Frankenstein Takes the Cake

Self-aware from the opening endpages to its closing endpages, Rex’s second volume of Frankensteinian verse is simultaneously the gift and the curse--a paean to the horror fiction of the past two centuries as well as a lyrical skewering of it. Because of the rather broad body of work to which it alludes, younger readers may enjoy and understand the poetry only superficially, while an older audience with exposure to Godzilla, King Kong, the Wizard of Oz, vampires, werewolves, E.T., Alfred Hitchcock, and Edgar Allen Poe will have a much richer experience. While the overarching narrative is that of preparations for the nuptials of the creation and his made-to-order bride, in the tradition of Monty Python’s Flying Circus many digressions are made, some of which are returned to repeatedly. Each segment, no matter its initial appearance, is a poem. These verses come disguised as a letter, sequential art, blog posts, a post card, and even as an advertisement with its associated fine print. Rex’s attention to detail and his zany wit are the very heart of this monstrous creation. He turns verse on its ghoulish head not only revelling in wordplay and the musicality of language but also extending the text with illustrations of the quotidian un-life of monsterhood and thereby proving that these creatures that go bump in the night are “just like you and me (Well, sort of).” In short, Frankenstein Takes The Cake could cajole even the most recalcitrant male reader into admitting that poetry isn’t just for girls.

Frankenstein Takes the Cake by Adam Rex; illus. by the author
Middle School
Harcourt, Inc.
40 pp.
Published 2008
ISBN 978-0152062354
$16.00
Poetry

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