Full disclosure: I never had any interest in reading The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells until I saw that an upcoming offering by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Mexican Gothic, Velvet Was the Night) was a reimagining of the classic tale. Add to this that Wells' story is incredibly short (less than 150 pages), and I figured it was as good a time as any to pick up the fairly well-known story.
The Situation: On January 5, 1888, Edward Prendick was found in a small open boat out at sea. Having been missing for nearly a year, he was assumed to have drowned after the boat he was on, the Lady Vain, was lost after a collision. Though he claimed that his mind was blank as to what happened during the time he was missing, his nephew and heir would find a long narrative where Edward details his time on a strange island, accounting for the months he was gone. The narrative tells of the strange and enigmatic Dr. Moreau, who inhabits the island with his assistant Montgomery. As soon as Edward arrives (and even before, when he is still on the boat that rescued him), he knows there is something odd about the other 'men' assisting Montgomery, and he knows he has heard Moreau's name from somewhere.
The Problem: It does not take long for Edward to realize what it is that unsettles him about Dr. Moreau, and the island itself. It seems the doctor made the decision to escape civilized life and society in order to conduct his experiments. Edward is horrified to realize where he is, and the sounds that come from Moreau's laboratory do not help ease his fears and anguish. Even after Dr. Moreau's clarifies a few things, Edward can only hate his time on the island. The animals that have been experimented on and turned into psuedo human versions of themselves - while others have had other animal qualities added - are sources of revulsion to Edward. Even Dr. Moreau admits to the dangers of living and cultivating such a place, though he cannot see the oncoming tragedy through his own aspirations.
Genre, Themes, History: Originally published in 1896, today The Island of Doctor Moreau is largely considered a science fiction classic. The introduction establishes that the story that follows is a narrative written by Edward Prendick, explaining the nearly year-long amount of time he was missing at sea. From February 1, 1887 to January 5, 1888, Edward was unaccounted for, and according to him, he spent his time with Dr. Moreau, Montgomery, and the assortment of strange beasts that the doctor had experimented on via vivisection. Told entirely from Edward's point of view, the story takes a look at what it means to be human, and what it is that separates us from animals.
My Verdict: With the kind of horror stories, movies, and TV shows that we have access to today, many will consider this one to be fairly tame. Even so, it is easy to see why readers were initially horrified upon its original publication in the late 1800s. First, there is the idea of vivisection: Dr. Moreau insists on performing his experiments on still living animals. Then there is the unsettling fact that he is attempting to turn animals away from their beastly nature by making them more human, but the results are by turns both creepy and terrifying. While the bloodier scenes are not described in too much detail, and the vivisections remain behind closed doors, the actions of Dr. Moreau may still be too much for some readers. Again, this book is short, but proceed with caution.
Favorite Moment: *MAJOR SPOILER ALERT* When Dr. Moreau is killed by one of his own experiments...because of course he would be.
Favorite Character: This is a tough choice because even Edward can be tiresome, but he is the reader's only narrator (though an incredibly unreliable one), and seems to be the one of the three humans on the island that best understands the horrors of what is happening.
Recommended Reading: With books like these, I always recommend Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. And I will also recommend another one of Moreno-Garcia's books, Mexican Gothic.
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