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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
H.G. Wells’ "The Island of Dr. Moreau" follows Edward Prendick, the sole survivor of a shipwreck, who is rescued and brought to a mysterious island in the South Pacific. There, he discovers the dark experiments of Dr. Moreau, a disgraced scientist who creates grotesque human-animal hybrids through vivisection.
The premise is intriguing—a secluded island concealing disturbing experiments that blur the lines between humans and animals. The themes of scientific ethics, cruelty, and the misuse of power are compelling and thought-provoking, especially for the time it was written. However, I found the story lacking in depth. The plot does not go far beyond the initial setup, and much of the action feels predictable.
Prendick’s character is frustratingly passive. Although Moreau’s actions unsettle him, his reactions feel strangely subdued for someone witnessing such horrors. His lack of outrage or urgency diminishes the tension and makes it harder to empathize with him. As a reader, I found the detailed descriptions of the pain and suffering inflicted on the creatures challenging to stomach.
Additionally, the writing felt flat. The dialogue was simplistic, and the pacing was uneven, making it hard to stay immersed in the story. For a classic, I expected a stronger narrative and more vivid prose.
The premise is intriguing—a secluded island concealing disturbing experiments that blur the lines between humans and animals. The themes of scientific ethics, cruelty, and the misuse of power are compelling and thought-provoking, especially for the time it was written. However, I found the story lacking in depth. The plot does not go far beyond the initial setup, and much of the action feels predictable.
Prendick’s character is frustratingly passive. Although Moreau’s actions unsettle him, his reactions feel strangely subdued for someone witnessing such horrors. His lack of outrage or urgency diminishes the tension and makes it harder to empathize with him. As a reader, I found the detailed descriptions of the pain and suffering inflicted on the creatures challenging to stomach.
Additionally, the writing felt flat. The dialogue was simplistic, and the pacing was uneven, making it hard to stay immersed in the story. For a classic, I expected a stronger narrative and more vivid prose.
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
#scificlassic
My adult kid, 27, was home for a couple of weeks. He decided he wanted to watch the Island of Lost Souls (1932). We watched it. 🤦 Oy, the movie this kid picks! After watching it I decided to listen to The Island of Dr Moreau. I use Librovox to find my public domain book's audios. So far it has been good. But what I'd didn't realize about this version is that each chapter was read by a different narrator. It is very distracting. I will not do that again! Especially since I didn't like half of the narrators. The biggest issue is that you need to get used to a new storyteller. It pulls you back out of the story each time they change.
Now about the story... I have decided that War of the Worlds is going to be the only HGW book that I like. I'm done trying his works. I can normally deal with odd. But nope. I'm just done. If I was reading the words on a page, I would have dnf'd it. And it probably didn't help matters in this case bc I didn't like the movie before it. But it is such a popular classic. Nope. Not my thing.
Now about the difference between the book and the movie. The 3rd + 4th slides show the movie info. The movie appears to have taken place over a matter of days. Maybe a couple of weeks. The book takes place over a year. In the movie, they have a "panther woman" make passes at the MMC. In the book, they are always talking about how the "puma" is watching from behind the trees or something from a distance most of the time. There are woman "beasts" in the book but not that are trying to be with him.
Nope. I'm done Mr Wells. I gave you the old college try and you failed me.
My adult kid, 27, was home for a couple of weeks. He decided he wanted to watch the Island of Lost Souls (1932). We watched it. 🤦 Oy, the movie this kid picks! After watching it I decided to listen to The Island of Dr Moreau. I use Librovox to find my public domain book's audios. So far it has been good. But what I'd didn't realize about this version is that each chapter was read by a different narrator. It is very distracting. I will not do that again! Especially since I didn't like half of the narrators. The biggest issue is that you need to get used to a new storyteller. It pulls you back out of the story each time they change.
Now about the story... I have decided that War of the Worlds is going to be the only HGW book that I like. I'm done trying his works. I can normally deal with odd. But nope. I'm just done. If I was reading the words on a page, I would have dnf'd it. And it probably didn't help matters in this case bc I didn't like the movie before it. But it is such a popular classic. Nope. Not my thing.
Now about the difference between the book and the movie. The 3rd + 4th slides show the movie info. The movie appears to have taken place over a matter of days. Maybe a couple of weeks. The book takes place over a year. In the movie, they have a "panther woman" make passes at the MMC. In the book, they are always talking about how the "puma" is watching from behind the trees or something from a distance most of the time. There are woman "beasts" in the book but not that are trying to be with him.
Nope. I'm done Mr Wells. I gave you the old college try and you failed me.
Increíble historia!
Desde la premisa que nos plantea el autor hasta su desarrollo y desenlace, este libro me gustó mucho y me alegra decir que es otro libro de H. G. Wells que también disfruté.
Desde la premisa que nos plantea el autor hasta su desarrollo y desenlace, este libro me gustó mucho y me alegra decir que es otro libro de H. G. Wells que también disfruté.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is the second book that I read as a part of my project of pairing Edwin Frank’s Stranger Than Fiction with the 20th century works that he writes about in his book.
On the whole, I don’t have much to say about this book, it was largely void of impact. Reminiscent of the short story The Most Dangerous Game, this book had the same exciting yet problematized nature of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and I’m not completely sure of Frank’s thesis that this book had an impact that Frankenstein did not have decades prior. If anything, Frank’s essay on this book and Wells more broadly has me more interested in the author’s social fiction, which makes him sound like a sort of early 20th century Dickensian writer.
On the whole, I don’t have much to say about this book, it was largely void of impact. Reminiscent of the short story The Most Dangerous Game, this book had the same exciting yet problematized nature of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and I’m not completely sure of Frank’s thesis that this book had an impact that Frankenstein did not have decades prior. If anything, Frank’s essay on this book and Wells more broadly has me more interested in the author’s social fiction, which makes him sound like a sort of early 20th century Dickensian writer.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this was honestly so much better than I was expecting. THIS SHIT WAS CRAZY
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
There was nothing wrong with it and I was interested while I was reading it, just didn’t really leave an impact on me.