Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Monster by Dave Zelterserman

Ed here: I read Monster in manuscript shortly 
after Dave finished writing it. 
I'll tell you what I told him. I think it's a 
masterpiece of originality, beauty, ugliness, 
eloquence, wisdom and power. I mean all this sincerely.
And it's one hell of a page-turner as well. I'm glad
 to see the critics agree with me.
BOOKLIST STARRED REVIEW  Issue: June 1, 2012   *Monster: A Novel of Frankenstein.  
Zeltserman, Dave (Author)  Aug 2012. 224 p. Overlook, hardcover, $23.95. 
(9781590208601).    Repudiating the “outrageous fabrication” of 
Victor Frankenstein’s story as told by Mary Shelley is the aim  of 
this imaginative and grotesque novel from the revisionist 
perspective of the monster. First off, the  monster had 
a name, Friedrich Hoffmann. Second, he had a true love, 
Johanna. So that they could become  unwilling participants 
in unholy experiments, the lovers were murdered by 
Dr. Frankenstein, whom  Zeltserman portrays as a perverse 
maniac in the mold of Lovecraft's Herbert West, working 
in league with  the Marquis de Sade. Awakening to find 
himself inside a hideous, patchwork body, Hoffmann’s 
first  friend is Charlotte, a reanimated severed head 
in a bowl. Things get worse. Zeltserman’s monster is every  
bit as eloquent as Shelley’s, though his rage is more 
focused. He seeks to avenge Johanna, plain and  simple. 
But the mystical rituals enacted by the doctor make 
insurrection difficult, and so Hoffmann  wanders the 
countryside encountering changeling vampyrs, kindly 
monks, groveling Satanists, and,  finally, a castle 
in which 200 girls have been kidnapped to be a part 
of Frankenstein and the Marquis’  unspeakable “drama.” 
This is juicy material for Franken-fans, and Zeltserman 
is just faithful enough to the  original (he, too, 
ends with the fateful wedding night and the icebound ship) 
that his many fresh  contributions feel entirely normal. 
Well, abnormal, to be accurate, but deliciously so.  
— Daniel Kraus
Foreword Pick of The WeekMonster: A Novel of 
Frankenstein by 
Dave Zeltserman78-1-59020-860-1
 / Fiction / Overlook Press / Hardcover / $23.95 / 224pp

In nineteenth century Germany, a young man is

about to marry his beloved, but she is found murdered

, and he, who is innocent, is accused and put to death.

A few weeks later, he wakes to find himself transformed

into a hideous monster by the mad scientist Frankenstein.

With his brain and memory intact but trapped inside an

enormous, mismatched body, he escapes the lab and

embarks on a journey to take revenge on his accuser.

A tale of justice, true love, and ultimate forgiveness,

this gruesome novel is perfect for fans of Stephen King

and similar horror stories.

No comments: