Shutter Island is a good read! Finished it in a day, just in time to see the movie when it comes out on Friday. Creeeeee-pppppyyyyy! I saw the movie preview at the theater when I went to see Up In the Air. My well-read friend, Lisa told me about the book—by Dennis "Mystic River" Lehane—and that it had a twisted, Sixth Sense kind of ending. Ooooh, I was hooked and had to get my hands on a copy. All I could round up from the library was the large print edition, but that's okay; I enjoyed every super-sized minute of it!
The setting of the book is creepy perfection, a prison/hospital for the criminally insane on a remote island off the coast of Massachusetts during the 1950s. The suspense is excruciating, even if the writing style is pure, pared down, detective novel prose. The intricate plot includes references to Nazi Germany, mental illness, and the nefarious history of psychiatric treatment, with a little bit of B-movie sex thrown in for good measure. The characters grew on me, and though I wouldn't necessarily have cast Leonardo DiCaprio as U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels, I'll reserve judgement until after I see the film.
And, given my newfound fascination with asylums, I added two more must-reads to my book list: The Bell Jar and Girl, Interrupted.
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