Thursday, February 18, 2010

Review: The Island of Dr. Moreau

Written by H.G. Wells
Stone and Kimball, 1896; 249 pages
Available online at Google Books

H.G. Wells once again shows us it's dangerous to mess with Mother Nature.

Edward Prendick ("a private gentleman"), after being abandoned at sea by a madman of a ship's captain, finds himself rescued by the inhabitants of a mysterious island in the South Pacific. There he meets and is sheltered by the infamous Dr. Moreau. The mad doctor, who has been exiled from England because of his experiments in vivisection, is on a mission to create a new, superior race of beings. At first grateful for being rescued, Prendick gradually learns the true horror and dangerous consequences of Moreau's shadowy, gruesome biological research, and what it means for the grotesque inhabitants of Moreau's hellish island hideaway.

Wells' classic sci-fi adventure tale was apparently something of a sensation when it first appeared at the end of the 19th Century, and is heavy with themes and worries of its day – eugenics, vivisection, Darwin's writings, psychiatry. And its concentration on what, today, we would call "bioengineering" adds a very contemporary feeling to the novel, more than a hundred years after it was written. Moreau's warning that "The study of Nature makes a man at last as remorseless as Nature" is a problem scientists will probably always face.

I don't really know why it's taken me so long to read this one, since H.G. Wells is one of my favorite writers. Although I didn't love it as much as War of the Worlds or The Time Machine, it was still great fun – lots of excitement and surprises. And as always with Wells' work, it was beautifully written and accessible – just what you'd expect from one of England's greatest story-tellers.

5 comments:

  1. I've only read The Time Machine, but I loved it and really need to read more Wells. I'll have to keep this one in mind.

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  2. Hey there,

    I stumbled across your blog and I saw that you're a dedicated follower of literature, so I wanted to drop you a line and let you know that I'm currently setting off an a journey you may be interested in. My goal is to read all of the Pulitzer winning novels in one year and write a memoir about my experiences. I would love it if you checked it out and gave me some feedback as I journey along!

    You can follow me at www.thepulitzerblog.blogspot.com

    Cheers,
    Drew

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  3. I love H.G. Wells, but I especially loved the movie adaption of this book. There is something about Marlon Brando...

    great review on a classic!

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  4. I want to read this. Now you reminded me why.

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  5. This has been on my list for a while because, like, you I'm a big H. G. Wells fan. Thanks for the review!

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