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Archive 08-19 GR Discussions > Shutter Island

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message 1: by Tera, First Chick (new)

Tera | 2564 comments Mod
Starting thread for this book


message 2: by Tracy (last edited Oct 17, 2010 01:02PM) (new)

Tracy Phillips Thanks Tera! Awesome book :o) Ready for the discussion to begin!


message 3: by Rebecca (new)

Rebecca I plan on starting this one soon.


message 4: by Tera, First Chick (new)

Tera | 2564 comments Mod
I'm sorry I tried to message Trish who nominated the book but she isn't accepting messages and she hasn't posted here since August. If anyone that has read this book would like to jump in with thoughts or questions please feel free to do so.
sorry.


message 5: by Tracy (new)

Tracy Phillips Thanks Tera for trying to get in touch with Trish. It's midnight here but I will jump in tomorrow without spoilers. Are there any guidelines that might help facilitate discussion?


message 6: by Tanya (new)

Tanya | 28 comments I've never participated in a group read, but I just finished the book (actually not even knowing it was coming up as a group read). I'm ready to throw in my two cents once the discussion starts.


message 7: by Tera, First Chick (new)

Tera | 2564 comments Mod
No guidelines. Feel free to ask questions, share thoughts, share your reviews. Anything that struck you or made you think.


message 8: by Tracy (new)

Tracy Phillips Really enjoyed the movie and the book :o) I really liked the spooky eerie graphics that were used in the movie in relation to the island and the choice of music that was used. I think the movie brought home more then the book the "creepiness" of the island. For some reason "seeing" the island in this case was much more effective for me than conjuring up an image of the island in my mind when reading the book. Not sure why that was the case in this particular instance.


message 9: by Marialyce (new)

Marialyce I thought both the book and the movie were totally creepy and eerie. It was a story that certainly had twists and turns in it and held your interest. I read it quite awhile ago so I don't remember too many specifics. The ending of course was the "killer" so to speak. Great book and movie perfect for the spooky factor.


message 10: by Tracy (new)

Tracy Phillips Yep, Marialyce.I agree the spooky factor for the book and the movie was amazing. Also the intrigue of the book was wonderful:o) I will wait a bit until I make some comments regarding the intrigue because doing so would involve spoilers. I would like to give more people a chance to finish before I post spoiler comments.


message 11: by Julie (new)

Julie (scrapsofhistory) I had a hard time putting this book down after I got started. I haven't seen the movie yet but I loved the elements of suspense that developed. There were times when I was caught up in the "agents" actions it took me some time to realize what was reality and what wasn't.


message 12: by Tiffany (new)

Tiffany | 92 comments I have not seen the movie yet, but I did enjoy the book. It was a fun read. The author's descriptions did not give me the creepy vibe all that much. If I had never seen a trailer for the movie, I would probably not describe the book in that way at all.


message 13: by Zeta05 (new)

Zeta05 (trayz) I have not seen the movie and wasn't too interested in reading the book. I also recently joined this group and hadn't participated in any of the group reads so when I saw this book was selected I decided to check it out. I'm glad I did because I've been enjoying this very much. I'm half way through and am finding it difficult to put down.


message 14: by January (new)

January | 84 comments I am planning on starting this book soon! I think this sounds like a perfect book to read for Halloween!


message 15: by Chris (new)

Chris (christmax) | 223 comments It's one of the few books I've read that I've loved the film of too. Its also one of the few books my 18yr old son read almost without putting it down!


message 16: by January (new)

January | 84 comments I started it on Thursday and am almost halfway through it. It is very intriging!


message 17: by Julie (new)

Julie (minerva1221) | 1 comments I read this several months ago, haven't been able to actively participate in the group reads so far, but throught I would add a comment from my review on this one...

I really loved this book! I read it knowing very little about the story, which I often find is the best way to read a book, without anyone else's plot summary or opinion clouding your judgment. It is a ombination of suspense, mystery, and thrillers; a fast paced story, easy to get lost in, and hard to put down. Such fun, and one of very few books that I've ever felt the urge to read all over again immediately after finishing.

