Reviews with content warning for Colonisation - The Daughter of Doctor Moreau

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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writingcaia's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Horror, science fiction, history, and some romance, woman centric and coming of age, this is a gripping tale that will not let go until you drank it all in, and so I devoured this book, as I’ve all of Garcia’s, she’s a favourite and so is this book now.

I am not familiar with the original tale, although I am aware that there’re many differences in the science of the hybrids, in the location, and in the plot. This one is also a horror sci-fi but with a touching plot that mixes Mexico’s (where the story takes place) real history in the 19th century - where inequality reigned with the many castes present, and there was war with the Mayans of the Yucatan peninsula, and also the rivalry with the British nearby -, with a fair maiden lost in her own paradise in a small rancho in the Yucatan, raised by an attentive father and her books and among friends, play friends and some she cares for with their atrocious animal-like features and consequently painful deformations, doting on her father, the amazing Doctor Moreau who will save humanity with his studies of the hybrids, and surveyed by the mordoyomo, an alcoholic Englishman with a broken heart. All is perfect in her eyes, her dream world with her fantastical kin people around, that is until the day she meets the green eyed son of her father’s benefactor and discovers love… and so much more.

The writing, the choice of plot and setting, the small romance with its two POV, it is as always perfect, and even though I saw the plot twist a mile away and the ending could be more bow tied for my taste, it still ranks very high among Garcia’s books. Although, the truth is I can never choose just one fave of hers.

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evs_shelves's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective 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? No

3.5

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cozyteareads's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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mooshake's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

2.75

whoever decided that those accents in the audiobook were a good idea, your moms a hoe

i've forgotten most of the plot 2 days after reading this lmao

will i ever like a silvia moreno-garcia book as much as mexican gothic? stay tuned to find out!

also montgomery u knew carlotta since she was 14 stop being a nonce and take a shower

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melliedm's review against another edition

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emotional 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

3.75

A thrilling exploration of humanity and identity set on a hybrid background of H.G. Wells’ Moreau and The Caste War of Yucatan 1847. Moreno-Garcia has an excellent way of merging a classic gothic style and an accessible/modern prose that almost always works well for me. I had a bit of an expectation of a darker book along the lines of Mexican Gothic, but I still enjoyed this one!

My only dislike for this book is how the alternating perspective works in the first half. Too frequently the Carlota and Montgomery swaps spent too much time retreading the same moments before getting into something fresh. This lessened in the second half, which is when the novel began to really shine.

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sarasreading's review against another edition

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adventurous dark slow-paced

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

2.5

I had high expectations after really enjoying Mexican Gothic. That book had such atmosphere, mystery, and suspense. It pulled me in, and while it was definitely on the weirder side, I was totally along for the ride.

This one? The story didn't even begin picking up for me until over halfway through. That is too long. Where was the atmosphere? The mystery? I thought it would be a sci-fi horror mix with tons of atmosphere and thrills, and probably just as weird as MG. It was none of those things. I don't even know if I'd classify it as sci-fi or horror, or romance, or thriller? What is this book? ....uninteresting is all I can come up with, which is a bummer after such high hopes. There was some good character development, and some details and plot points I liked, which is why the rating isn't lower.

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bookish_afrolatina's review against another edition

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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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