The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells

A classic of science fiction and a dark meditation on Darwinian thought in the late Victorian period, The Island of Doctor Moreau explores the possibility of civilization as a constraint imposed on savage human nature. The protagonist, Edward Prendick, finds himself stranded on an island with the notorious Doctor Moreau, whose experiments on the island’s humans and animals result in unspeakable horrors. The critical introduction to this Broadview Edition gives particular emphasis to Wells’s hostility towards religion as well as his thorough knowledge of the Darwinian thought of his time. Appendices provide passages from Darwin and Huxley related to Wells’s early writing; in addition, excerpts from other writers illustrate late-nineteenth-century anxieties about social degeneration.

Under the guise of man-beasts there's a story of order and chaos and of what makes us human. About the animalistic nature and rising above it. I saw Moreau as a god, similar to the one from old testament. He's a creator but also a vengeful spirit who is not afraid to cause pain and suffering. And without him chaos ensues. I'm not a believer but I do believe that society as a whole needs to have something (spiritual) above it in order to function well.

It's a great theme and I guess for its time the novel explored it well enough to become a classic but in today's age it doesn't hold a candle to more modern variations on this theme. I find myself liking the old writing style more and more lately but even that did not make me feel fond of this book above what I expected.

HG Wells is rightly considered to be the grandfather of science fiction. The Island of Doctor Moreau is on of his most well known pieces. Despite its age, this displays some interesting concepts that can still have some resonance today - the questioning on the difference between beast and man and taking a science fiction/horror approach to asking it. The writing is archaic at times (the edition I had had useful notes on some terms which may have dropped out of the common vernacular) but it still grips in a nice way. The relative brevity of the novel gives it an intense focus.

Ultimately my rating here is largely based on the importance of this novel. Here the forgotten land story (which was popular in that era) was taken into a more rationalised and science based direction. The creation of monsters by man in an attempt at being god is a failing that repeats to this day - hubris remains a common failing in humanity. The horror that is generated by these creatures is also very modern in its sensibilities - possibly even more so than when it was written.

HG Wells is such a key figure in the science fiction and this is one of his most important works. A must read for anyone interested in the history of the genre and it still reads in an entertaining fashion to this day.