
The last story, The Evil Eye, is not Gothic, but would, I'm sure, have been received as rather exotic at the time of its original publication (1829). Set in Albania and Greece, this is a tale of sibling rivalry, vengeance and treachery, piracy, banditry and abduction. The unlikely coincidences are forgiveable in such an engagingly-told story.
I liked the way Shelley switched the focus on characters as you're not at first sure where your sympathies should lie. I think it's good when authors skew your expectations and don't immediately give you everything on a plate.
August 30, 2019
Mary Shelley is best known for "Frankenstein" and, to a lesser extent, her end-of-days novel "The Last Man". However, apart from a number of other novels, she also wrote several short stories, often with a supernatural or fantastic theme. Three of these are included in this attractive paperback edition published by Hesperus Classics. The title piece - "Transformation" - describes the narrator's Faustian pact with a devilish dwarf, and is rich in Gothic tropes. "The Mortal Immortal" features a hapless protagonist who drinks an elixir of life and eventually discovers that immortality is more of a bane than a blessing. "The Evil Eye" is a tale of warring tribes and family feuds set in the Balkans. Despite its title, its subject is not overtly supernatural but, in its exoticism and unexpected plot twists it recalls respectively the "Oriental Gothic" and the then budding genre of "sensation literature". All three stories are finely crafted and reveal an active imagination at work. "Frankenstein" was certainly no one-off.
September 27, 2019
Byron had been dead for I think seven years and Mary Shelley said to herself "I do miss that freaky son of a bitch" and she sat down and wrote this
October 6, 2022
The first two stories of this volume were quite good, the last was a little uninteresting, and more of an adventure than a supernatural tale.
August 20, 2020
Guido il cortese
La transformación precisa de Guido, quien, guiado por el orgullo y enajenación, se ve desbocado hacía un abismo de lo más impío e insano, y, como es natural aquí en la vida moral y digna, pierde absolutamente todo.
Y ahora, ¿Qué será lo que le depara a este ser desdichado y sufriente? El despotismo implantado en su alma clama venganza, y la tendrá.
Qué fascinante me ha parecido este relato gótico de Shelley, que ha pesar de ser tan corto, los elementos que plasma en él convergen en sintonía tal que lo he sentido como una composición musical completa e idónea.
La transformación precisa de Guido, quien, guiado por el orgullo y enajenación, se ve desbocado hacía un abismo de lo más impío e insano, y, como es natural aquí en la vida moral y digna, pierde absolutamente todo.
Y ahora, ¿Qué será lo que le depara a este ser desdichado y sufriente? El despotismo implantado en su alma clama venganza, y la tendrá.
Qué fascinante me ha parecido este relato gótico de Shelley, que ha pesar de ser tan corto, los elementos que plasma en él convergen en sintonía tal que lo he sentido como una composición musical completa e idónea.
October 21, 2018
Valutazione per singolo racconto:
Metamorfosi = ⭐️⭐️
Il mortale immortale = ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Il Malocchio = ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
February 22, 2016
Another small book containing more short tales from Mary Shelley. I was reading something a while ago about the loss Mary suffered in her life, and her later works actually mirror her grief, notably in The Last Man and the collection of short stories in both The Pilgrims and here, in Transformation. Themes of loss, love, despair and sorrow are all too frequent in these books. She also had a heritage to live up to, both being the child of the radical philosopher William Godwin as well as the archetypal Feminist - Mary Wollstonecraft. Not only that, but she mixed with the radical elite of the day, such as Lord Byron, Keats and she married Percy Shelley, the famous and talented poet, both of whom died relatively young.
I love reading about this era, the changing world, the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution, the wide-sweeping political French Revolution and later Napoleonic Wars as well as the Romantic movement in art during those late 18thC and early 19thC years. Mary and her coterie were a major part of this period - and when we do for instance think of the Romantic Poets at the very least, Shelley, Keats and William Blake come to mind. Anyway, a nice little collection of stories contained here, worth a perusal if you be a fan of Mary.
