hankspecter's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
efrancis's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
bookish_katelyn's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
This book was really interesting and raises a lot of questions that I don’t know if I want answered. I had to read it for a class, but I actually enjoyed it a lot.
kurtwombat's review against another edition
5.0
Some short novels are really just extended short stories and could have been wrapped up in half the pages. THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU could easily have been much longer. It is a tight little novel—every moment is devoted to tipping the scales, finding where we are on the line of humanity. At the very start our main character is dehumanized by being lost at sea…long enough to have abandoned reason. When found, he is nursed back to health by someone who is constantly losing his reason to alcohol. Even Dr. Moreau is never as savage as when imparting science to his creations. The narrator Prendick says toward the end of the novel, “An animal may be ferocious and cunning enough, but it takes a real man to tell a lie.” This includes of course lying to oneself—Moreau has made this into an art form. The Man-Beasts that Moreau creates are not static either—there is a constant tug and pull between animal and man. They are created during an act of brutality and it is largely the fear of it’s return that keeps them human. Once that fear is gone, they revert to a form of their animal selves. Not a favorable critique of humanity. There is a point where Prendick (what can that name possibly mean?) drifts into a stasis with the Man-Beasts—for some weeks there is relative peace on the island. But any form of man will eventually fail to keep the peace. Much is written about H G Wells seeing the future—here forecasting genetic engineering. But really he was just a keen observer of his own times—extrapolating off the world around him. He saw the great acceleration of change at the end of the 19th century and realized it would not slow down. In the midst of a world becoming more mechanical, Wells writes here to ponder just what it is to be human. He discovers just how intangible that can be and how quickly it can elude us.
alexandra296's review against another edition
Liked the way it was told even though the implications of the themes are kinda yikes and racist. Pretty enjoyable to read if you can acknowledge that the ideas its based around are mostly very dated.
garrodot's review against another edition
4.0
There are a lot of interesting ideas set up here that go wholly unexplored. The fragile peace being upset by the careless actions of the newcomer is a perfect plot that happens too quickly and almost in the background.
chriswaldron15's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Animal death and Suicide
beelzebean's review against another edition
4.0
This book invokes many questions on morality, the ethics of scientific progress, and the behavior of overall humankind - What does it mean to be human?
I felt as though the character Moreau could resemble man's desire for power and supremacy, and that the creatures may represent the vulnerable and oppressed members of society.
The scientist also appeared to lack empathy and at some points it seemed he even might enjoy the pain he caused to those poor animals:
"To this day I have never troubled about the ethics of the matter. The study of Nature makes a man at last as remorseless as Nature."
I found this book to be grotesque (as expected), unnerving, and incredibly twisted. It was very well written and I'm glad to have finally read it, as it felt much different from all the other H. G. Wells I had encountered.
Oh, and did anyone else keep thinking of the Mutant episode of The Mighty Boosh while reading or... was it just me?
I felt as though the character Moreau could resemble man's desire for power and supremacy, and that the creatures may represent the vulnerable and oppressed members of society.
The scientist also appeared to lack empathy and at some points it seemed he even might enjoy the pain he caused to those poor animals:
"To this day I have never troubled about the ethics of the matter. The study of Nature makes a man at last as remorseless as Nature."
I found this book to be grotesque (as expected), unnerving, and incredibly twisted. It was very well written and I'm glad to have finally read it, as it felt much different from all the other H. G. Wells I had encountered.
Oh, and did anyone else keep thinking of the Mutant episode of The Mighty Boosh while reading or... was it just me?
thisameliagirl's review against another edition
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? Yes
2.5
zoe_schlosser's review
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5