Alexis' Book Blog

Shutter Island

Author: Dennis Lehane

Year Published: 2003

Stars: 5/5

Synopsis:

In September of 1954, U.S. Marshals Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule travel to Shutter Island, off the coast of Boston, to investigate the disappearance of a woman named Rachel Solando. Ashecliffe, the facility where Rachel Solando resides, is both a mental hospital and prison. When Teddy and Chuck begin to investigate they quickly realize everyone on the island is lying to them. Each time Chuck and Teddy find an answer, they end up with more questions. Through means I cannot reveal without spoiling the novel, Teddy and Chuck realize they may never leave this island and must rely on each other in order to survive. The ending of this story is one that is almost impossible to guess… Who is Rachel Solando and can they solve her disappearance? Will they leave the island or be stuck there forever?

Why I liked it:

This book is just  very well-written. Probably pretty obvious since I gave it 5 stars. There are two excellent scenes in this story, not including the ending (which is also amazing, but I cannot ruin it for you ). The first scene is about 60 pages in, Teddy and Chuck are engaged in comical banter about how they are not receiving any actual support from the Ashecliffe Staff. In the last line of the chapter Chuck turns to Teddy and says “Joking aside… starting to get nervous here”.  That line sent chills up my back because for the first time, the character validated my own thought of ‘what the heck is going on on this island’.

The second scene occurs in a mausoleum when Chuck and Teddy are attempting to ‘ride-out’ the hurricane. Teddy reveals (small spoiler alert) that he is not solely on the island to solve Rachel Solando’s disappearance.  There is someone on this island Teddy needs/wants to find. That conversation not only reveals more of Teddy’s character, but also sets the mood for the entire novel. Now only a fourth grader would fail to infer from the synopsis on the back of the book or even the cover that the book is mysterious, but Teddy and Chuck’s conversation sets the bar of eeriness throughout the novel.

Overall, I loved the book because the ending is shocking and original. Although I haven’t read thousands of books, I have read enough to know this book is original.  

What I didn’t like:

I only have one qualm with the book, the 1950′s acronyms and syntax. It is understandable that Lehane would create dialogue that is reminiscent of the 1950′s because that is when the novel takes place; however, some of the phrases are hard to decipher without context clues. For example, Teddy knows Dr. Cawley has ties to the OSS. I had no idea what the OSS was. Turns out the OSS was the first version of the CIA, but I am willing to bet most people do not know that. The majority of readers today were not raised in the 1950′s and I can only remember so much from my high school history classes. Footnotes or an appendix with definitions would have been appreciated. While the book has a few more of these acronyms, the majority of text is easy to follow.

Little Known Fact:

The book is divided into 4 days (pretty evenly). In an interview Lehane stated he finished the Day 4 section very quickly because he was having nightmares about the storyline and context of the book.

Fun Fact:

Lehane has written several episodes for HBO’s ‘The Wire’.

Alexis