The Rag Doll Plagues is a science fiction novel written by Alejandro Morales. The novel is divided into three parts. Each part describes the story of the battle with the Plague in a different period. Book one talks about a Spanish colony in 1788-1792. The second one talks about the event in southern California. The third book talks about the situation that arises in southern California and Mexico in 2050.
Dr. Gregorio Revultas is the first doctor in book one. He is the chief surgeon to the king of Spain. He is sent to Mexico City in 1788 to fight with the Plague. Dr. Gregorio is also supported by Father Jude, a mestizo priest, and Father Juan Antonio Llorente, a doctor, and historian in the battle of fighting with Plague. Dr. Gregorio first noticed the dirt, excrement, and garbage that was the chief reason for spreading Plague in Mexican society. He works on different measures such as improving sanitation, increase garbage removal, and install public baths in the poor neighborhoods of Mexico City. He first identified that the Plague is not only connected to medical health but also connected to environmental destruction and social repression. In all these circumstances, Dr. Gregorio finds his new home in the Mexican city.
In book two, the author illustrates the life, feelings, human relationships, and the psychology of different human beings to deal with the situations. The second Dr. Gregory Revultas has a happy lifestyle, but one day he gets the news that his beloved wife Sandra falls ill with the plague. She is a wonderful Jewish-American actress. As in the first book, society was fragmented on the line between rich and poor. Dr. Gregory does his best to save the life of his wife. Gregory and Sandra shift to Mexico where the first Dr. Gregorio lived and was buried. After reading the chronicle of first Dr. Gregorio, the second Dr. Gregory concludes that the creation of a beloved community around Sandra as well as connecting with the curanderos and doctors will help Sandra to overcome the disease. The efforts of Dr. Gregory can prolong Sandra's life but could not get a satisfactory result and Sandra dies. Dr. Gregory constantly writes about his life with Sandra.
In the third book, the author once again wants to focus on the main culprit which is stratification of social order and environmental degradation as explained very carefully in the first and the second book. The 3rd Dr. Gregory is the protagonist of the story. He is the head of a medical team that is formed to investigate and to fight with the Plague. The Plague is caused by the extreme level of environmental pollution in the city. Dr. Gregory constantly reads novels written by his grandfather. Reading these novels helps Dr. Gregory to understand the nature of society and the cause of disease. These novels are historic and have valuable information which eventually helps Dr. Gregory to find a cure for the third Plague. The author wants to express the relationship among different things such as human beings, poverty, environmental pollution, and social order.
