Frankissstein - A Novel
Jeanette Winterson
Publisher: Grove Press
Summary
Winterson is a New York Times-bestselling author whose books have sold hundreds of thousands of copies in the U.S. and abroad. Frankissstein, her most ambitious work yet, is a radical love story for the current moment that explores issues of trans rights, sex and gender, and artificial intelligence Winterson’s 2012 bestselling memoir Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? was a New York Times Editors’ Choice and a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. It was a best book of the year in the New York Times Book Review, O Magazine, Vogue, San Francisco Chronicle, Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Guardian, and the Telegraph Winterson has won the Whitbread Prize for Best First Fiction, the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, and the E.M. Forster Award, among others Frankenstein and its creator have remained an enduring influence in literature and popular culture for two hundred years, capturing readers’ imaginations and influencing contemporary writers from Rebecca Solnit to Ahmed Saadawi The novel follows a fascinating cast of characters, including early transhumanist Mary Shelley from the time she first conceives of Frankenstein on Lake Geneva in 1816. The other thread follows present day “mad scientist” and sex tech pioneer Victor Stein and his trans lover Ry Shelley. The major themes of alienation, love, science, and humanity explored in Shelley’s masterpiece are further investigated by Winterson in this novel We expect major reviews and attention for this book, in addition to a ten-city tour In its astute look at transhumanist ideas, Frankissstein stands alongside titles like Made for Love by Alissa Nutting, To Be a Machine by Mark O’Connell, and A Cyborg Manifesto by Donna Haraway As with Winterson’s previous books The Passion and Oranges, Frankissstein is an excellent candidate for course adoption in schools, particularly for its fresh exploration of Frankenstein’s themes Her most recent book, Christmas Days, was a New York Times Editors’ Choice, a Los Angeles Times Holiday Book selection, and a USA Today New and Noteworthy pick Winterson is a longtime cultural icon and vocal advocate for LGBTQA rights whose work is widely celebrated for bringing queer themes into the mainstream. She is a two-time Lambda Literary Award winner and winner of the Stonewall Book Award for her depictions of queer experience