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The Island of Dr. Moreau

(Bantam Classics)

By H.G. Wells

(72)

| Paperback | 9780553214321

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Book Description

Ranked among the classic novels of the English language and the inspiration for several unforgettable movies, this early work of H. G. Wells was greeted in 1896 by howls of protest from reviewers, who found it horrifying and blasphemous. They wanted to know more about the wondrous possibilities of sContinue

Ranked among the classic novels of the English language and the inspiration for several unforgettable movies, this early work of H. G. Wells was greeted in 1896 by howls of protest from reviewers, who found it horrifying and blasphemous. They wanted to know more about the wondrous possibilities of science shown in his first book, The Time Machine, not its potential for misuse and terror. In The Island of Dr. Moreau a shipwrecked gentleman named Edward Prendick, stranded on a Pacific island lorded over by the notorious Dr. Moreau, confronts dark secrets, strange creatures, and a reason to run for his life.

While this riveting tale was intended to be a commentary on evolution, divine creation, and the tension between human nature and culture, modern readers familiar with genetic engineering will marvel at Wells’s prediction of the ethical issues raised by producing “smarter” human beings or bringing back extinct species. These levels of interpretation add a richness to Prendick’s adventures on Dr. Moreau’s island of lost souls without distracting from what is still a rip-roaring good read.

5 Reviews

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  • 2 people find this helpful

    I liked the message behind the story.

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    Hanan said on Dec 25, 2011 | Add your feedback

  • 1 person find this helpful

    *** This comment contains spoilers! ***

    Da Shakespeare a Mary Shelley passando per Defoe. 'What the Master whishes to kill the Master kills'.

    Parabola darwiniana. Not to go on all-Fours. That is the Law.
    Satira religiosa. His is the Hand that wounds.

    Moral education is such an artificial modification and perversion of ins ... (continue)

    Da Shakespeare a Mary Shelley passando per Defoe. 'What the Master whishes to kill the Master kills'.

    Parabola darwiniana. Not to go on all-Fours. That is the Law.
    Satira religiosa. His is the Hand that wounds.

    Moral education is such an artificial modification and perversion of instinct; pugnacity is trained into corageous self-sacrifice, and suppressed sexuality into religious emotion. ...That is the Law o piuttosto è la società contemporanea?

    'You're the beast. He takes his liquor like a Christian (...)'.

    Is this helpful?

    Emanuele Olly said on Dec 26, 2008 | Add your feedback

  • Bill made me a gorgeous copy of this book, cursive script and beautiful green leaf patterned paper boards. I ended up reading the whole thing in one go last night.

    This was the last of wells' fantastical fiction that I'd not read. I have to say I really really enjoyed it. While the prose was not as ... (continue)

    Bill made me a gorgeous copy of this book, cursive script and beautiful green leaf patterned paper boards. I ended up reading the whole thing in one go last night.

    This was the last of wells' fantastical fiction that I'd not read. I have to say I really really enjoyed it. While the prose was not as beautiful as war of the worlds there was something very atmospheric and disturbing about the writing. I felt like I'd been transported to the island where the constant screams of tortured animals filled the air.

    While I found the idea of transforming animals into humans through surgery a bit silly it was still very gruesome. I really liked that this was a Victorian novel about the nature of humanity and what keeps us apart from the animals but didn't once mention an immortal soul or god. Here the humans were in many ways much worse than the animals and a much larger threat. I also loved how traumatized the author was by his experiences and the way it haunted him after he left the island, perhaps that ending was more disturbing than the rest of the book.

    For a book that was entirely devoid of women characters I still enjoyed and felt disturbed by it. Definitely one of the better fantasies.

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    Robot-mel said on Jan 6, 2011 about the Others edition | Add your feedback

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9780553214321 Paperback $4.95 $4.45 bn.com
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