Monday, October 26, 2015

Teaser Tuesday 283: The Island of Dr. Moreau

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Jenn of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!




Here's a bit of a creepy teaser for you this week, in honor of Halloween: The Island of Dr. Moreau by HG Wells.



My heart was in my mouth; but I felt my only chance was bluff, and walked steadily towards him. He turned again, and vanished into the dusk. Once more I thought I caught the glint of his eyes, and that was all.

(Chapter 9)


~*~*~*~*~*~


So long as I live, I shall remember the terror of that chase. I ran near the water’s edge, and heard every now and then the splash of the feet that gained upon me.


(Chapter 9)



ABOUT THE BOOK:

A shipwreck in the South Seas, a palm-tree paradise where a mad doctor conducts vile experiments, animals that become human and then "beastly" in ways they never were before -- it's the stuff of high adventure. It's also a parable about Darwinian theory, a social satire in the vein of Jonathan Swift (Gulliver's Travels), and a bloody tale of horror.

As H. G. Wells himself wrote about this story, "The Island of Dr. Moreau is an exercise in youthful blasphemy. Now and then, though I rarely admit it, the universe projects itself towards me in a hideous grimace. It grimaced that time, and I did my best to express my vision of the aimless torture in creation."

This colorful tale by the author of The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, and The War of the Worlds lit a firestorm of controversy at the time of its publication in 1896.





2 comments:

Lea said...

Hello Heather,
I remember reading that book long ago. I don't read that kind of thing anymore - it gives bad dreams.

I've just finished reading "Big Little Lies" by Liane Moriarty. It is set in Australia, and the main characters are a group of parents with children entering kindergarten. I enjoyed it very much, and the ending was a complete surprise. Have you read it? If not, here is a teaser for you.

Quotes from page 37 and 38
"Samantha: I was working. Stu took Lily to orientation. He mentioned some of the mothers had just come from a champagne breakfast. I said, 'Right. What are their names? They sound like my sort of people.'
Melissa: You didn't hear this from me, but apparently Madeline Mackenzie got so drunk that morning, she fell over and sprained her ankle.
Graeme: I think you are barking up the wrong tree there. I don't see how an ill-advised champagne breakfast could have led to murder and mayhem, do you?"

Hope you are having a good day!
Lea

Heather said...

Hi Lea -- Thanks for the recommendation. I don't generally read horror or science fiction, but occasionally make an exception for a "classic" such as this one or something by HG Wells or Jules Verne, especially if it is for a group read.