| Shutter Island | |
|---|---|
 Book cover |
|
| Author | Dennis Lehane |
| Cover artist | none |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Harper Collins |
| Publication date | April 15, 2003 |
| Media type | Print (Mass Market Paperback) |
| Pages | 380 |
| ISBN | 0688163173 |
| OCLC Number | 51969184 |
| Dewey Decimal | 813/.54 21 |
| LC Classification | PS3562.E426 S55 2003 |
Shutter Island is a best-selling novel by Dennis Lehane, published by Harper Collins in April 2003. A film adaptation was released in February 2010.
Lehane has said he sought to write a novel that would be a homage to Gothic settings, B movies, and pulp. He described the novel as a hybrid of the works of the Brontë sisters and the 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers. His intent was to write the main characters in a position where they would lack 20th century resources such as radio communications. He also structured the book to be more taut than his previous book, Mystic River.[1]
Contents |
In 1954 widower U.S. Marshal Edward "Teddy" Daniels and his new partner Chuck Aule go to Shutter Island, home of Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane, to investigate the disappearance of a patient, multiple murderess Rachel Solando, who has escaped her cell and apparently the desolate barren island, despite having been kept in a locked cell under constant supervision.
Visiting Rachel's room, Teddy and Chuck discover a puzzle that Teddy believes points to a 67th patient. Teddy also reveals to Chuck that he is there to avenge the death of his wife Dolores, who was murdered two years prior by one of the inmates, Andrew Laeddis. The novel is interspersed with graphic descriptions of WW II and Dachau which Teddy helped to liberate. As a hurricane hits the island, Teddy and Chuck investigate Ward C where Teddy believes government experiments with psychotropic drugs à la concentration camps and gulags are being conducted. One inmate tells Teddy that Chuck is not to be trusted.
As Teddy and Chuck return to the main hospital area, they are separated. Teddy discovers an ex-psychiatrist hiding in sea caves, who reinforces that he has no friends on the island and is himself a prisoner. Upon returning to the hospital Teddy cannot find Chuck and is told he had no partner. He escapes and makes his way to the lighthouse to rescue Chuck. After cornering the head doctor, Dr. Cawley, Teddy is told that he is Andrew Laeddis (an anagram of his name) and that he murdered his wife two years ago after she murdered their 3 children. Teddy/Andrew has been living an elaborate fantasy that Dr. Cawley and "Chuck" (actually his psychiatrist, Dr. Sheehan) have devised in order to force their patient to confront the truth, or else undergo a radical lobotomy treatment. Teddy/Andrew then realizes that he killed his wife. This breakthrough means that he is on his way to recovering his sanity.
The next morning Teddy/Andrew wakes up, leaves the dorm and sits outside on the hospital steps. Chuck/Dr. Sheehan sits next to him. Andrew's comments seem to indicate he has regressed back into his insane Teddy persona. Dr. Sheehan signals Dr. Cawley and the Warden. The Warden and hospital staff walk toward Teddy/Andrew with a straight jacket and an orbitoclast (a lobotomy tool). "Chuck" tells "Teddy" not to worry, they're too smart to get caught. Teddy/Andrew answers "Yeah, we are, aren't we?"
Shutter Island was successful both with critics and general readers. It was on the bestseller list of The New York Times, USA Today, The Boston Globe, New York Daily News, and other major dailies published enthusiastic reviews.[2]
The novel has been adapted into a film by director Martin Scorsese, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Teddy Daniels, Mark Ruffalo as Chuck Aule, and Ben Kingsley as Dr. Cawley. "All that mixed with Martin Scorsese taking on a Hitchcockian genre and a gothic horror." - Leonardo DiCaprio.[3]
The film was originally scheduled to be released by Paramount Pictures on October 2, 2009 in the United States and Canada.[4] Paramount later announced it was going to push back the release date to February 19, 2010;[5] Reports attribute the pushback to Paramount not having "the financing in 2009 to spend the $50 to $60 million necessary to market a big awards pic like this," DiCaprio's unavailability to promote the film internationally, and Paramount's hope that the economy might rebound enough by February 2010 that a film geared toward adult audiences would be more viable financially.[6]
The trailer for the film was screened at the 2009 Scream Awards and was later posted on YouTube.[7]
The novel was made into an audiobook published by the HarperCollins publication company, and is read by Tom Stechschulte.
The story has also been reworked into a graphic novel published by William Morrow, with art by Christian de Metter (ISBN 0061968579).[8]
Graphic Novel
   | Shutter Island - Dennis Lehane Books |
| | Michelle Williams joins 'Island' - Michelle Williams joins 'Island' - Entertainment News, Film News, Media - Variety |
| | Scorsese, DiCaprio team for 'Island' - Scorsese, DiCaprio team for 'Island' - Entertainment News, Film News, Media - Variety |
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