Watch Silvia Moreno-Garcia at the L.A. Times Book Club

Novelist Silvia Moreno-Garciajoined the L.A. Times Book Club on Sept. 27 to discuss “The Daughter of Doctor Moreau.�

You can watch Moreno-Garcia’s conversation with Times editor Steve Padilla on YouTube, Twitter or Facebook.

(Del Rey)

Born in Mexico and now living in Vancouver, Moreno-Garcia has been evolving across genres for years, moving with ease among fantasy, mystery, science fiction, horror and noir stories.

President Obama included her novel, “Velvet Was the Night,� a recent L.A. Times Book Prize finalist, on his 2022 summer reading list. She is also the author of “Mexican Gothic� and “Gods of Jade and Shadow.�

(Del Rey)

“The fictions of Silvia Moreno-Garcia abound in shapeshifters. And they are central to her latest novel, ‘The Daughter of Doctor Moreau,’ which reframes the classic H.G. Wells story of terrifying human-animal hybrids as a thrilling and romantic anticolonial adventure set in the Yucatán Peninsula,� says reviewer Paula L. Woods.

“If you read her work as deeply as it deserves to be read — beyond its page-turning thrills … you’ll see that what lies beneath is even more astonishing: a perspective on Mexican history as broad and inclusive as any you’re likely to see in fiction — never mind a bestseller list.�

In a new essay for The Times, Moreno-Garcia says she switches genres so often to find a fresh focus every time out.

“You also could chalk up this desire to straddle categories to two things at once. I spent my early childhood growing up in the Mexico-United States border zone in Baja California,� she says. “My parents filled our home with eclectic books. They were hoarders in many ways, avid readers who didn’t care what shelf something sat on. I learned to read in Spanish and in English because they had books in both languages, and I was as likely to bump into award-winning Mexican writers, French poets or early 20th century American pulp fiction in the chaotic piles of books that mushroomed in every corner of our messy home.

“At any rate, I grew up to become someone who wants to be many things, perhaps everything, all at once.�

“The Daughter of Doctor Moreau� is the book club’s September selection. In October we’re reading “Dinosaurs� by Lydia Millet. Get tickets.

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