Sympathy for Frankenstein's Monster

Why I wrote the story?

Late last year I read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. I imagined the monster in the original story as an Indian or a Sri Lankan who had been plucked from his roots at a young age, and had grown up in Victorian England. Never quite being able to earn equal status among the natives regardless of how good his English or his mannerisms were. I thought, if someone like that was supernaturally favoured, how would that bygone society react? I doubted it would have put their way of living on hold just to accommodate a foreigner (regardless of how much he proclaimed he was a native). I imagined they would have vilified him, oppressed him and cast him out. 

I abstracted two central social issues from the original story,

1. The importance and the complexity of helping individuals stuck in-between cultures.
2. The existence of exceptional situations where an individual's reproductive justice needs to be looked at as social justice, or as a basic good as described in the natural law theory [1].

As a lower middle class citizen who was affected by the socio-economic impact of incidents such as the easter bombings (2019), the pandemic (2019 - 2022), and the economic crisis (2022 -2024) that left over 25% of the country's population below the poverty line [2]; I could easily relate to men who would have wanted to start a family during the past 5-6 years, but couldn’t because of financial constraints. I thought if there were millions who were socially and financially affected, couldn’t there be at least one exceptional situation that was not unlike the situation Frankenstein’s monster faced? I thought it would make a good premise for an original retelling.

Though I’m fortunate in many ways; I was also motivated by the need to share my own opinions on structural injustice men with similar backgrounds as I do face, while we're going through it, as opposed to talking about it later. The Sri Lankan diaspora is often accused of this offence by the some who claim they never said anything while they were here.

What is the book is about?

The book explores the relationship between oppression and men’s reproductive justice. How poverty, and marginalization leaves some men powerless against defamation, and sexual coercion that leads to reproductive injustice, exploitation, mental abuse and physical abuse. The story does this using the main Frankenstein plot, where the monster is a Sri Lankan, and other sub-plots built around characters in a fictional slum in Maradana. 

According to the Mariam Webster’s definition, feminism is about opposing inequality that’s based on gender, that it’s not limited to women. [3] The story is pro-feminist because it’s against inequality a large segment of men face because of their gender identity. It also explores intersectionality of the causes of inequity through examples. 

What was the publishing process like?

I started with the general idea of the story in December, 2024 and worked on it over the Christmas holidays and the weekends over the next couple of months.

As I was working on a low budget, I couldn’t justify paid editorial or copywriting support, and being a novice to the Sri Lankan literary scene, I couldn’t secure unpaid support. But I did manage to get valuable feedback on the story, and the end-product through unintentional involuntary beta testers. The feedback was incorporated and the first edition of the book was finally sent out for print a few days ago. 

Where can you buy a copy?

The book will be available exclusively at the Barefoot bookshop [4], post Awurudu holidays. It’s priced at Rs. 1800. 

The book is not for everyone. So I’ve included a comprehensive trigger warning section at the beginning. Please go through it first before deciding to purchase it.

[1] - https://youtu.be/r_UfYY7aWKo?si=YG3MnXqDTZgeNDeh 

[2] - https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2024/04/01/sri-lanka-s-economy-shows-signs-of-stabilization-but-poverty-to-remain-elevated 

[3] - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feminism   

[4] -https://barefootceylon.com/collections/bookshop

About my fitness and diet

My diet and workout habits have gotten attention from my coworkers and friends. So, I thought I’d publish a quick official Q&A (if you're bothered to know, but please consult qualified and experienced professionals if you need advice on fitness or nutrition)

Do I fast?

Yes. I have been following intermittent fasting for the past 7 or 8 years. First it was hard, then my body got used to it. After a few years the benefits of the 16:8 fast plateaued and I experimented with longer fasts. I am not religious about fasting. I would say I have fasted correctly about 80% of the time, if my body is feeling weak or I have a demanding day(s) ahead I break the fast. I have also broken my fast on vacations.

Am I a vegetarian?

I am currently an ovo-vegetarian. I grew up in a relatively conservative Buddhist family, we didn't eat a lot of meat or eat out. But in my late teens I became more independent and started eating out and ate a lot of meat. Then as I became more interested in fitness in my late twenties I tried to eat better. Around 3 years ago I stopped eating meat. I don't think I am superior because I don't eat meat.

Do I smoke?

I smoked in my twenties, but I stopped.

Do I drink?

I drank in my twenties, but I lost interest. I don't think drinking is categorically wrong if you can handle yourself and you are not a public figure by consent (more to think here). I don't mind a glass of wine every now and then (but I can't justify the cost of buying a bottle right now).

Do I sleep?

I do sleep, but like a growing number of adults in my age group I do carry a sleep debt and there are nights when I just can't get a night of sleep. I’m not convinced of medication that promises sleep, but I have taken an over the counter melatonin supplement and magnesium. ( I am not convinced these help either)

What do I do when I can't get a good night's sleep?

Over the years I have gotten better at proactively managing my sleep debt. I have gotten better at meditating in a sleeping position (no, I can't meditate an entire night away). Sometimes I read fiction using a book light.

I have also gotten better at operating with a sleep debt by educating myself on the topic and improving my faculties, through meditation, fitness and diet and other lifestyle choices. I encourage others to value their sleep and I proactively take sick leaves when my sleep debt threshold has been surpassed. 

How do I meditate? 

I do a version of Vipassana meditation where I try to maintain my complete awareness on bodily sensations at will. If you are doing it right you should be able to fool a sleep tracker on an inexpensive fitness band.

How do I workout?

Early on, I realized being fit has more to do with nutrition than exercise. So I educated myself as best I could and found a few over the counter supplements and became smarter with my diet.

During the first 5 or so years I focused mainly on targeted resistance training sessions 3 or 4 times a week. But as my life got busier (and harder) I changed my resistance training approach to make it more sustainable and increase the return on my investment by lifting lighter, but more consistently and focusing on a few vanity muscles. Of late I have got a pull up bar fixed in my room and started doing more cardio by rucking and spinning. 

An Alternative History of Euowewin

Last year was a good year to me in many ways, but it was also a year the world tried its hardest to force action out of me, as it sometimes does out of misguided good intentions. There were some closed doors, in a fairer world where there should have been ones that were wide open. And it seemed like everywhere I looked people were trying to shush me. 

Making art I’ve come to realize is a good way to release some of this kind of stress in a healthy manner. So, out of this intention, over a couple of days of putting other work on hold was born my latest short story ‘An alternative history of Euowewin’. Thank you very much to all of you who consumed it.