I love reading about this era, the changing world, the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution, the wide-sweeping political French Revolution and later Napoleonic Wars as well as the Romantic movement in art during those late 18thC and early 19thC years. Mary and her coterie were a major part of this period - and when we do for instance think of the Romantic Poets at the very least, Shelley, Keats and William Blake come to mind. Anyway, a nice little collection of stories contained here, worth a perusal if you be a fan of Mary.
April 5, 2013
I did wonder why the publishers decided to publish two such short short story collections instead of combing them into one reasonable sized books. I must say I prefered the stories in the Pilgrims, if only for having more women characters. I enjoyed the first two stories which were nice melancohly gothic tales but not so much the third which was more of a standard historical story. The first story as about a man who swapped bodies with a hideous dward, the second about a man who had unwittingly drunk a potion of immortality thinking it would free him from his obsession with love when it just made him sadder. I do really like Mary Shelly's writing and am glad I have a few more things to read by her.
June 20, 2011
This book contains three stories that vary greatly in standard. The first (and by far and away the best) of the stories is Transformation - this story is worth reading (I would rate this 4 star). The second, The Mortal Immortal, is interesting, but not a real page turner, I would rate this 3 stars. I found the last story, The Evil Eye, to be disappointing, I would only give this 1 star.
August 28, 2020
Dear Mary, I gave you a second chance, but it is blatantly obvious that, alas, this is not working out. It's not you - it's me.
May 2, 2020
Libros recomendados: ‘’La transformació’�, de Mary Shelley. Catalán. L’Art de la Memòria Edicions. Relato breve. Leyendas, aprendizaje, misterio�
En pocas páginas y con ese narrar arcaico y folclórico, nos encontramos con una lección más que doble: cómo alguien que se ha creído el ser supremo, puede convertirse en lo contrario a sus creencias.
Una tempestad traerá consigo un ser que hará una propuesta de la que depende tu vida: por dentro y por fuera�
¿Hasta qué punto puede aprender el hombre?, ¿hasta qué punto puede engañarnos la vista?
Quizás veamos lo que se ha aprendido hasta ahora; aunque no tengo mucha fe�
El libro en papel me costó caro para las páginas que son. Y esperaba algo más ‘novedoso�; aunque una lección breve es más sencilla de aprender, ¿no?
La foto está tomada antes de la cuarentena, creo que en enero, cuando me leí el relato�
***La carátula de mi libro es otra.
En pocas páginas y con ese narrar arcaico y folclórico, nos encontramos con una lección más que doble: cómo alguien que se ha creído el ser supremo, puede convertirse en lo contrario a sus creencias.
Una tempestad traerá consigo un ser que hará una propuesta de la que depende tu vida: por dentro y por fuera�
¿Hasta qué punto puede aprender el hombre?, ¿hasta qué punto puede engañarnos la vista?
Quizás veamos lo que se ha aprendido hasta ahora; aunque no tengo mucha fe�
El libro en papel me costó caro para las páginas que son. Y esperaba algo más ‘novedoso�; aunque una lección breve es más sencilla de aprender, ¿no?
La foto está tomada antes de la cuarentena, creo que en enero, cuando me leí el relato�
***La carátula de mi libro es otra.
October 25, 2019
Luin "Transformationin", "Mortal Immortalin" ja alun "The Evil Eyesta", mutta en kovin hyvinä voinut näitä pitää. Saattaa kyllä vaikuttaa teosten ikä, ehkä esim. kertomus miehestä, jolle kuolemattomuus on kirous, ei ollut kamala klisee kirjoitusaikana.
August 20, 2018
3 racconti gotici bellissimi
letti in edizione "la vita felice" con testo a fronte in inglese
<3
letti in edizione "la vita felice" con testo a fronte in inglese
<3
May 5, 2021
Mary Shelley is a wonderful storyteller with an exciting mind for horror. I'll personally make a point to read all of her work I can find.
June 9, 2024
I love love love Mary Shelley ❤️
September 4, 2016
I picked this up in a swap at my local used bookstore. I'd never heard of these short stories so I was intrigued. They really weren't developed and never rose to the exquisite beauty of Frankenstein.
