Shutter Island is one of my favorite novels.
Dennis Lehane, one of my favorite writers.
A while back, I discovered a series on storyfix.com, Larry Brooks’ excellent blog on story structure, wherein he does a masterful job of deconstructing Shutter Island.
This is from back in 2010, but if you haven’t seen it yet, it’s worth reviewing. From the first post, one of Larry’s reasons for choosing Shutter Island to deconstruct:
Thirdly, the story is extraordinarily complex, nuanced and uncompromisingly brilliant. This isn’t an entry-level deconstruction, it’s like learning to fly by taking lessons in an F-18.
Here are links to all of the posts from storyfix.com in the Shutter Island, deconstructed series:
2 ) The Deconstruction of “Shutter Island” – A Primer
3 ) “Shutter Island” – The Opening Act
4 ) “Shutter Island” – The Opening Act (continued)
5 ) “Shutter Island” – Evaluating the Part 1 scenes (continued)
6 ) “Shutter Island” – The First Plot Point Cometh
7a ) “Shutter Island” – The Part 2 “Response”
7b ) “Shutter Island” – The Part 2 Pinch Point and the Mid-Point
8 ) “Shutter Island” – The Part 3 Scenes
9 ) “Shutter Island” – Plot Point 2 and The Final Act
10 ) “Shutter Island” – How It All Ends, and What to Make of It
I’ve added storyfix.com to my Blog Roll on the left.
Chris Negron 