Ellison’s Earnings Call Head Fake

The novella follows the life of Robert Grainier, an orphan sent to Idaho in 1893. Grainier works as a laborer, building bridges and felling trees for the expanding railways. He finds happiness with his wife and daughter but faces tragedy when a wildfire changes his life forever. The story is a reflection on isolation, the closing of the American West, and the simple yet harsh life of a pioneer. It juxtaposes the sounds of trains with the natural world, creating a dream-like and elegiac portrait of Grainier's life.

Written in epistolary form, the novel tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant and ambitious scientist who, driven by Enlightenment-era ideas of progress and science, creates a living being from dead body parts. However, upon seeing the creature come to life, Frankenstein is horrified and abandons it. The creature, shunned by society due to its appearance, seeks revenge against its creator, leading to a series of tragic events. The novel explores themes of guilt, loss, and the emotional and moral consequences of scientific hubris, blending elements of Gothic and Romantic literature.