Hi all, I hope your summer is going great and you’re not sweltering too much. I have been away reffing a provincial junior tennis tournament for 11 hour days in a city 90 minutes north of here, so I was gone all of last week. It was really hot, but now it’s so nice to be home and relax with the dogs and spouse. The girls Stella and Willow have been swimming most days in the river here. They love it and are pros.
I also have some pretty exciting news that came about sort of suddenly, but I think I will share it next week when it’s fully confirmed. I don’t want to jump the gun and then have to retract it. You can try to guess what it might be, if you want or just stay tuned.
Meanwhile I’m excited that Tuesday is the pub date of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s new novel The Daughter of Doctor Moreau. I was able to snag an early review copy and quite enjoyed it.
It’s about Carlota, age 20, who lives with her beloved father, a doctor/scientist, on a farm in the outback of the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula in 1877. Carlota had been saved by her father Dr. Moreau when she was young of a serious malady and now he experiments on creating hybrid creatures that are part animal and part human.
So far though he has not perfected their full health or longevity. Still the hybrids live on their property and are Carlota’s best friends, especially since she’s grown up so isolated and without knowing her deceased mother. Yet Dr. Moreau’s benefactor is growing impatient waiting for better results from the doctor’s lab so he can use the hybrids as workers on his land.
It’s a mysterious plot that lured me from the start, especially with Dr. Moreau’s hiring of a 29-year-old British property caretaker named Montgomery, who seems quite taken by Carlota and drowns his past sorrows in alcohol. Fast-forward six years and life on the farm takes a turn when the benefactor’s son Eduardo falls for Carlota and the unpleased benefactor pulls the farm’s funding and plans to take what he thinks is his. The consequences set off a reckoning that will change everything.
I found the novel a fun summer read and a page-turner, which is based loosely on the H.G. Wells classic The Island of Doctor Moreau, published in 1896. There’s been a couple of movies made of it, notably the one I recall from 1977 had actor Michael York playing a shipwrecked survivor who comes upon a remote island where a mad scientist is carrying out sinister experiments on the island’s inhabitants. It was scary for me then and I think I only watched glimpses of it.
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau takes a different tack than the original, re-imaging the story all quite creatively and plausibly on the Yucatan peninsula in 19th-century Mexico. I liked the daughter Carlota’s perspective who seems to find out things about her father’s secrets, lies, and obsessive scientific creations along the way that ruptures her world. Montgomery, too, is an enticing character, who alternates chapters with Carlota and takes up the hybrids’ cause.
This is my first read of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s books and I was impressed by her writing and historical details of the times. I’d like to read more of her work. Have you read her novels: Mexican Gothic and Velvet Was the Night? This latest novel could be my pick of the summer. It has the allure of being a bit eerie, mysterious, and something you can’t turn away from till you find out what happens. Check it out, if it sounds like something for you.
Thanks to Sabrina at the publisher Del Rey for providing me with a copy to review for my thoughts.
Next up I listened to the audio of the actor Brian Cox’s 2021 memoir Putting the Rabbit in the Hat, which he narrates well and entertainingly. I normally don’t pick up actor or celebrity memoirs, but every once in a blue moon when something calls to me I’ll do it. For whatever reason, I’ve listened to actor Michael Caine’s 2018 memoir Blowing the Bloody Doors Off and now this one.
At age 75, Brian Cox wrote this looking back on his life and career. I didn’t really know much about him before this but found out he grew up in Dundee, Scotland, with his parents who had a grocery store and his four older siblings. His father died when he was 8 which changed his world, leaving the family dirt poor and his mother with mental problems. He began acting in local theater productions and trained as an actor in London before gaining fame on the London stage and working for the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he played King Lear among other roles. He eventually left for Hollywood becoming a character actor in numerous movies.
In the book, although he talks a bit about his family life, more time is spent talking about one production he’s done after another. I had no idea he had been in so many plays and movies, including that he played the first Hannibal Lecktor in Manhunter from 1986. Apparently he’s been in hundreds of productions, but what I mostly remember him for is his part as the father in the TV series Succession about a media mogul family, and as Winston Churchill in the movie from 2017.
He’s a talented actor. But I wonder if readers (like me) are trying to figure out in his book if he is like the mean father he plays in Succession. I didn’t exactly get that sense from the memoir. He seemed pretty good natured recounting his life, his family (he’s been married twice with two kids with each wife), and his thoughts on acting and life lessons.
But I still wonder a little if he has some prima donna to him. Still his bluntness on a range of topics and his fellow actors make parts of the memoir a bit refreshing and juicy. For instance he has high thoughts of director Spike Lee but doesn’t think much of Quentin Tarantino. His favorite actor is Spencer Tracy but he looks pretty disparagingly on Johnny Depp and others. He also doesn’t proscribe to “method acting” in playing characters nor does he do much research on roles when he’s playing real people. He says the character is in the script.
