SOUTH PACIFIC PICTURES TO FILM ISLAND OF THE LOST
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Island of the Lost: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the WorldOne Deserted Island
Two Shipwrecks Two Dramatic Outcomes… In 1864 two ships were wrecked on remote and uninhabited Auckland Island, some 385 miles from New Zealand. Five seamen in the far south survive, astonishingly, for nearly two years before building a vessel and setting off in what would become one of the most courageous voyages of the sea. Twenty miles of impassable cliffs away on the same godforsaken island, nineteen other seamen succumb to utter chaos. Only three will survive. **************** There are several remarkable things about this book. Most importantly there is the masterly writing style. Even if I hadn't known the author also writes fiction (watch this space for reviews of her Wiki Coffin adventure series) I would have detected a novelist's combined economy of language and rich imagery right from page 1. The other things that hit me were: Why wasn't this incredible story already better known? And, how could two groups of mariners stranded on the same island at the same time behave so differently? And, how often could historical coincidences of the magnitude of the ones portrayed in this book have happened? (Oh yes, Titanic.) Joan Druett is a widely travelled New Zealander whose fiction and non-fiction is mostly of a nautical bent -- but any landlubberly instincts mustn't let that put you off. Rarely do I get to review a book that was so easy and approachable (I read it, avidly, in a coupla days) yet so intriguing, emotional, exciting and educational at the same time. Back in 1864 two sailing ships, the Grafton and the Invercauld, were wrecked within a few months of each other on Auckland Island, down south and pretty much at the edge of the world. Tiny, well, small, though it is, the island was too wild for the two crew of survivors to have been able to make any contact with each other. So their ordeals stretched on through endless, desperate months in isolation yet their lives and the way they coped with their situations could not have been more different. I'll not give anything more away. I'm too concerned that you rush off right now to buy it and see for yourself. Suffice to say, Druett is such a damned good writer that her descriptions of the minutiae of daily life, her characterisations, her descriptions of the landscape and her retelling of individual memoirs are even more riveting than the catalogue of ... of ... horrid stuff. It would seem, from some reviewers' comments I have seen, that Island of the Lost is better known (and greatly appreciated) in America. I urge all lovers of first-rate, shudderingly good yarns to change this statistic and buy it here, now -- in swags! Mick Ludden, Wairarapa Times-Age, October 6, 2007. ********************************** Reviewed by KIRKUS: April 1, 2007 Druett, Joan ISLAND OF THE LOST: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World Algonquin (304 pp.) $24.95 Jun. 8, 2007 ISBN: 1-56512-408-1 Swashbuckling maritime history reanimated by a noted naval enthusiast. Mystery writer and nautical historian Druett (Run Afoul, 2006, etc.) does great justice to the saga of two large ships, the Grafton and the Invercauld, both shipwrecked on the same remote South Pacific island in 1864. The first vessel, navigated by French gold miner Francois Raynal and skilled captain Thomas Musgrave, embarked on an adventurous, intrepid voyage southeast of Australia toward Campbell Island to collect a cache of silver-laden tin. Through hurricanes and sea squalls, the Grafton reached the island, but a sudden illness and inclement weather forced the ship to attempt a return to Sydney. In his journal, Musgrave wrote that on the journey home, the sea looked “as if it were boiling.” Swallowed by an immense storm, the schooner was pounded into the jagged reefs of uninhabited Auckland Island. Its crew scrounged for shelter and food (sea lion and bird flesh, pungently described) ashore, with a plumb view of the Grafton’s rain-soaked wreckage looming as a grim reminder. Through months of navigating rugged terrain, fighting raw conditions and swarms of stinging sand flies, the castaways worked together utilizing wood from the ship’s hull to erect a cabin. Meanwhile, Scottish square-rigger Invercauld, bound for South America with a crew of 25, was being ripped apart by the perilous reefs on the other side of Auckland Island. After a year and a half, the resourceful Grafton crew built a small vessel and sailed to New Zealand; the Invercauld crew, whittled down to three survivors, had to be rescued by a passing Spanish vessel. Druett excels at recreating the men’s struggles and desperation (tempered by boundless hope) with extensive quotations from their journals. She also offers engaging biographical information on the castaways, descriptions of the island’s animal population and general historical detail. Depicted with consistent brio, stormy seas become epic events. . . . www.kirkusreviews.com REVIEWS OF THE BOOK "Drawn from a number of memoirs, 'Island of the Lost' recounts the privations of not just one but two parties of castaways who, unbeknownst to each other, clawed themselves out of the heaving sea on opposite ends of the main island in 1864. Their divergent experiences provide a riveting study of the extremes of human nature and the effects of good (and bad) leadership." -- New York Times, 7/15 "This story goes reality TV a few steps better. . . . A clear morality tale about the pitfalls of rigidity and the benefits of adaptability and cooperation. . . . Druett, who has written other works of nautical history and a maritime mystery series, wisely lets the details make the point, resisting the temptation to oversell. Her writing style is clear and detached, her touch just right. . . . The power of the crews' divergent stories . . . propels the narrative like a trade wind."--L.A. Times, 6/24 An "amazing saga . . . Rarely are the two opposing sides of human nature captured in such stark and illuminating relief."--Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 6/22 "One of the finest survival stories I've read. . . . [Druett's] tale is backed up by a solid knowledge of sailing ships and of the flora, fauna and weather of Auckland Island, an inhospitable terrain that has defied attempts at human settlement and is now a wildlife preserve."--Seattle Times, 6/24 "Fascinating . . . a surprisingly gripping tale that will leave readers amazed. Grade: A."--Rocky Mountain News "Joan Druett's well-researched Island of the Lost earns its place in any good collection of survival literature."--Entertainment Weekly "Captivating ... Druett has a talent for storytelling ... Those yearning for a classic man vs. nature, triumph-over-terrible-odds story, get ready to set sail."--Paste Magazine 9 June "A gripping cautionary tale."--Nevada County Prospector "Joan Druett has done a superb job of weaving together excellent research into a highly readable and fascinating account of survival and the sea . . . a fun read of an absorbing tale which, though a work of nonfiction, moves along at the pace of a good novel.--Good Old Boat *************** |
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