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sailornina's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-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
3.0
aritrigupta's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fantastic retelling of an old classic, and given I hadn't read the original story, I was free of biases. I would award 3.5 stars to the book, as, despite the beautiful narration, I was not moved by it.
[a:Silvia Moreno-Garcia|4088550|Silvia Moreno-Garcia|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1597118464p2/4088550.jpg] has a faithful fan in me, and I would inevitably read all that she writes. She has a way with words that make the narration fluid yet dreamy, and this was no different.
Stuck on Yuaxuktun, a luxurious and mysterious refuge for Doctor Moreau's dreaded hybrids, Carlota Moreau grows up to be hopeful, brave and blossoms into a force to be reckoned with. Montgomery Laughton is running away from life, and finds peace in Moreau's estate, as he hopes to drink to his death. As central pieces of the story, I loved the contrast they provided, the jaded and the hopeful tones, to the story Moreau's hybrids, of Moreau playing God. Moreno-Garcia is amazing at using uncommon historical backdrops for her story, and that is reflected in this book as well. If I were to pick apart the book, it would stand to be meritorious in most of its aspects, however, there was a certain lack of heart in the story. There is more than enough drama to it, the stakes are high, the setting is immaculate, yet, I found myself detached from all the characters. I would still recommend this to fans of gothic, historical horror, but I had hoped for more.
[a:Silvia Moreno-Garcia|4088550|Silvia Moreno-Garcia|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1597118464p2/4088550.jpg] has a faithful fan in me, and I would inevitably read all that she writes. She has a way with words that make the narration fluid yet dreamy, and this was no different.
Stuck on Yuaxuktun, a luxurious and mysterious refuge for Doctor Moreau's dreaded hybrids, Carlota Moreau grows up to be hopeful, brave and blossoms into a force to be reckoned with. Montgomery Laughton is running away from life, and finds peace in Moreau's estate, as he hopes to drink to his death. As central pieces of the story, I loved the contrast they provided, the jaded and the hopeful tones, to the story Moreau's hybrids, of Moreau playing God. Moreno-Garcia is amazing at using uncommon historical backdrops for her story, and that is reflected in this book as well. If I were to pick apart the book, it would stand to be meritorious in most of its aspects, however, there was a certain lack of heart in the story. There is more than enough drama to it, the stakes are high, the setting is immaculate, yet, I found myself detached from all the characters. I would still recommend this to fans of gothic, historical horror, but I had hoped for more.
tuesdays314's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
pastelwriter's review against another edition
I tried TWICE to give this a chance…but I just couldn’t do it.
Generally speaking, I love Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s writing style. I find it engaging and interesting. However, it was not enough to make me be able to deal with some of the issues I had with this novel.
1. I couldn’t take the fact that we had a 35 y/o man absolutely smitten with a 20y/o young woman…who he met…when she was FOURTEEN!!!! I just couldn’t deal with it. It made me uncomfortable, and I felt like it was an unnecessary dynamic added to the story.
2. There was no fucking need for so many scenes to be told BOTH from Carlota’s perspective AND Montgomery’s perspective. The “added” information was hardly ever elucidating enough to feel warranted. It was just a waste of time, energy, and page count. The point of a dual pov isn’t to read things twice but to get access to parts of a narrative that truly would be unknown if it was single pov.
3. Montgomery and Carlota both made me feel conflicted as characters. Carlota was too childish and acted like a brat …and Montgomery was often too morose and self-hating. I could’ve seen myself eventually liking both…but ultimately I didn’t have enough patience to find out.
I truly wanted to love this, but there were too many little things that kept me from doing so. And based on what others have said about the events that transpire in this novel… I have no interest in following that shitshow.
Generally speaking, I love Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s writing style. I find it engaging and interesting. However, it was not enough to make me be able to deal with some of the issues I had with this novel.
1. I couldn’t take the fact that we had a 35 y/o man absolutely smitten with a 20y/o young woman…who he met…when she was FOURTEEN!!!! I just couldn’t deal with it. It made me uncomfortable, and I felt like it was an unnecessary dynamic added to the story.
2. There was no fucking need for so many scenes to be told BOTH from Carlota’s perspective AND Montgomery’s perspective. The “added” information was hardly ever elucidating enough to feel warranted. It was just a waste of time, energy, and page count. The point of a dual pov isn’t to read things twice but to get access to parts of a narrative that truly would be unknown if it was single pov.
3. Montgomery and Carlota both made me feel conflicted as characters. Carlota was too childish and acted like a brat …and Montgomery was often too morose and self-hating. I could’ve seen myself eventually liking both…but ultimately I didn’t have enough patience to find out.
I truly wanted to love this, but there were too many little things that kept me from doing so. And based on what others have said about the events that transpire in this novel… I have no interest in following that shitshow.
joceyreads's review against another edition
3.0
This is very readable book. It’s enjoyable and I’m glad I read it, but I didn’t love it. I’ll think about it a bit more.
colaloopa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
bookishreadsandme's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
4.0
This is the #noshelfcontrolbookclub pick for September and a retelling of the H.G Wells story; The Island of Doctor Moreau which I hadn’t read before, but I had some idea of the story before picking up this retelling.
The setting is 19th century Mexico, deep in the jungle. The descriptions of the setting is beautifully immersive. You read from two point of view, Dr Moreau’s daughter Carlota and then Montgomery’s the doctor’s assistant. It was interesting reading from their perspectives to get a different take on the events that happen as the book progresses.
What I loved about this book is it is a hybrid of different genres, horror, sci-fi and historical fiction. And funnily enough it is about hybrids that Doctor Moreau creates, a mix of species that are part animal, part human.
The plot is full of secrets that kept me glued to the pages. It also had gothic elements to it which I am always a sucker for in a story. It also has feminist themes and explores religion, morality, colonialism and science. As you can tell there are a lot of complex layers to it.
It is quite slow paced, but you get a lot of character detail and depth and it made me emotionally invested, particularly in the hybrids. Lupe and Cachito were such brilliant characters! It makes you question who the real monsters are. The hybrids or the white, upper class men?
The Daughter of Dr Moreau is a dark, complex and mysterious tale with vibrant characters and important topics. An extraordinary story that I highly recommend.
foxymcflythe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0