Later, I allowed myself to watch the movie. At first, I was having a hard time imagining Leonardo diCaprio in the lead role, but he has surprised me before and he did so again here.


message 18: by Tracy (new)

Tracy Phillips I agree it's so easy to get wrapped up in the book almost from the beginning and hard to put it down :o)


message 19: by Susan (new)

Susan Marshall (obiemsue) | 7 comments this was fun to read after having seen the movie. Now I want to see the movie again. When I was reading, I kept picturing Leonardo talking.


message 20: by January (new)

January | 84 comments I really enjoyed this book! I had just got back from Maine so that made it even more interesting! I loved the ending. I had half of the story figured out, but wow what a surprise!


message 21: by Zeta05 (last edited Oct 31, 2010 01:05AM) (new)

Zeta05 (trayz) Just finished this and like it very much even though my guess was pretty close as to how it would end. Now I'll watch the movie and hope it's true to the book.


message 22: by Tracy (new)

Tracy Phillips *Spoiler Alert*
So, about Teddy/Andrew do you think he was leaving himself the rock pile clues while the staff was letting him have the run of the island or do you think he was just "interrupting" ordinary rocks laying in the dirt as some kind of clue? It also could have been that the staff planted clues in the rocks and Rachel's room as part of the elaborate scheme to bring him to reality. I still wonder though, perhaps Teddy/Andrew left them for himself because on some level he knew the life he was living as Teddy was not real.


message 23: by Tracy (last edited Dec 09, 2010 09:59AM) (new)

Tracy Phillips I was just wondering what were people's favorite character or aspect of the book? I think one of my favorite characters was Teddy's wife. Because she appeared in Teddy's dreams she had a very mysterious aura about her. Among many other things about the book the parts were Teddy talks about her and describes their relationship and his inability to let go of her after her death was very well done. And of course the plot twists in the book were absolutely amazing!


message 24: by Terri (new)

Terri (terrilovescrows) | 26 comments It is great to have such eerieness and the sense of what is real and what isnt


message 25: by Tracy (new)

Tracy Phillips Yes, Terri. The eeriness in the book was AMAZING! How far along the book are you?


message 26: by Jennifer W (new)

Jennifer W | 2175 comments I just finished the book. I haven't yet seen the movie. I don't know which version to believe. I will think on it.

Oddly enough, immediately prior to reading this book, I read a book called Mad In America: Bad Science, Bad Medicine, and The Enduring Mistreatment of the Mentally Ill, which Lehane acknowledges in the beginning of the book. After reading Mad in America, I can easily believe that Teddy's madness was created, but that's the interesting thing about insanity, no one, least of all the person experiencing it themself, knows what to believe.


message 27: by Terri (new)

Terri | 95 comments I loved this book and after completing it I read another famous Lehane book: Mystic River. Then I saw both movies. This is the first time ever that I wished I'd seen the movie first before the book--only because the movie is very true to the book and I already knew everything that was going to happen. Or maybe I should have waited a couple of months before seeing the movie so I could forget some of the book.

I would watch the movie again. I think Leonardo D. did such an amazing job! I was very impressed with his acting. Same as I felt in seeing him in Inception. He's very good.

I found it interesting how the head Dr. seems to be so sinister until you finish the story. Very interesting. As far as the mental illness aspect, I thought the author/director both did an excellent job of portraying the criminally insaane.

I also loved Teddy's partner. It's been awhile since I read it/saw the movie so I don't remember his name but I thought the character was very likeable.

I would compare this movie to Sixth Sense in some ways because it has those twists and turns that keep you guessing and then you're surprised when you find out what happens. The Sixth Sense is probably my all time favorite suspense movie because I didn't see the ending coming--which is a rare event for me.


Maggie the Muskoka Library Mouse (mcurry1990) LOVED the twist at the end! I totally did not see that coming!


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