English B, book review by Magnus Abrahamsson

Shutter Island
Dennis Lehane, 2003

Book review by Magnus Abrahamsson

4th of April 2005

1
 English B, book review by Magnus Abrahamsson

The author

Shutter Island is written by the author Dennis Lehane. The reason I choose to read this
book is because I found out that he had also written Mystic River. I haven’t read that
one but I have seen the movie. I liked the unexpected twists and turns in Mystic River
so I thought I would enjoy this piece of work too.

A couple of days ago I read an article in the newspaper that Ben Affleck had chosen
Lehane’s novel Gone Gone Baby as his first movie to direct. The future will tell if
anyone intend to direct this book too. Personally I’m looking forward to see it on the
screen.

The Plot

The story takes place in the summer of 1954, out in the Boston Harbor, on Shutter
Island. On the island lies Ashecliffe Hospital, a well secured facility for criminally
insane. The place has a history dating back to the Civil War.
Two US Marshals, Teddy Daniels, a former war hero and his new partner, Chuck
Aule, have been assigned to investigate the disappearance of patient Rachel Solando.
While looking for Rachel, Teddy plans to investigate a rumour that the hospital is
performing illegal brain surgery.
The story begins with the two arriving by ferry to the island. A deputy meets them at
the dock and takes them to see the mysterious Dr Cawley, chef of staff. Teddy and
Chuck immediately notice that everything is not all right. The hospital staff is not
entirely cooperative. They examine Rachel’s cell but doesn’t find much, only some
cryptic codes written on the wall. After not getting anywhere in inquiries of the
orderlies present at the escape-night either Teddy and Chuck decides to take a walk at
the seashore, looking for any traces of the barefooted missing patient. The breeze turn
into wind and a pouring rain sets in. Waves the size of houses hit the rocks.
Soon the worst hurricane in thirty years bears down on the island. Of course the
power fails and the electronic locks and electrified fences stop working. It doesn’t
take long before a riot starts among the murderous insane and the two Marshals begin
to fear for their lives. Within the story Teddy and Chuck find mysteries clues in forms
of cryptic codes that they have to solve. They think it’s the missing patient who leaves
them behind. When the she later reappears as suddenly as she vanished it’s a signal
that the thrill has just begun.

Parallel in the story Teddy struggles with memories from his past. The lost of his wife
Dolores is haunting him day and night. The way Lehane has described Teddy’s
dreams and flashback scenes with his wife are absolutely wonderful and very
emotional. It gives depth to the story and makes the leading character more alive.
Teddy truly comes out as more sensitive and vulnerable human thanks to these
retrospect parts.

2
 English B, book review by Magnus Abrahamsson

The characters

Teddy Daniels
Teddy is a US Marshal and the leading character in this book. He has been in WWII
as code breaker and still having a Government-issue crew cut. His face is lined with
evidence of the war. Day and night he is haunted by the tragic death of his wife. She
died in a fire and Teddy thinks the pyromaniac Andrew Laeddis who started the fire is
locked up on the island. He therefore has a secret motive for his visit on the island.
Teddy is on the outside tought but on the inside as vulnerable as any normal person.

Chuck Aule
He is Teddy’s new partner. Chuck is bit stockier and a bit shorter than Teddy, maby
five or ten. He has a head of tight, curly black hair and olive skin. My guess is that he
is a little bit younger than Teddy and seems less experienced, almost as a rookie in
compeer to Teddy. In the end you will understand why.

Rachel Solando
She is the missing patient and a war widow which drowned her tree children and then
arranged them around the kitchen table and ate a meal. Rachel still believes the
children are alive, waiting for her. She used to live in Berkshires, hundred fifty miles
from the island.

Dr Cawley
the chef of staff. He is a thin man with small dark eyes sitting far back in their
sockets. The cheek appears collapsed and the flesh around them is pitted with aged
acne. The remains of his hair are dark as his eyes. Dr Cawley first appears to be a
mysterious and evil man but the end shows that he had good intentions all the way.

