Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

23 reviews

jgalla's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, and Colonisation

Moderate: Classism, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Violence, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Gun violence, Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Slavery

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexism, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Child death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Rape

alicelalicon's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Grief, Violence, Body horror, Blood, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Animal death, Misogyny, Gun violence, Racism, Xenophobia, Alcohol, and Sexism

Moderate: Slavery, Death of parent, Child death, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Classism, Chronic illness, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment

javafenn's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I would have finished this book much, much, much sooner if I hadn’t been dealing with health issues and small children. I have never read The Island of Doctor Moreau but I love that Silvia Moreno-Garcia took one genre and story then created a whole new story with a beautiful blend of genres. She’s excellent at creating these unique stories with a familiar feel to them. The book tells the story of a young girl who helps her father with his scientific studies without knowing all that he is truly doing as well as that of a young man who comes into the doctor and his daughter’s life when she was but a girl. Each does as the doctor’s tells them until one day it all comes to a very catastrophic head. All set in Mexico, Carlotta, Montgomery, and the hybrids must figure not only who they are but also what.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Murder, Violence, Alcoholism, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Blood, and Classism

Moderate: Racism, Misogyny, and Sexism

professor_jango's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation

Moderate: Racism, Classism, Medical trauma, Body horror, Trafficking, Chronic illness, Sexual content, Sexism, and Alcoholism

jhbandcats's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I really, really liked this book! It’s a new take on an old story, and the good part is the detailed characterization of the hybrid creatures that offers a fuller picture than I’d expected. While the story isn’t directly told from their perspective, their inclusion adds depth. 

The two main characters - Dr Moreau’s daughter Carlotta and his mayordomo Montgomery - are a good foil for one another; they’re each initially suspicious of one another but that evolves into frequent but mostly friendly squabbling. Carlotta is a devoted and obedient daughter, oblivious to her father’s hidden motives, thus his betrayal is crushing. Lupe and Cachito, the two hybrids, are true friends of Carlotta, and the relationship between the three is a strong part of the book. 

The introduction of outsiders is the catalyst for disastrous revelations and an end to the peaceful life as they’ve known it. How Carlotta, Montgomery, and her friends deal with the incursion informs the last third of the book. Moreno-Garcia is a fabulous storyteller - I will read anything by her. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Blood, Grief, Classism, Colonisation, Medical trauma, Torture, and Violence

softanimal's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful tense medium-paced

4.0

I love the way Moreno describes physical spaces, bodily sensations, movement and action, clothing, and scenery. I really enjoyed the two perspective characters and the structure of the storytelling as it alternated between their perspectives. The plot itself dragged a little for me until the last fifty pages unfortunately. But overall this was a wonderful reimagining with carefully researched historical elements and relatable characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Violence, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Drug use, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Death of parent

zombiezami's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Addiction, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Chronic illness, Medical content, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Ableism, Animal death, Classism, Colonisation, Animal cruelty, and Sexual content

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Bullying, and Cancer

aardwyrm's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

There's a good novella in this book if you chopped out a lot of nothing. The premise is intriguing, the prose is good, and Carlota isn't a bad viewpoint character. But 2/3 of the pages are taken up by tedious romantic drama that goes nowhere and could have been set up in a chapter. Montgomery also sucks a lot of life out of the story. Silvia Moreno-Garcia has many strengths, but writing a compelling protagonist man is not one of them. The human-animal hybrids who should be the stars of the story are barely there, but in them there's the bones of something great.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Gore, Grief, Animal death, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Violence, Ableism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

bookish_afrolatina's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Real rating: 4.5 stars
 
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is such an intricate novel! It’s inspired by The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells, so if you want to know the connections, definitely read an overview of that book. 

Silvia Moreno-Garcia seamlessly included the historical context of life in Mexico during the late 19th century; exploitation of Mayans and immigrant laborers, conflict between the white Mexicans and Indigenous peoples, and the racism. 

Carlotta and Laughton’s narratives overlap one another which I found creative. There were a few parts that dragged a bit, mostly with Laughton, but I enjoyed the story overall.

Note: The audiobook is awesome because there are so many different accents we encounter!

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‼️Spoilers ahead‼️

Moreau’s motives for his experimentation were pretty ableist, which was normal for that time. However, Carlotta’s increasing resistance to treatment for her “illness” or disability gave a message of embracing herself. The content’s connection to ableism is complicated because, on one hand, the disabilities were Moreau’s creations, but on the other hand, the “hybrids” have their own lives, wants, dreams, and beliefs. They have names and agency.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Colonisation, Medical trauma, and Medical content

Moderate: Blood, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, and Injury/Injury detail

daniellekat's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I love Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s writing and this book was no exception. Her writing is descriptive without being tedious and she can capture your attention in a book so easily.
That being said, I didn’t love this book. It was ok. The writing was excellent but the plot was a bit predictable and I didn’t like the love triangle angle of the story. Also the pacing of the plot was weird to me. The first 3/4 of the book moved SO slowly and then the last few chapters were very fast paced and exciting. I haven’t read the original Dr. Moreau so I’m not sure I’m how this compares but if Frankenstein meets Mexican Gothic is your vibe I would definitely recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Medical trauma, Chronic illness, Body horror, and Medical content

Minor: Suicide and Colonisation