Thanks to Grove Press for the free advance copy of this book.

FRANKISSSTEIN is a dual narrative - one thread is the tale of Mary Shelley's creation of the story of Frankenstein. The other is set in the near future, with trans doctor Ry Shelley falling in love with professor and scientist Victor Stein, who is carrying out secret experiments in the name of advancing AI technology.

Past and future collide in this book in a way that is alternately hilarious and deeply thought provoking. Winterson draws lines between Frankenstein, artificial intelligence, the Industrial Revolution, transhumanism, gender theory and more - it kind of feels like that Always Sunny meme with the red thread conspiracy board. This book is packed to the gills with ideas and yet none of them feel underserved. Also, lots of sex jokes.

I have seen some reviews calling this book disrespectful to trans people. That's not the vibe I got at all. There are certainly characters who do not understand and clearly do not wish to understand Ry. There's a lot of purposeful misgendering and deadnaming. However, it's clear to me that the book is showing that the characters doing this are behind the times and close-minded, even if they are open-minded about other things (like say, sex bots). This whole book is about what it means to be human and the wide range of possible forms and experiences humanity can take. Please do note that I am not trans - I'll happily discuss further with anyone who felt otherwise about this book.

FRANKISSSTEIN is one of those books where I know I didn't catch all the layers of on the first read. I am already looking forward to rereading it.