He recounts many of his long-ago productions and co-workers, which I didn’t know so those sort of passed me by. But other mentions of such actors as Laurence Olivier, Peter O’Toole, Judy Dench, and Eva Marie Saint were much appreciated. All in all the memoir was a bit of a mixed bag for me, but still I learned a bit about being on movie and theater sets and how acting works. And he recounts it all pretty entertainingly, though it does run on a bit long.
That’s all for now. What about you — do you know these authors or actor and what did you think?
Okay. You got my attention with your hint at news but I will be patient and wait for you to spill it 🙂
It has been about 105 here for the past four days. Not terribly bad unless you have to be out in it. I was volunteering at church yesterday and was in and out of the building and every time that door opened it was like a heat blast from the oven. I think I would join Stella and Willow in the river if I was with them.
My reading has been interesting. I am currently reading Crying in H Mart and loving it but I will be picking up Irving’s new book next. It’s huge. Close to 1000 if I remember correctly. Doesn’t come out until Oct but how can I sit on a review copy like that one?
Hi Ti, Great to hear from you. It sounds too hot for me & the dogs there — but alas I’ll be flying into Palm Springs in August; ha I’ll be the only one there! Though I’ll be spending some time at the beach so that will help a lot.
I’m glad you are liking H Mart. It’s pretty sad but alsohas some good cultural food and travel in it. And if anyone can read the long Irving book, you can. So I’ll let you do the vetting on that book. Have a great week and I look forward to dropping by your site soon.
I’m glad to know The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is another good one from Moreno-Garcia. I read and enjoyed her novel Mexican Gothic, and am looking forward to reading this one as well. And I’m intrigued by your upcoming news. 🙂
Thanks Lark. I’ll likely spill the beans next week when I’m allowed to. I’m glad you liked Moreno-Garcia’s earlier novel. I think she’s got some talent to her. Have a great week and I hope to stop by your site soon.
The Daughter of Dr. Moreau sounds a lot better than Mexican Gothic. I did not like that one — it just got too out there for me & I didn’t like the characters. A friend gifted me Velvet Was the Night so I will probably get to that this summer and see how that goes…Moreno-Garcia is sure churning them out!
Glad Stella & Willow are getting plenty of swim time!
A good, just-for-fun summer read is Remarkably Bright Creatures about a small town north of Seattle with an aquarium. The audio is great, with Michael Urle doing a spot-on narration of Marcellus the giant Pacific octopus.
I’m dipping into some autobiographies as well — currently reading Katie Couric’s as it just came out in paperback. I am liking it and especially the earlier parts about the start of her career and the tragic loss of her husband at such a young age. As the book and her career continues I am but find she is less girl-next-door than I’d like for her to remain ;-). She has definitely navigated the cut-throat world of television media and seen a lot in that crazy world.
Hey. thanks for the word on the Couric bio and the Bright Creatures novel. I’m actually on the library wait list for both of those books on audio I think. They look good. Much to read right now but I am behind — too much else going on lately. It seems the reviews on Moreno-Garcia’s novels are all over the place, though the ratings seem low on Goodreads. But this one seemed like a decent summer read – not exactly horror but just a little oddity and science gone adrift. Pretty soon I’ll be going to Cal around Aug. 11 I think. Need to get stuff done before then. talk later. Keep reading!
I’m very interested in hearing your good news. I do hope you will reveal it to us soon, Susan.
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau sounds like an excellent read. I haven’t read anything of Silvia Moreno-Garcia yet, but I want to.
Hi Deb, I wonder if this might be Moreno-Garcia’s most accessible novel? Who knows, I haven’t read her others — but this one is not horror like Mexican Gothic. Maybe I’ll read the Velvet one sometime, which is noir genre apparently. She likes to write books of different categories!
I will try to spill the beans next week on the news. It’s not major but it’s something. Have a great week.
I’ve enjoyed Moreno-Garcia’s other two novels and I look forward to reading this one.
You’ve certainly teased us with your hint about good news, so I’ll be on the lookout for your next post.
Thanks Dorothy, it’s something that I’ll likely post about next time. Sorry about the tease. I guess I couldn’t resist not saying anything.
It’s cool you’ve read Moreno-Garcia’s other novels …. I think she seems like a talent. And I wonder what she’ll put out next. Enjoy your week.
I like the premise of the Moreau reimagining–I never did read Mexican Gothic but I’ve heard that Morena-Garcia knows what she is doing, writing-wise. May put that on the TBR list. I read celebrity bios from time to time and they usually are a mixed bag but overall interesting.
Hot, hot, hot. Stay cool 🙂
Thanks Jane for stopping by. Yeah this Moreno-Garcia is really popping out books these days of varying genres. I was a bit impressed by her writing so I will look for what she does next. As for the memoir, it seems I am trying more nonfiction this year … we’ll see. Usually I’m a fiction junkie.
I hope your reading is going well and I plan to stop by your site soon. Have fun.
Susan,
Now we wait your news with anticipation LOL – Haven’t read anything by Moreno-Garcia but, I do have Velvet is the Night and The Daughter of Doctor Moreau – so looking forward to this one. Glad you are back home and enjoying time with hub and dogs.