Transformation (1831) was a kind of simplistic morality tale, though I did enjoy her comparing the noise of the sea to kids getting out of school: "What a noise this ocean makes. Schoolboys bursting from their prison are not louder than these waves set free" (p. 14). Things never change. The Mortal Immortal (1833) was okay, reminding me a bit of the Highlander series of movies. I didn't enjoy The Evil Eye (1829), mostly skimming it.
Transformation (1831) was a kind of simplistic morality tale, though I did enjoy her comparing the noise of the sea to kids getting out of school: "What a noise this ocean makes. Schoolboys bursting from their prison are not louder than these waves set free" (p. 14). Things never change. The Mortal Immortal (1833) was okay, reminding me a bit of the Highlander series of movies. I didn't enjoy The Evil Eye (1829), mostly skimming it.
September 27, 2011
Tre storie, tre diverse metamorfosi (il titolo italiano credo sia Metamorfosi, almeno il mio ebook così si chiamava).
Non capisco perché la Shelley debba esser ricordata solo per il suo Prometeo moderno- Frankenstein, e che non vengano rese note anche le sue altre opere, è una scrittrice valida, anche se romantica.
:/ Debbo dire che non sono molto capace di apprezzare il romanticismo, davvero, almeno non la parte che cerca con la natura di riallacciarsi all'assoluto, il romanzo gotico mi piace invece.
Ma lasciamo perdere certi sofismi, io non studio lettere, non sono degna di parlarne.
Non capisco perché la Shelley debba esser ricordata solo per il suo Prometeo moderno- Frankenstein, e che non vengano rese note anche le sue altre opere, è una scrittrice valida, anche se romantica.
:/ Debbo dire che non sono molto capace di apprezzare il romanticismo, davvero, almeno non la parte che cerca con la natura di riallacciarsi all'assoluto, il romanzo gotico mi piace invece.
Ma lasciamo perdere certi sofismi, io non studio lettere, non sono degna di parlarne.
November 21, 2018
I have arranged my takeaway thoughts into a haiku, though this is definitely one of those cases when I really wish I could have had just one more syllable at my disposal:
"Pride in the moment
Distorts, so that looking back
You're your own villain."
"Pride in the moment
Distorts, so that looking back
You're your own villain."
May 23, 2024
“I will not go, here where you have been, where your memory glides like some heaven-visiting ghost, I will pass the long hours till we meet, never, my Juliet, again, day or night, to part.�
A darker love story with parts Romeo and Juliet as well as Cyrano de Bergerac.
A darker love story with parts Romeo and Juliet as well as Cyrano de Bergerac.
July 4, 2007
Beautiful prose, creepy beautiful
December 6, 2009
Liked these stories. They reminded me of some of the Celtic fairy-tales.
March 2, 2021
Alma Classics
2019.
Greetings to all creatures that lurk in the dark, or in the light!
Croatia to the world; do we have a signal?
Please help us to get out from the cryptosocialist octopus called EU!
But let us leave that aside, we shall not discuss that tonight.
When I write reviews in Croatian I usually start by analyzing the language, but how to analyze a book written in a foreign language?
What do I actually mean by that?
In my vast and mistic mind there is a light given to me by the great Viktor Šklovski, or how you anglophone weirdows would write-Viktor Shklowsky, to be precise, his idea of defamiliarization.
Defamiliarization in language means that pieces of literature do not use every day, mundane, utilitarian language, a language used in the courts, laws, schools, your talking with your neighbour about the weather, about Obamacare or his lawn.
Defamiliarization means that the language in literary works becomes strange, unique, it must not be written as a letter, or a law, or as your Tweet.
Metaphors must be new, fresh, vivid, rich, sweet, tasty...
In that sense to every native speaker a foreign language is by default strange, defamiliarized.
That is also why when you hear a song in some foreign language, foreign to you, that song seems better than a song in your own language.
Because it is not mundane, it creates a newness, a novelity in your mind, in your being.
It is a sharp difference from what you read or hear usually.
That is art in literature, the art of language.
Not that I do not speak English, even as I know English very well, still, it is not my native Croatian, I can not fully grasp the core of it.
I think that only native speakers can understood defamiliarization in their language, in it s fullness.
What I can say about the language of this particular novella is that it is very simple, but still it contains some very atmospheric parts which build strong scenes in the novella.
