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Shutter Island

By Dennis Lehane

(154)

| Paperback | 9780553813821

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Critics

SHUTTER ISLAND

Ali Karim Like the hurricane that batters the island that gives this book its name, I feel battered and bruised by the complexity and ambition of this deeply disturbing novel. It starts simply enough with two US Marshals arriving on Shutter Island, a ... (read full critics)

shotsmag published on Thu, 30 Sep 2010

The Best Reviews: Dennis Lehane, Shutter Island

Click review title to read full review "One the best police procedurals of the year" Reviewed by Harriet Klausner Posted April 16, 2003 In 1954, US Marshals Teddy Daniels and his new partner, just in from Seattle, Chuck Aule take the ferry from the M ... (read full critics)

thebestreviews published on Fri, 17 Sep 2010

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10 Reviews

1 person find this helpful

The way you'll watch a sad old movie

A professor of mine once said, "Regarding of the human mind, we have psychologists, neurologists and philosophers all doing their best to understand how it works, and yet what we do know is so little, almost inconspicuous, compared to what that's left in the dark." I've read Dennis Lehane's other wo ... (continue)

A professor of mine once said, "Regarding of the human mind, we have psychologists, neurologists and philosophers all doing their best to understand how it works, and yet what we do know is so little, almost inconspicuous, compared to what that's left in the dark." I've read Dennis Lehane's other works, the Patrick and Angela series mostly, and came across Shutter Island just this Tuesday. I'm glad I picked it up.
It started off as your usual mystery, someone was missing and the protagonist, Teddy Daniels went to investigate. But as the story unfolded, I found myself completed hooked, invested in every line and scene. I must say it's emotionally exhausting, and beautiful, whether in its integrity of a story, of life, or of a journey into the essentials of mind. It was the dialogue that really got me; so simple and true I could see these characters right in front of me, with fresh and tears and flaws of the each of them. It was almost impossible not to connect with them. They were not all be agreeable but no less believable and human. It broke my heart reading Teddy dreamt of Dolores.
Half way through the book and I already got who the sixty seventh patient was; it didn't stop me from turning the pages, however. It was like how Matthew Scudder put, "The way you'll watch a sad old movie, hoping this time it'll have a happy ending." The helplessness was always there, the inevitable in Teddy's dreams and the staleness in the Ashecliff Hospital. Always there. Throughout the whole story like Teddy's love for his poor dead wife. During the reading there were so many times I had to put the book down, for a few seconds, minutes, just to breathe, not because I was bored, but because of its intensity. Even after the last page, I'm still not over it; probably and hopefully won't in a few days.

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Beast said on Jul 15, 2011 about the Others edition | 2 feedbacks

1 person find this helpful

The 50's. US Marshall Teddy Daniels is sent to remote Shutter Island - the location of a hospital for the criminally insane - to investigate the disappearance of one of its inmates, presumed to still be hiding on the island. However, everything is not as it seems. Rumours of experimental operations ... (continue)

The 50's. US Marshall Teddy Daniels is sent to remote Shutter Island - the location of a hospital for the criminally insane - to investigate the disappearance of one of its inmates, presumed to still be hiding on the island. However, everything is not as it seems. Rumours of experimental operations and murderous doctors...
I was flipping the pages like a maniac, trying to find out what happens next. And after the last page.. I still don't know. The plot makes you question everything.
I absolutely loved the book, and hear Martin Scorcese is shooting the film right now. Can't wait!

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annemarie said on Feb 7, 2009 | Add your feedback

terrific, terrific thriller! i found it so addictive, it was very, very good!
set in the 1950s in the US, it's mainly set on an island which hosts a psychiatric hospital for patients who have committed violent offences. i won't write much about the story because i don't want to spoil it, just trust ... (continue)

terrific, terrific thriller! i found it so addictive, it was very, very good!
set in the 1950s in the US, it's mainly set on an island which hosts a psychiatric hospital for patients who have committed violent offences. i won't write much about the story because i don't want to spoil it, just trust me on this: if it is a gripping read that you're looking for, read this novel. the author creates a very, very dark and gloomy atmosphere, and he makes it very easy to paint pictures in your mind about what being on the island could feel like. it's a great story, told well, with an interesting setting. dark, gritty, gripping. what more can you want from a thriller?

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natalia said on Apr 25, 2011 | Add your feedback

Shutter Island

It’s a simple story of nothing is as it appears to be. It’s quite difficult to review this book without giving away too much. Let me just say it’s worth the read. A pair of US Marshalls go to an island in Boston Harbor that houses a hospital for the Criminal Insane to investigate a patient’s disappe ... (continue)

It’s a simple story of nothing is as it appears to be. It’s quite difficult to review this book without giving away too much. Let me just say it’s worth the read. A pair of US Marshalls go to an island in Boston Harbor that houses a hospital for the Criminal Insane to investigate a patient’s disappearance. From the first moment they arrive they are suspicious of everyone. Things just do not add up. With the approaching Hurricane, all heck breaks loose allowing the Marshalls to do more snooping around. This leads to even more questions that they cannot answer. To top it all off Marshall Teddy Daniels is dealing with the loss of his wife and just knows that her killer is on the island. He’s running out of time as he tries to find the patient, the killer, and keep from losing his own mind or at least for the hospital to make others think he’s lost his mind. You know that there is going to be twists and turns but when they happen you really can’t imagine that it happens the way it does. It’s a good thing though. The entire first two-thirds of the book lays out an intricate world and sets up a great plot only to be completely spun out of control in the last third in a very good way. The book ends with you in just amazement. Trying to understand everything that happened and coming to terms with it. It was great.
The movie gave too much away in my opinion with eye contact and the way that the dialogue went. There were too many things crammed together in an attempt to get as much of the story together as possible within the constraints of a movie. I understand that but the book was so good at listing the background within the flashbacks that I just wished they could have put more of it in the movie. I will add; however, I loved the last lines of the movie which were added and not in the book. They left you with the feeling that things were still not as they appeared.
My overall feeling was this was a great read. The transitions from flashback to present were well done and the twists and turns you go through are also well done. I loved the writing and I loved the story. Even if you think you’ve figured it out…you haven’t. It’s well worth the read. If you saw the movie, it’s still worth the read. It’ll give you a much better understanding of what’s going on. Happy reading!

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composing cat said on Mar 6, 2011 | Add your feedback

Absolutely thrilling and astounding, this is a novel you won't just read: you'll devour it. And it will shock you from the first page through the last.

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Matteo F. said on Apr 24, 2010 | Add your feedback

*** This comment contains spoilers! ***

Well done butt...

The plot is basically a Twilight Zone or perhaps a 50s EC Comics book. Its resolution is the most obvious and trite. Of course, it's well written, plotted and paced, if unoriginally so.

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Paolo said on Apr 22, 2010 | Add your feedback