Frankissstein cover art

Frankissstein

A Love Story

 Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

About this listen

** LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2019 **

Brought to you by Penguin.

From 'one of the most gifted writers working today' (New York Times) comes an audacious new novel about the bodies we live in and the bodies we desire

In Brexit Britain, a young transgender doctor called Ry is falling in love – against their better judgement – with Victor Stein, a celebrated professor leading the public debate around AI.

Meanwhile, Ron Lord, just divorced and living with Mum again, is set to make his fortune launching a new generation of sex dolls for lonely men everywhere.

Across the Atlantic, in Phoenix, Arizona, a cryogenics facility houses dozens of bodies of men and women who are medically and legally dead… but waiting to return to life.

But the scene is set in 1816, when nineteen-year-old Mary Shelley writes a story about creating a non-biological life-form. ‘Beware, for I am fearless and therefore powerful.'

What will happen when homo sapiens is no longer the smartest being on the planet? Jeanette Winterson shows us how much closer we are to that future than we realise. Funny and furious, bold and clear-sighted, Frankissstein is a love story about life itself.

 Fiction Genetic Engineering Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Political Romance Science Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy Scary Technology Thriller Suspense

Critic reviews

A riotous reimagining with an energy and passion all of its own that reanimates Frankenstein as a cautionary tale for a contemporary moment dominated by debates about Brexit, gender, artificial intelligence and medical experimentation… While the story has a gripping momentum of its own, it also fizzes with ideas. (Daisy Hay)
Here, hard science and dreamy Romanticism exist in both tension and harmony… Frankissstein abounds with invention… this is a work of both pleasure and profundity, robustly and skilfully structured, and suffused with all Winterson’s usual preoccupations – gender, language, sexuality, the limits of individual liberty and the life of ideas. (Sam Byers)
A modern take on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, it’s a fascinating and engrossing look at AI, science, gender fluidity and, ultimately, what it really means to be human. (Nicola Sturgeon)
Yes, the book we have all been waiting for. Yes, everything Winterson has always done so well. Yes, above and beyond anything that is yet to be written.
Astonishing. Bold. Teeming with wit and intellectual prowess. Winterson is a literary giant. She remains one of my favourite writers.
Winterson has had a surge of inventiveness… Frankissstein gamely links arms with the zeitgeist. {it} is a book that seeks to shift our perspective on humanity and the purpose of being human in the most darkly entertaining way… gloriously well observed .. I found myself vibrating with laughter.
Winterson reboots Mary Shelley's Frankenstein for the 21st Century, launching us into a hold-on-to-your hat modern-day horror story about very modern-day neuroses and issues.
Intelligent and inventive… Frankisstein is very funny. There has always been a fine line between horror and high camp, and this is a boundary that Winterson gleefully exploits.
Refreshingly, Jeanette Winterson’s Frankisstein… is a wildly inventive reimagining of one of science fiction’s most beloved stories… lyrical, gloriously raunchy, pulpy and absurd.
All stars
Most relevant
there is love and sensuality stemming out of the science-driven exploration. the story runs through time so smooth. the language so beautiful...

throughtful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have a terrible confession to make, as an elderly gay person. I have never previously read a book by Jeanette Winterson. On the basis of this excellent blend of comic writing and very pointed period romance, I have been missing out. A really important question about how technology can liberate or conquer us is examined in such a way that it feels like fun (I laughed so much) but there's a finely tuned purpose driving it all.
Now I must investigate her back catalogue.

Fun, to a purpose

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved it, winterson's skill in bringing classic and modern together, including characters... Want to listen all over again

Inspired writing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
as usual Jeanette Winters make me think. I will read this again, as it has too concepts to justify in one go. I alway this in all her books. I adore every thing she writes. than you.

compelling

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Some funny moments but the American and Welsh accents were too annoying to enjoy the story (which was also average). Observations about gender too obvious. There's no real plot and a lot of the 2019 passages feel bloated and like they need an edit.

Narration too awkward

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews