Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is the greatest novel I've ever read

So I've always been a big fan of the horror genre since I was a kid thanks to things like Goosebumps and Scooby Doo. When I was around 15 my grandmother got me a copy of Frankenstein and I was blown away by it; it caused me to seek out more horror literature and I read Bram Stoker, H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Chambers, W.W. Jacobs, and Henry James, as a bonus I also read lots of Stephen King. I also got into other gothic classics like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights which led me to read more classics in general, now I love Leo Tolstoy and Victor Hugo. It had been a while since I last re read Frankenstein so I decided to do it recently and I fell in love with it all over again. It's easily the greatest novel I've ever and probably one of the greatest in general. Mary Shelley captures that feeling of rejection and longing so well and writes with a remarkable amount of empathy towards both sides of the conflict in the book, both Victor who regrets his actions, and the monster who wants to harm his creator.

The part where she describes the creature learning about various aspects of human existence is also incredible and very moving. Now I finally remember why this is my favourite book of all time, the only thing that comes close for it to me is Lord of the flies. I write horror myself now and when anyone asks me who my biggest influence is, I don't hesitate when I answer Mary Shelley. Reading her as a young man definitely changed my life for the better.