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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
This is a spooky enough book for the end of the 1800s… but considering the horrors of body modification stories have offered since… this didn’t move me much. I get that it’s a larger metaphor for the beastly nature of man, but it didn’t grip me in the way I’d hoped.
Classic. Epic. Prophetic.
I imagine the world when this was written was not so very different from the modern one in which we live today. Wells very aptly caught a glimpse of the animal potential within all of us and captured it poignantly on the pages of this book. It's intriguing and scary and delightful and awful - all at once. Read it with an eye for fiction and and a creatively thought up story, and you won't be disappointed. Read it again with an eye for the culture of the people around you, and again you won't be disappointed. Read it a third time with an eye for the image of God, carefully crafted into each one of us by a loving God, with an eye for the way in which our choices to sin have marred that lovely image, and with an eye for the uniqueness of that image (such that not even one like Dr. Moreau could reproduce), and - again - you won't be disappointed. Recommended.
I imagine the world when this was written was not so very different from the modern one in which we live today. Wells very aptly caught a glimpse of the animal potential within all of us and captured it poignantly on the pages of this book. It's intriguing and scary and delightful and awful - all at once. Read it with an eye for fiction and and a creatively thought up story, and you won't be disappointed. Read it again with an eye for the culture of the people around you, and again you won't be disappointed. Read it a third time with an eye for the image of God, carefully crafted into each one of us by a loving God, with an eye for the way in which our choices to sin have marred that lovely image, and with an eye for the uniqueness of that image (such that not even one like Dr. Moreau could reproduce), and - again - you won't be disappointed. Recommended.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Blood, Alcohol
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
Contains outdated words that have different meanings now.
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Read this in anticipation of the new Silvia Moreno-García book coming out soon, The Daughter of Dr. Moreau. I usually try not to judge a book written in 1896 by 2022 standards, but this was so blatantly racist and cruel towards animals it was hard to get through. The so-called “merits” of the novel, like “what is humanity,” are buried in the overt horrors of being on an island with a madman and his cohort of “beasts.”
Finally finished — skimmed for Animals in Modern American Fiction (somewhat poorly named) course a couple years ago. Clear why it’s a sci-fi classic, and still relevant today. Certainly disturbing in many ways, and possibly more-so as a 21st century reader. Curious to read more by him, especially The Invisible Man.
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
While writing a novel of my own, I thought it be wise to read a book some what related to my own. I was reffered to this book by a family member, promising a good read, and I was not disapointed.
H.G. Wells is one of my favorite authors, and he has done it again with this perfect example of science and man. He reaches in to the ID and explores the human mind so vividly, I am pleased to say that this book has a reserved spot on my book-shelf.
H.G. Wells is one of my favorite authors, and he has done it again with this perfect example of science and man. He reaches in to the ID and explores the human mind so vividly, I am pleased to say that this book has a reserved spot on my book-shelf.
If you can put aside the extremely problematic aspects of this book (it's a 'product of its time' as the kids say), it's quite an interesting read. I don't think I've ever read another classic that takes a stance on animal rights and addresses current (at the time of publishing) animal rights topics. There are some moments where I thought, "Okay Michael Crichton, I see where you got the idea for Jurassic Park." I'm definitely not the first person to see the parallel there, and I won't be the last. There was also a lot of social commentary about humans and our beastly nature. Like I said, it was interesting.