Shutter Island
By Dennis Lehane
In 1954, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the Scorsese directed movie) and his partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) visit Shutter Island, home to the Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane, to investigate the disappearance of an inmate. Rachel Solando, imprisoned for multiple homicides, is at large somewhere on the island. As a menacing hurricane barrels down on the island threatening to trap Daniels and Aule on the island for the weekend the true shades of the institution become brighter. Experimentation, and covert operations in a shadow war start to reveal themselves as everyone’s identity, including Teddy Daniels and his partner. Will they make it off the island alive?
“The brain controls pain. It controls fear. Sleep. Empathy. Hunger. Everything we associate with the heart or the soul or the nervous system is actually controlled by the brain. Everything. What if you could control it?”
Thoughts
One of the rare books I’ve read where I actually saw the movie first. I saw this movie, which was directed by Martin Scorsese, when it was released in 2010 and read the book instead of watching the movie again. I would highly recommend this tactic when revisiting movies that are also books. By reading the book I got to live it as opposed to being a passerby like with the movie. Now don’t get me wrong the movie is actually awesome, but because of the content of this story I have to go with the book. The story centers on Teddy’s fragile mental state while it gets ripped to shreds on an island with a high security mental institution being the setting. What the book gives you that the movie doesn’t is a look into the true pain and psychological warfare that the Ashecliffe administration wages on Teddy’s brain. A book allows you to learn more about the internal dialogue which I found to be the treasure of this story. It adds ridiculous layers to what is perceived and what is real. Is this all staged? Who can Teddy believe? Was that a pattern or just a coincidence? Paired with his investigative mind it makes for a magical thing. Even if you have seen the movie this will keep you at the edge of your seat.
Related Content
Recent Reads
Palaver House is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.