The Island of Dr Moreau

 The Island of Dr Moreau

    The book I would like to propose today I read recently. It made a really good impression on me and I wasn't bored even for a while during the reading, what is more, I think it's a really great novel, but what surprised me enough was the fact that practically none of my friends have heard of it. It's a science fiction novel and I must admit that it's not one of my favorites, that's why I'm taking such titles with a certain amount of caution... BUT! This is the work of an iconic author of the genre. You may consider this an unprofessional approach, but in my opinion, in the world of literature (with exceptions, of course, as in any field), nothing gets publicity without reason.. It's Hubert George Wells and his "The Island of Dr Moreau".

    First published in 1896 (yes, again in the 19th century, again in England), "The Island of Dr. Moreau" is a work with a serious, very dense climate of horror, so the reader with a sensitive imagination is exposed to the frequent experience of goose bumps. The main topic Wells tries to address in this novel is human nature in its broadest sense, but there are also considerations of evolution (no wonder, the author was after all an educated biologist), and a rightly forgotten field of science called eugenics. This work is not one of the shortest, so I recommend that you reserve some free time for it.

    The story begins with a shipwreck on the ocean, and the only survivor is Edward Prendick. Luckily saved by a ship passing by, he is cured by one of the passengers, a doctor named Montgomery, accompanied by a man with a grotesque body structure that is sometimes animal-like. The doctor explains to Edward that they are sailing to an island that does not even have its own name yet, and the animals that are part of the ship's cargo are also sailing there. When the ship arrives near the island, both the ship's captain and Dr. Montgomery refuse to take Prendick with them. Seeing that the ship's crew wants to abandon Prendick on the lifeboat from which they rescued him, Dr. Montgomery decides to take him to the island and there he introduces him to Dr. Moreau, who is doing research on the island. Prendick is placed in the outer part of the building nad is very interested to see the research that Dr. Moreau is carrying out on the island, especially in the inner part of the building that remains permanently closed. Prendick recalls that he had already heard of Dr. Moreau, an excellent physiologist from London, whose drastic vivisection experiments were revealed by one of the journalists. One day, because of the horrifying screams coming from the lab, Edward decides to take a walk on the island.  During this walk, he notices a group of people on the glade, resembling... Pigs. When he decides to return, he realizes he's being followed. He panics and starts running away. In the act of defense, he manages to stun the attacker, a monstrous hybrid of man and animal...

    This time the main reason why I recommend this novel so strongly is very shallow. It's just a very interesting and gripping book, evoking really strong emotions (including fear) in the reader. If, on the other hand, I were to mention its "educational" qualities, I would decide to describe it as a novel that points out how deep the original, primal instincts are still rooted and how tragic the irresponsible conduct of scientific research can be.

    Thank you for the attention. Best regards. 

    

Komentarze

Prześlij komentarz

Popularne posty z tego bloga

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

  Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde      Today we are going to deal with a very short book because (depending on the edition) it has just over 100 pages, but just because it is short doesn't mean it's worse. On the contrary! This novel is a perfect example that quality is not equal to quantity. The theme of today's entry is a holding in suspense, another absolute classic - Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.      Written by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson and published for the first time in 1886, the novel very quickly achieved great commercial success and became one of its bestsellers. It is characterized by a balanced, but tense story to the very end. The style of writing itself is rather plain, it is one of those books that can be read as a rest from some fancy, experimental literature, from which your head hurts after a long reading. This is light and pleasant lecture, and if we take into account its quality, we get something that...
Czytaj więcej

The Picture of Dorian Gray

  The Picture of Dorian Gray    I would like to dedicate my first official theme entry to a novel that is absolutely unique, not only because of how wonderful this piece of art is, but also because of how much impression it made on me when I first read it as a teenager, so this post will be quite personal. Today, we will discuss a book which, on the one hand, is an expression of an aesthetic approach to the art of the author himself, art not bound by the need to be useful, but also being a smuggled in a sophisticated way, a kind of autobiography. Ladies and gentlemen - "The Picture of Dorian Gray".    Released on June 20, 1890, it is the first and only novel by the Irish author, Oscar Wilde. At the beginning it appeared in "Lippincott's Monthly Magazine" as the main publication in this edition, immediately provoking a wave of huge criticism and outrage, but in my opinion it is very good. Great works often arouse controversy. The mannered society o...
Czytaj więcej

Candide

  Candide   I had a dilemma about what to write in today's post, given that the previous one was dedicated to "The Picture of Dorian Gray", I thought maybe I should choose something less "obvious".  However, while making my choice, I realized that when trying to get into a discussion with someone about today's book, hardly anyone confirms that they have read it and some have not even heard of it! It's a great pity, because it's a really great, funny and valuable novel, apart from the fact that it's an absolute classic of literature (it's also quite short).  Today's topic is "Candide".     Candide is an philosophical novel, written in the Age of Enlightment by the French philosopher Voltaire, for the first time in 1759. The work is a parody of romantic and adventure novels of its era, it is saturated with irony and often sarcasm, and is a criticism of society aimed very often at the most influential of it's parts, like monarc...
Czytaj więcej