Andrew Laeddis
He was the maintenance man in the apartment building where Teddy and his wife
Dolores lived. Teddy thinks that it was he how lit the match that caused the fire and
killed his wife. Later in the story you will find out that Andrew is not the one you
think he is.

3
 English B, book review by Magnus Abrahamsson

The style

The story is written in third person. It’s a mix of witty dialogues and unspoken
passages. The chapters are not to long and almost every one ends with a cliff-hanger
which makes it hard to put down the book.

The title
I think the title, “Shutter Island”, is chosen by Lehane to be ambiguous. There are a
lot more perspectives to look at it then the one mentioned in the beginning of the story
when the writer makes us returns to Teddy’s childhood: Teddy is with his father
fishing outside Boston and sees Shutter Island’s lighting house and therefore
questioning the islands name.
“Why Shutter?” Teddy asked.
His father shrugged “You with the questions. Always the questions.”
“Yeah, but why?”
“Some places just get a name and it sticks. Pirates probably.”

There is only one other place in the book where the word “shutter” is mentioned but
this time with another meaning. It’s in one of Teddy’s flashbacks, remembering a
morning with his wife Dolores:
“She’d tickled him after the alarm had gone off, then suggested they close the
shutters and block out the day, never leave the bed.”

“Shutter Island” is a very well chosen title for this book and when you know about the
surprising ending it gets even better. I therefore have to reveal it for you because else
you want fully understand my analysis of the title:

Teddy, or Andrew as his real name is, is not fully the man he claims to be. Andrew is
in the Ashecliffe Hospital because he killed his wife, whom had drowned there three
children. He is living in his own world, a schizophrenic, and still thinks he is US
Marshal called Teddy. Dr Cawley, or Dr Sheehan which his real name is, is his doctor
and has been tying to treat Andrew psychic disorder at the institute on Shutter Island
for two years now. By playing along in Andrew’s made up world Dr Sheehan is
hoping to break in to his schizophrenic world and getting him to remember his past.

After knowing this the title gave me a new meaning: I could see shutters as closed,
“block out the day”, or they could be opened, let the day in. Also “island” is a good
visualisation of Teddy/Andrew’s situation. The way he is really alone in the world, as
an island in the sea.

“Shutter Island” is a really good metaphor of the leading character’s trying to

blocking out the truth of his inner room/ thoughts. Andrew can sometimes see glimpse
of his past as you could se glimpse of the sun trough a shutter. But the most of the
time it’s dark. Maybe his fictitious world with closed shutters is the only world for
him to exist in? He maybe wouldn’t have the strength to go on living in the real one.
What would you have done waking up from a dream knowing you had killed your
wife, who had drowned your three children, and now you are complete alone?

4
 English B, book review by Magnus Abrahamsson

The characters in in the realworld….

Andrew Laeddis – is Teddy in reality.

Teddy – Is Adrew’s youngest son.
Rachel Laeddis – Andrew’s 4 years old daughter.
Rachel Solando – She doesn’t exist. Andrew made her up. Steel her character is close
to Adrews’ real wife Dolores.
Dr Cawley – Is Dr Sheehan, the psychiatrist how tries to help Andrews
Chuck Aule – A hospital staff member, assistance to Dr Sheehan. That’s way he
seemed like a rookie to Teddy.
Dolores Laeddis – Andrew’s wife. She was killed by him in the spring 1952 after he
had found his three children drowned by her.

My own opinion

I think Lehane writes in a very direct and modern way which makes it fun to read.
As when Teddy tries to recall a memory from the past, likens it as:
“melody he was trying to remember while the radio played a completely different
tune”. Lehane has a lot of these formulations in his writing. I also like that he doesn’t
always go into very detailed descriptions about everything. It keeps me, as a beginner
of reading English novels, from losing the track.

I really like stories when you have twist in the end. The way Mr Lehane keeps the
tension and your mind uncertain until the last chapters are absolutely fantastic. It’s not
until you read the book to the final page you realize how complex the plot really is
and you get the feeling to read it all over again.