Given all the mad doctor and monster movies we've seen, including perhaps versions of Frankenstein, what is unexpected about the description the actual creation of life here? How much do we learn of the actual procedure?

The book version is not as melodramatic as the movie version. There is more of a sense of artistry and drama rather than science fiction. The actual procedure included Victor collecting the instruments of life around him, and creating a spark of being into the monster to make it come to life. Eventually, the creature opened its eyes at one o'clock in the morning. The monster took his first breaths and his limbs flailed about.