Other Silvia Moreno-Garcia titles I’ve reviewed
Synopsis:
Carlota Moreau: A young woman growing up on a distant and luxuriant estate, safe from the conflict and strife of the Yucatán peninsula. The only daughter of a researcher who is 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 live in a perfectly balanced and static world, which is jolted by the abrupt arrival of Eduardo Lizalde, the charming and careless son of Dr. 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.
Edition:
E-ARC
Disclaimer:
I received a copy of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau via Netgalley in exchange for review. This does not impact the contents of my review.
My Thoughts:
If you read my review of Mexican Gothic, then you likely remember that I pledged to go out and get a copy of everything that Silvia Moreno-Garcia has written/will write. I’m honestly working on that. I already bought myself a physical copy of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, and somewhere in my horrific TBR pile lies a copy of Certain Dark Things – so I’m getting there.
Look, I love The Island of Doctor Moreau. I love the movie adaptation (I even enjoyed Marlon Brando’s completely unhinged depiction of the Doctor). And I love Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s re-imagining of it.
This book, like every other book I’ve read by Moreno-Garcia is so beautifully and richly textured. She’s an immensely talented writer, and nowhere is it more evident than in her ability to make a reader feel absolutely transported to whichever area and time period she chooses. She makes you believe in the characters, and in the world they live in. She’s got such a knack for being perfectly descriptive without going overboard. She gives just the right amount of details.
“Carlotta loved everything about Yaxaktun, but most of all she loved her father. He was like the sun in the sky, lighting her days. Yes, he could be stern and demanding at times. Nevertheless, she recalled all the evenings, many years before, when she had been small and he hadn’t yet developed a treatment for her…Lost in a haze of pain, there had been her father at her side, every night, promising he would make it better. And he had. He’d kept his promise.”
The thing I find most fascinating about The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is how deftly Moreno-Garcia changed this story into something so much more than it was. I mean, the original Doctor Moreau is wonderful, but it centers itself upon one man’s consuming need to be a god. The Daughter allows us to focus on something that I at least, find infinitely more interesting: a daughter’s need to free herself from the oppressive conditioning of a patriarchal society (albeit on a small scale for the purposes of the story, but, I’m sure on a grander one in the greater world as well).
Carlotta has always been her father’s blindly devoted, perfectly placid daughter. But that can’t last forever. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is the story of a complex, imperfect woman becoming something more than she was. There are really strong feminist themes woven throughout the story that are really lovely, and woven perfectly into the story.
Rating:
I feel like I rate all of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s books 5 stars, but I don’t care. She earns them. I LOVE her books.
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau By Silvia Moreno-Garcia Del Rey Published: July 19, 2022 ISBN: 9780593355336 Hardcover, E-book, Paperback 320 Pages Author's Website
