Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Island of Dr. Moreau

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells

45 reviews

saturn_rage's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I like the ideas swirling around this book much more than the book itself. Not a fan of the racism interlaced through all of it, or the gendered dynamics present (there are no women but Moreau is building one, love that it ends him). In this end, this is a classic, I get why it’s a classic, but onwards we move. I’ve never before seen any of the film adaptations, nor did I know many of the plot points. Anyhow, make a Muppets version of this, but invert the rule and have Pendrick, Montgomery, and Moreau be the only humans.

Content Warnings

lorraine19's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I wasn't overly thrilled with this story - it wasn't awful, but kinda boring to me.

If you're not a fan of HG Wells then you may be turned off by the writing style because this is definitely in his usual, somewhat dry, style. It also covers a dark aspect of humanity, like most of his work, so don't expect a happy read. As someone who has read some Wells stories before, I found War of the Worlds (which I recommend to anyone reading Wells for the first time) much more entertaining. It just kinda felt like this one was trying too hard to be deep but didn't really go anywhere or state anything that hasn't been said a hundred times before.

That being said, this may be more appealing to those with a strong interest in biology or philosophy that examines what it means to be human vs animal.

Content Warnings

darumachan's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Unsettling meditation on the relationships between humanity, nature, and science

Content Warnings

gasoline_allie's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Better and MUCH creepier than I expected. There are so many trigger warnings that apply and are worth looking into before reading, but I'm glad I went in mostly blind. The concept of exploration and experimentation without ethics remains relevant, as does the question of what it means to be human and how we relate to the natural world. I thought the different ways Prendick and Montgomery interacted with Moreau's creations and Moreau himself was subtly done and interesting.

Content Warnings

trin's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Not Wells' best, and yet indubitably a classic. ("The house of pain!") Moreau's original methods of creation manage to be far creepier than anything later films have come up with -- cloning? Yawn. Unfortunately, there also manages to be a lot of casual racism/antisemitism, including several lines that had me saying "yikes!" and making the grimace emoji 😬 irl. It's not entirely clear how much of this is actually Wells and how much his -- clearly and intentionally -- flawed narrator, but it still takes the modern reader aback. Nevertheless, this remains a swift and effective piece of horror.

Content Warnings