The Island of Dr. Moreau (edit title)

• Rated 4 stars

“I was, I think, in primary school when I've read this book, and it captured me because of its science fiction appeal. A very good book that should be accessible to the intellect and imagination of all ages.

H.G. Wells in "The Island of Dr. Moreau" dwells in the questions of morality of science. He does not address these questions directly, but through various descriptions about the unpredictable future of science. ”

• Rated 5 stars

“I knew the high level concept of this book from allusions in other stories and movies, but I'd never read the original novel. It was a bit different from what I expected.

The writing style is very accessible and fluid while also being jam-packed with very vivid and detailed descriptions as well as some in-depth scientific and moralistic discussions. The first few pages were a little slow, but the rest of the book, except for a paragraph here and there, flew by and kept me very hooked.

The story is presented as a written report from the point of view of a narrator who finds himself stranded on the island for a time after some disasters at sea. The narrator has some scientific background which lends to very analytical and in-depth commentary.

Without adding any real spoilers, the summary is this: Doctor Moreau, after being chased out of London for his practices, is living on an island in the pacific conducting outrageous experiments. Our narrator, Pendrick, finds the island populated with creatures that are neither completely human nor completely bestial...they are aberrations....creatures partially human and partially beasts....the face of a man with almost snout-like nose and lips, pointed hairy ears, elongated torso and shorter than normal legs, etc., etc., etc. The horrors and grotesque nature of the experiments are explored in depth and naturally progress to some rather disturbing conclusions.

I rather enjoyed the story and found myself immersed in the plot and the concepts. My only real complaint by the end of the book was that it all ended too quickly. I would have loved another 50 or 100 pages. Still, it is a tightly woven tale with a lot of meet in it to leave you thinking.

Wells presents a thoughtful narrative addressing some of the social concerns of his day through this science-fiction story. At that point in history (late 1800s), this was all seen as fiction but based on the fears people had of experiments in the medical community. It's even more potent now, since some 30-50 years after the book, the Nazis engaged in similar "scientific" experimentation during the Holocaust (not with the same results, but with a similar type of horror upon society).

I really liked the way the book finished up. In the last few pages, we find our narrator trying to sort through everything he's witnessed and come to terms with it. I really enjoyed the way Wells shows him trying to recognize "humanity" in people and distinguish between the "human" and the "animal."

A great read.

*****
4.5 stars (out of 5)”

• Rated 0 stars

“This is such a hilarious book! Sorry, it's hard for me to take it seriously (in terms of being scary, not to mention prescient) like other Wells, but it's too entertaining. The only thing the rather crappy Brando/Kilmer film captured was this bizarre-comedy side of the book, which I can't help but think was completely unintended on Wells's part, even though at the same time I think he was aiming for horror. It's short, -- read it in an afternoon. ”

• Rated 4 stars

“I really liked it,but it got a little long and slow in some parts. I had to reread some parts to understand it. It was full of suspense and was a really good book.”

• Rated 3 stars

“I had never read this, or known much about it. It's ok - not really a "must read".”

• Rated 4 stars

“I looked at this book from different standpoints. Thier was once a theory that in order for the Negro to excel and exist the negro must adabpt the mannerism and ways of white american. That is an example of narcicism. Dr. Moreau forced his opinions into actions by trying and sometimes succeeding in creating his own race of people, thus making him equal to god. He also alienated himself on the Island, over the last few years physchologist have began to diagnose alienation as a mental disorder with unknown origins. The irony that Penderick is faced with is a great twist. Overall this is a cool book caused everyone has a different way of thinking and that offers many perspectives of the book which creates great conversations.”

• Rated 5 stars

“I visited this super weird classic and it was fun. A bit painful at times, but short and interesting. I'd really like to see how the hell it was made into a movie. A lot of potential to be really bad. ”

• Rated 2 stars

“Great as an early science fiction book.

(Late in the book Wells seems to try to mock Christianity with his parallels. but in the end he showed the value of religion so that's kind of a funny way of mocking. Maybe he wasn't?)”