Thanks Diane. I need some downtime after last week. I think I’m a bit fried by the sun and that reffing. I will keep you on the edge of your seats till next week about the news, ha LOL – it’s not that huge but it’s something.
I’ll be curious what you think of Moreno-Garcia’s fiction. Hmm. She’s all over the place crossing genres. I think I’ll try Velvet Was the Night sometime.
Have a great week. And I look forward to stopping by your site soon.
I rated The Daughter of Doctor Moreau 4.5* or 5*; I was on a high with that book! 😛 I also read Mexican Gothic when it came out, and gave it 4*; it’s a little out there for most people but I ended up liking it a lot. I don’t read memoirs, but I think I would like Brian Cox’s one. I liked him in Churchill; he made the movie a lot better in the stellar role. I finished three Penelope Fitzgerald’s novels in quick succession— an author I just discovered. Now I’m reading George Saunders’ latest, to be released in October.
Hi Carmen, Wow you are on a reading roll. I’m glad you liked Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s books. I enjoyed this one and thought it was good for summer. It was not too heavy but curious.
Brian Cox says his Churchill movie was better than Gary Oldman’s Darkest Hour, with a better script. I saw them both in 2017 but I could see it again.
Which Penelope Fitzgerald novel did you like best? I would like to read her. I guess she passed in 2000.
And so George Saunders new one will be Stories? Does it have humor in it? Hmm. Happy reading & July!
My original comment said something about both movies but I edited it. Anyway, Churchill adhered more to the historical facts, with the PM drinking heavily and what not, but I liked Darkest Hour best; it is the sort of inspirational script designed to win awards. Out of the three Penelope Fitzgerald’s novels I read I liked The Beginning of Spring best; it is bubbly and very funny. Keep in mind that she wrote sort of plot-less like, but I think you will enjoy that one if you give it a try. Another plus is that it’s very short. Saunders’ latest is called Liberation Day: Stories, with “Liberation Day” being the first story (a little sci-fi/dystopian). The collection is short and reads super fast, some stories are funny, the first one definitely is not. Hopefully I’ll finish tomorrow. Yes, I’m on a roll reading-wise (fingers crossed). By year’s end I will have had my second best reading year since I started keeping records in 2010 (37 books). It’s not much by your standards, or most people’s in the blogosphere, but it is a big change of pace for me. Happy reading to you as well!
Thanks Carmen : Your reading is going great. Such good/high quality reads too! Thx for the info on Fitzgerald’s book. It seems you are liking the Saunders collection well enough. I’d like to read it especially the dystopian title story.
I too liked Darkest Hour a lot, a bit more than Churchill but I liked both. Enjoy your week.
No fair! I huge teaser… I’ll spend some energy trying to figure out what it is (job, moving, family-related…)
I hope you have a great week.
Hey thanks Helen: LOL …. I guess it is a teaser … I couldn’t help it. I’ll fill you in on the details soon. Have a great week too! Happy reading.
Now you’ve got me very curious about your exciting news! I haven’t a clue what it could be, so I’ll just have to be patient. 🙂
Ha. Lesley. If I weren’t so preoccupied lately, I’d write a post to explain. After I get a few things out of the way this week, I’ll write about it. Summer sort of took off in a way I didn’t expect … and I leave soon for Calif., second week of August. It’ll probably be quieter there! I hope you’re doing well … and enjoying the summer. Hot temps are going to hit the Pacific Northwest the news says …. stay cool in your cove.
Congrats on the exciting news! My summer HAS been sweltering! At least I’m getting a nice tan from being outside in 100-degree weather every day. 🙂
Hey AJ: I hope you’re drinking a lot of water being in the heat all day. Canadians melt in weather like that. Enjoy your week!
Thanks for the review of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau – on my TBR list! I really enjoyed Velvet Was the Night and The Gods of Jade and Shadow. Both completely different….she’s obviously got talent. The Gods of Jade and Shadow is fairytale-esque with Mayan mythology and a Mexican Jazz age mash up!
Wow Jillann – thanks for the report back on Silvia’s books. She seems to be on a roll and is putting out novels pretty quickly now. As a child in the ’70s, I knew I’d likely need to read this Doctor Moreau novel — as I remembered the old movie. It’s creative how she did a spin-off from it. It’s pretty cool she lives in Vancouver, right? Keep me posted on what you’re reading. & Happy summer!
Glad you are back and enjoying the spouse and puppies! But how to fun to ref for junior tennis. Exciting!
I really do enjoy Moreno-Garcia’s books. I read Mexican Gothic last summer and am looking forward to this one soon! I didn’t love Certain Dark Things but I loved the story and the world-building…just didn’t love how it came together necessarily. But I want to keep reading all of her works. Each story is so different so you just never know what’s going to stick with you.
Hey Heather. Thanks for letting me know about Moreno-Garcia’s other books. She seems like a good talent to me. I might try her novel Velvet Was the Night sometime. She’s on a roll these days.
I hope you’re doing well. Happy August!