There are many archaic elements in this novella, especially the old, no longer used, forms of pronouns. That itself creates defamiliarization just by the passing of time. It may seem paradoxical but old language in that way is new, archaic forms are defamiliarized when read in contemporary time, defamiliarized for the native speaker who sees them strange, odd, cool, not mundane and dull.
Regarding the content of the novella I can say that you encounter the topos of the Wandering Jew.
Like everywhere else there is a blurred difference between the figure of the Wandering Jew and the figure of Satan.
They can change their form, they do not have a home, they trick the main protagonist.
Altough in this novella the figure of the Wandering Jew is not called the Wandering Jew, he is presented as some kind of a goblin, but the main character mentions the Wandering Jew in his thoughts.
Usually the Wandering Jew is a handsome man, charismatic as Sean Connery, but in this novella he is as ugly as Miley Cyrus.
He tricks the protagonist to have an exchange of bodies.
How does that finish?
See for yourselves you lazy mobsters!
¡Hasta luego mis murcielagos!
Si alguien habla español, por favor salva me de esos weones norteños y de ladrones de Croacia...
Nos vemos en el proxima reseña!
2019.
Greetings to all creatures that lurk in the dark, or in the light!
Croatia to the world; do we have a signal?
Please help us to get out from the cryptosocialist octopus called EU!
But let us leave that aside, we shall not discuss that tonight.
When I write reviews in Croatian I usually start by analyzing the language, but how to analyze a book written in a foreign language?
What do I actually mean by that?
In my vast and mistic mind there is a light given to me by the great Viktor Šklovski, or how you anglophone weirdows would write-Viktor Shklowsky, to be precise, his idea of defamiliarization.
Defamiliarization in language means that pieces of literature do not use every day, mundane, utilitarian language, a language used in the courts, laws, schools, your talking with your neighbour about the weather, about Obamacare or his lawn.
Defamiliarization means that the language in literary works becomes strange, unique, it must not be written as a letter, or a law, or as your Tweet.
Metaphors must be new, fresh, vivid, rich, sweet, tasty...
In that sense to every native speaker a foreign language is by default strange, defamiliarized.
That is also why when you hear a song in some foreign language, foreign to you, that song seems better than a song in your own language.
Because it is not mundane, it creates a newness, a novelity in your mind, in your being.
It is a sharp difference from what you read or hear usually.
That is art in literature, the art of language.
Not that I do not speak English, even as I know English very well, still, it is not my native Croatian, I can not fully grasp the core of it.
I think that only native speakers can understood defamiliarization in their language, in it s fullness.
What I can say about the language of this particular novella is that it is very simple, but still it contains some very atmospheric parts which build strong scenes in the novella.
There are many archaic elements in this novella, especially the old, no longer used, forms of pronouns. That itself creates defamiliarization just by the passing of time. It may seem paradoxical but old language in that way is new, archaic forms are defamiliarized when read in contemporary time, defamiliarized for the native speaker who sees them strange, odd, cool, not mundane and dull.
Regarding the content of the novella I can say that you encounter the topos of the Wandering Jew.
Like everywhere else there is a blurred difference between the figure of the Wandering Jew and the figure of Satan.
They can change their form, they do not have a home, they trick the main protagonist.
Altough in this novella the figure of the Wandering Jew is not called the Wandering Jew, he is presented as some kind of a goblin, but the main character mentions the Wandering Jew in his thoughts.
Usually the Wandering Jew is a handsome man, charismatic as Sean Connery, but in this novella he is as ugly as Miley Cyrus.
He tricks the protagonist to have an exchange of bodies.
How does that finish?
See for yourselves you lazy mobsters!
¡Hasta luego mis murcielagos!
Si alguien habla español, por favor salva me de esos weones norteños y de ladrones de Croacia...
Nos vemos en el proxima reseña!
May 2, 2019
This collection brings together three little-known short stories by Mary Shelley, the revered author of Frankenstein. Each is a fantastic example of her writing prowess, and the ways in which she pioneered the science-fiction and horror genres.
