Shutter Island [Paperback]

Dennis Lehane (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 363 pages
• Publisher: Ullstein Taschenbuchvlg. (May 31, 2005)
• Language: German
• ISBN-10: 3548261949
• ISBN-13: 978-3548261942
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,198,937 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dennis Lehane was born and raised in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He is the author of A Drink Before the War, which won the Shamus Award for Best First Novel; Darkness, Take My Hand; Sacred; Gone, Baby, Gone; Prayers for Rain; and the New York Times bestsellers Mystic River and Shutter Island.

Mystic River was a finalist for the PEN/Winship Award and won both the Anthony Award and the Barry Award for Best Novel, as well as the Massachusetts Book Award in Fiction given by the Massachusetts Center for the Book. Coronado, a collection of five stories and a play, was published in the fall of 2006 and includes the story "Until Gwen," which was adapted for the stage.

Lehane's work has been translated into 22 languages. He holds an MFA from Florida International University and is the writer-in-residence at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he runs the Writers in Paradise writers' conference. Before becoming a full-time writer, Lehane worked as a counselor with mentally handicapped and abused children, waited tables, parked cars, drove limos, worked in bookstores, and loaded tractor-trailers. He lives in the Boston area.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Shutter Island won't let you get any shut eye, August 7, 2010

By 

D. Sorel "book lovah" (Massachusetts USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Shutter Island (Paperback)

I have many codes by which I live, but the most important to me is to "never see a movie before reading the book" (if there is a book of course). That is why I was so disappointed in myself when Shutter Island was in theaters and I had yet to crack it open. Sadly, it took me this long to get around to it but I am glad that I finally did! I had read Dennis Lehane's Mystic River and absolutely fell in love with the movie, so I knew I was in good hands. Though I almost never read thrillers or mysteries, I have a soft spot for Lehane's psychological thrillers and Shutter Island does not disappoint!

The reader meets U. S Marshal Teddy Daniels while on a boat to Shutter Island, an island located off of Boston Harbor on which there is a hospital for the criminally insane. Also on the boat, is his partner Charlie Aul both of whom are sent to the island to investigate the disappearance of Rachel Solando. Solando is a patient who was sent to the hospital because she drown her three children and then sat them around the dinner table until a neighbor discovered the scene. Teddy and Charlie have never met before but they immediately hit it off and become fast friends. Teddy is clearly the serious leader while Charlie is much more happy-go-lucky and pleased to be the follower. As Teddy and Charlie spend a couple of days on the island, Teddy begins to think that nothing is as it seems and that they may possibly never get off the island again. Teddy must also confront his own past and the death of his wife before it is too late.

As with Mystic River, the most enthralling aspect of this story are the relationships between characters. Though there is a good mystery and some great drama, Lehane draws such vivid characters that the reader is completely absorbed. Of course there are chases, codes that must be broken, and blind alleys all of which make you fly through the novel. Yet, the true heart is with the people in the story. I was sad when the novel was over, but felt that it was complete. Now it's time for me to sit down and watch the movie and possibly pick up the new graphic novel!

Specifically the audiobook is wonderful! The reader is a man with a strong voice that is pleasant to listen but also sets the perfect tone for the novel. His reading is not over-emotional or over-acted. It was just perfection.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An incredible psychological thriller, July 4, 2011

By 

Dr. Bojan Tunguz (Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shutter Island (Hardcover)

A couple of Federal Marshalls arrive on an isolated island that houses a high-security Federal prison for criminally insane. They were summoned to investigate a disappearance of a female inmate. They start suspecting that the staff of the prison is not as cooperative as they could be, and Marshalls start suspecting that behind the façade of the mental institution there is a much more sinister operation. This in a nutshell, without giving away any plot details, is the premise of the latest Dennis Lahene novel.

The plot description in itself does not even begin to do the justice to this gripping and harrowing story. Until now I have only been familiar with Lahene through the movie adaptations of his novels, and Shutter Island has also been made into a movie that will scheduled to come out in a couple of months. The previews of the movie seemed very intriguing, and they spurred me to take a look at the novel itself. I was not disappointed in the least. "Shutter Island" has all the elements of a great novel: an intriguing story with many plot twists, a flowing narrative that keeps you interested and guides you from one scene to another, rich, fully developed characters, and an ending that will both surprise you and satisfy you, and make you want to go back and reread the whole novel. The novel is a psychological thriller in two senses of the term. You are constantly intrigued by the states of mind of the main character and much of the most interesting scenes are in the minds of the main characters. Furthermore, by setting the novel in a mental institution the psychological and psychiatric profession becomes a major part of the story. Even so, the narrative evokes some very strong visual impressions, and there is no doubt that it will make a great movie. Stylistically, there is a very strong sense of film-noir to it and of the hardboiled detective novels from the middle of the 20th century.

Overall, this is a rich and deeply satisfying novel and I would recommend it as one of the best examples of its genre. Purchasing it was well worth the money, and I would recommend reading it whether you plan on seeing the movie or not.

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good, February 7, 2011

By 

Brendan - See all my reviews

Shutter Island was a pretty good book overall but I had problems with the twists. In the book, it was somewhat hard to keep track of what was going on, that is why this is one of the few time I can say I liked the movie better than the book. The movie was extremely well done and Leonardo DeCaprio really sold his part.