Book Review: "The Daughter of Doctor Moreau" by Silvia Moreno Garcia

I put off reading this book for a long while. I love the book it is based on; in fact my favourite HG Wells novel is The Island of Dr Moreau. The movie was rubbish but hey, so what. Silvia Moreno Garcia is probably best known for writing the fantastic Mexican Gothic and happens to be one of the most trusted voices in Latin-American Gothic Fiction at the moment. I have no reason not to trust her critique-in-fiction form of The Island of Dr Moreau. So, with nothing else to lose - I took a deep breath and disappeared into what was about to be an adventurous novel based on an absolute classic.

The book is about Carlota Moreau, the sheltered daughter of a scientist who conducts secretive experiments on a remote estate. Her father, Dr. Moreau, is supported by Montgomery, a troubled overseer, and creates human-animal hybrids known as "the hybrids" for his wealthy patron, Hernando Lizalde. Immediately, I could recognise the great characters from the classic HG Wells novel such as Dr Moreau himself and Montgomery. Montgomery is such a great character and Moreno-Garcia writes him into the story so well.

Carlota grows up believing in her father’s benevolence and scientific brilliance, living in isolation among the hybrids she considers family. She is deeply religious, curious, and devoted to maintaining the delicate balance of the estate. Now, this is well and good but then there was a side-story which involved a character-ex-machina in which Carlota learns about the more moralistic side of her father's science. I mean I was fine with it, but it kind of deterred from the story just a little bit and didn't offer too much in the way of horror.

Then the tensions escalate when the hybrids’ suffering becomes unbearable and the Lizaldes seek to assert greater control over the estate. Carlota, caught between loyalty to her father and growing empathy for the hybrids, faces betrayal, coercion, and violence. I think that this part of the story though it was important, it wasn't the best possible moral argument the author could have gone for. This is really where the nature of the 'horror' and the 'gothic' begin to become more romanticised and less sci-fi. I was really expecting more. It was good, but not great. I think that the growing empathy for the hybrids was an interesting sidetrack that was borrowed from the original story, but apart from that - some parts of this really fell flat for me.

There is a good attempt at blending science fiction with historical fiction. There's also a clear will to place the text in a historical time as we have the very real landscape of the the Caste War of Yucatán in the midst. I was actually quite interested to learn more about this time and place and it seems that the backdrop was just about perfect for the kind of story the author was looking to tell. However, I fear that so many genres and so much going on may have given way to parts of the story feeling a little rushed and a little less atmospheric than we could have experienced. First there's the historical and cultural context, then there's fictionalised parts of that context, then there's the science fiction of the book, the love triangle, the empathy for the hybrids and all of the rest in which the narrative, which doesn't stand at that long mind you - starts to become a little bit overwhelmed with itself.

The writing style starts off quite personal, quite intense and quite atmospheric. You can really feel the place in which Carlota lives. However, as the book moves on, I feel like that essence gets lost underneath the many things that are happening. If I had one piece of advice for the author it is that sometimes, the reader doesn't need things happening all the time, we can have chapters where the character just sits with themselves. I mean we got some of that with Montgomery but I feel like I was left wanting more with Carlota. Her narrative, especially in the first half of the book - is enchanting even when nothing particular is happening around her and we are still learning about how her father made her read science books as a child or something.

All in all, this is a book that doesn't quite live up to Mexican Gothic but sure is a good attempt at writing a book inspired by a classic science fiction novel (and not to mention, one of my personal favourites). It is very atmospheric and enriching for some parts so, in my opinion I would give this one a read and see what you think - especially if you love The Island of Dr Moreau.