GIFTED / Today I want to talk about a book I read back in August. I loved this author’s novel Mexican Gothic so I was excited to be invited to read and review The Daughter of Doctor Moreau.
This book was published on July 19th 2022 by Del Rey and it has 306 pages.
I want to thank the team from Penguin Random House Global for sending me an e-galley of this novel (in an exchange for an honest review).
About the book:
FROM GOODREADS /
A lavish historical drama reimagining of The Island of Doctor Moreau set against the backdrop of nineteenth-century Mexico.
Carlota Moreau: a young woman, growing up in a distant and luxuriant estate, safe from the conflict and strife of the Yucatán peninsula. The only daughter of either a genius, or a madman.
Montgomery Laughton: a melancholic overseer with a tragic past and a propensity for alcohol. An outcast who assists Dr. Moreau with his scientific experiments, which are financed by the Lizaldes, owners of magnificent haciendas and plentiful coffers.
The hybrids: the fruits of the Doctor’s labor, destined to blindly obey their creator and remain in the shadows. A motley group of part human, part animal monstrosities.
All of them living in a perfectly balanced and static world, which is jolted by the abrupt arrival of Eduardo Lizalde, the charming and careless son of Doctor Moreau’s patron, who will unwittingly begin a dangerous chain reaction.
For Moreau keeps secrets, Carlota has questions, and in the sweltering heat of the jungle, passions may ignite.
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is both a dazzling historical novel and a daring science fiction journey.
Review:
Right after I finished The Daughter of Doctor Moreau my thoughts were a mess and I honestly didn’t know how I felt about the story in whole.
I knew I liked Mexican Gothic better than this one, but also those two stories are totally different that it would be unfair to compare them.
Once again, Silvia Moreno-Garcia managed to give the atmosphere a role itself, and the place of the story was unique, well described and easy to imagine.
This historical retelling was told in third person following two perspectives: Carlota’s, who is the daughter of the doctor, and Laughton’s who is an employee.
Getting into Laughton’s head was more interesting to me, especially because of his battle with his own demons that made him take the job in this peculiar place.
The only thing that didn’t make much sense to me was the motivation to keep up with the project.
At first it was to have free labour from creatures who wouldn’t have human rights (now when the slavery was illegal), but when experiment after experiment failed, one had to wonder why waste all that money on laboratories when it can be used to decently pay people for their work instead?
Overall, this was a good book with some action packed scenes and historical references.
I enjoyed it and would recommend it.
Book Dust Magic 