PECKERWOOD BOOK CLUB: Great Summer Reads, Plus Dr. Moreau's Daughter!

Welcome, sloots, to another edition of The Peckerwood Book Club, where we can all share what we've been reading lately and what we wholeheartedly recommend. Don't forget to tell us all about your favs in the comments. 

In the meantime, summer approaches, which means publishers are already releasing what they deem to be "Great Summer Reads" or "Great Beach Reads." But what does this actually mean? Are summer reads strictly trash, or can they be literary? Must they involve murders or mysteries? Or are they ultimately just any book which Nicole Kidman will star in once the TV mini-series is made? 

Personally, I like murder stories all year round, while in the summer, I enjoy a little trippiness since I regularly pop gummies at the beach (doesn’t everyone?). Plus there's the sound of the waves, the warm, relaxing breeze, the sand between my tootsies. It's the perfect setting to read a good book. Trippiness is a broad term, I know, but I recently read a worthwhile candidate which fits the bill. 

It took me a while to get into this noted author's novel, but I’m glad I stuck with it. An enchanted, sometimes chilling, retelling of H.G Wells' “The Island Of Dr. Moreau,” "The Daughter of Doctor Moreau" introduces Carlota, the dutiful teen daughter of Dr. Moreau, an eccentric scientist who creates secret human/animal hybrid creatures in the wilds of Mexico in the 1800s. In time, Carlota comes to realize that she, too, is a human/animal hybrid – she’s part jaguar, we’re told, mixed with the genes of Dr. Moreau and a common street whore.

The tone is menacing and dreamy, while the characters are sharply rendered. They include Carlota, whose devotion to her father feels genuine, while her unstinting affection for the many hybrids in her midst has a nice fairy-tale sweetness. There's also Montgomery, an alcoholic Englishman and caretaker who has a soft spot for Carlota; as well as Lupe, the fuzzy-haired human/animal hybrid who looks after Carlota like an impatient older sister. But ultimately, it's the author's abstracted prose which kept me hooked in a novel whose social commentary can at times be obvious and heavy handed. Overall, this is perfect for a relaxing day at the beach. 

As for your happy neighborhood Bibliophile Bendy Boy™, he loves stretching it all out poolside or at the beach with a good book, so be kind and recommend something truly captivating for the summer!

Photo Credits: Del Rey/Random House; Getty Images