The title story, Transformation, draws on classic fables and the work of Shakespeare to create a brilliantly timeless and evocative moral tale. In it, we follow a man, spurned by his great love and exiled from his homeland, who makes a deal with a strange, demonic creature in his pursuit of vengeance. Thematically, it explores the idea that true ugliness comes from the inside, the danger of succumbing to our own greed and entitlement, and the notion that the best lessons in life are often hard won. It also has all the hallmarks of the best gothic fiction, including rich settings, thick atmosphere, and sumptuous prose. (‘Evening was at hand when, seaward, arose, as if on the waving of a wizard’s wand, a murky web of clouds, blotting the late azure sky and darkening and disturbing the till now placid deep […] The waves raised their white crests; the thunder first muttered, then roared from across the waste of waters, which took a deep purple dye, flecked with foam.�) � 5 stars.
The Mortal Immortal is a melancholic and fascinating story that draws on Shelley’s own real-life experience of outliving those she loved, exploring the dichotomy of simultaneously hating life and fearing death. Her protagonist, an alchemist’s assistant, consumes a potion he hopes will cure him of the pain of unrequited love. Instead, it grants him immortality, dooming him to a life of loneliness as he watches those dear to him fade away. As with Frankenstein, there’s a thread about the danger of pursuing science beyond our control (‘� the more I live, the more I dread death, even while I abhor life. Such an enigma is man � born to perish � when he wars, as I do, against the established laws of nature.�) It’s another gothic gem, made all the more poignant given the context of Shelley’s own tragic life. � 4.5 stars.
The final story, The Evil Eye, has a subtle supernatural edge, but it’s considerably less gothic. A tale of piracy, betrayal, revenge, and family, it has a grand, epic scope despite its modest length. The adventurous nature of the plot means there are some exciting moments, alongside some typically gorgeous prose, but my love for the dark, gothic, and thought-provoking nature of the previous stories left me feeling underwhelmed by this one. � 2.5 stars.
In an ideal world, the third story would have been omitted in favour of something more in keeping with the tone and quality of the others, but altogether, this still makes for a solid example of Shelley’s skill, and why her catalogue of work beyond Frankenstein is well worth exploring.
The title story, Transformation, draws on classic fables and the work of Shakespeare to create a brilliantly timeless and evocative moral tale. In it, we follow a man, spurned by his great love and exiled from his homeland, who makes a deal with a strange, demonic creature in his pursuit of vengeance. Thematically, it explores the idea that true ugliness comes from the inside, the danger of succumbing to our own greed and entitlement, and the notion that the best lessons in life are often hard won. It also has all the hallmarks of the best gothic fiction, including rich settings, thick atmosphere, and sumptuous prose. (‘Evening was at hand when, seaward, arose, as if on the waving of a wizard’s wand, a murky web of clouds, blotting the late azure sky and darkening and disturbing the till now placid deep […] The waves raised their white crests; the thunder first muttered, then roared from across the waste of waters, which took a deep purple dye, flecked with foam.�) � 5 stars.
The Mortal Immortal is a melancholic and fascinating story that draws on Shelley’s own real-life experience of outliving those she loved, exploring the dichotomy of simultaneously hating life and fearing death. Her protagonist, an alchemist’s assistant, consumes a potion he hopes will cure him of the pain of unrequited love. Instead, it grants him immortality, dooming him to a life of loneliness as he watches those dear to him fade away. As with Frankenstein, there’s a thread about the danger of pursuing science beyond our control (‘� the more I live, the more I dread death, even while I abhor life. Such an enigma is man � born to perish � when he wars, as I do, against the established laws of nature.�) It’s another gothic gem, made all the more poignant given the context of Shelley’s own tragic life. � 4.5 stars.
The final story, The Evil Eye, has a subtle supernatural edge, but it’s considerably less gothic. A tale of piracy, betrayal, revenge, and family, it has a grand, epic scope despite its modest length. The adventurous nature of the plot means there are some exciting moments, alongside some typically gorgeous prose, but my love for the dark, gothic, and thought-provoking nature of the previous stories left me feeling underwhelmed by this one. � 2.5 stars.
In an ideal world, the third story would have been omitted in favour of something more in keeping with the tone and quality of the others, but altogether, this still makes for a solid example of Shelley’s skill, and why her catalogue of work beyond Frankenstein is well worth exploring.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.