Crazy, but Relatable

After finishing reading The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepard, I noticed how deep and intriguing the characters in the story are. The main character, Juliet, used to be rich but after a scandal involving her father, she was forced onto the streets. She finds out that her father has had a secret laboratory on an island near Australia, and she goes to meet him. There she learns that he's been using vivisection to turn animals into deformed humans. In the process she finds herself in a "love triangle" of some sort, with the old servant Montgomery, and the fugitive Edward. I found that some of the characters did some surprising and in some ways crazy things, but I found myself able to relate to them as well.

Some actions that characters did were surprising but at the same time I could relate to them. For example, in the end of the story, the Island is on fire and ll the creatures are being destroyed. Juliet and Montgomery are escaping on a boat, but at the last minute Montgomery leaves Juliet sailing away from the island on the boat, and he stayed on the island. My first thought was, "No you idiot! Get away from this creepy island and escape!" But, as I thought more about what Montgomery did, I realized that I could understand why he stayed on the island. Unlike Juliet, Montgomery had grown up on the island. He even helped create some of the creatures. It must be hard to leave the only thing you've ever really loved. Despite his crush on Juliet, his love and deep interest for the creatures must have been stronger than a little crush. I think that I can understand how caring for something so much that you'd rather die then part from it. However, I think that if I ever did feel that way about something it'd be towards a human, but perhaps since Montgomery grew up on the island the creatures were the only things close to humans.

Another person's action that surprised me was that at one point Juliet risked her life to save her father. Her father had basically abandoned her after the scandal, and when they were reunited once again his love for her wasn't close to as strong as his addiction to his experiment and precious creatures. I honestly wasn't sure if this man was capable of feeling love. But, as I thought more about it, I realized I could understand why Juliet did try to save her father. Although this man had been cruel and was pretty much insane, he was still her father, still her family. Not all her memories of him were bad. even if he wasn't capable of loving her, she can't hide the fact that she still cares about him. If my father was burning on an island full of a bunch of half human- half animal creatures I'd try to save him, whether he was crazy or not.

In conclusion I liked this story because the characters weren't just black and white, or good or bad. They all had flaws and they all had a dark side. Some of their actions surprised me, but, at the same time I could relate to them.